Courtesy: Princeton Athletic Communications Princeton will compete for a berth in the C-level final during Friday's portion of the IRA championships.

The 17th-ranked Princeton heavyweight varsity eight will not row Saturday for the national championship. A fourth-place finish in the opening heat of the regatta and a second-place finish behind Columbia in its afternoon repechage will send Princeton to either the C- or D-level finals on Sunday. The freshman eight and both fours are still in contention for a championship berth.

The varsity eight opened the day in the deep opening heat, which included the top-ranked California Golden Bears. Princeton needed a top-two finish to advance directly to the semifinals, but the race turned into a three-team showdown between California, Cornell and Northeastern. Cal and Cornell were the advancing boats, while Princeton's final time of 6:08.93 was more than 12 seconds off Cornell's second-place finish.

That sent Princeton into a critical rematch with Columbia, which took its first Childs Cup off the Tigers in decades earlier this year. Only one boat would advance from the final repechage and make the A or B semifinals. It didn't take long for the Lions to establish themselves as a force, beating the Tigers by more than two seconds in the first 500 meters and adding nearly two more seconds by the midway point. Princeton finished in 6:09.87, more than five seconds behind Columbia. The Tigers will race Friday in either the C or D semifinal (12:15 and 12:30 PST), with a top-three finish needed to reach Saturday's C-level final.

Princeton's freshman eight will compete in its repechage Friday morning after placing third in its opening heat. The time of 6:14.80 topped a trio of teams, although a powerful Washington boat beat the Tigers by more than 16 seconds.

The varsity four picked up Princeton's lone win of the day and will advance directly to Saturday's 9:24 grand final; the Tigers won the third heat in a time of 6:49.90. The open four placed third in its heat with a time of 7:02.50 and will row in a repechage Friday.

Friday will also open the women's lightweight weekend, as the Tigers will look to upset top-ranked and unbeaten Wisconsin for its first IRA title since 2003.