PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - The Mercyhurst University men's single finished second in its heat during the opening day of racing at the 74th annual Dad Vail Regatta on Friday, highlighting Mercyhurst's first day. The result enabled the boat to advance to Saturday's semifinals.

Mercyhurst's men's lightweight four also advanced to Saturday's semifinals after placing third in its heat.

"It was a good day of racing and I'm pleased that everyone will be racing Saturday," said Mercyhurst head coach Adrian Spracklen. "The team is up for the challenge of the semifinals and finals hoping to bring another championship back to the 'Hurst."

Junior Jeff Murt finished the men's single race with a time of 7:53.73, securely in second place, and getting a berth into Saturday's semifinals. Oklahoma City's boat finished in first with a time of 7:35.81. Murt completed the race, however, well ahead of Colgate and Maryland participants. Colgate finished third at 8:24.78, while Maryland placed fourth at 8:37.05.

The men's single semifinal will feature Mercyhurst, Temple, Hudson Valley, Vassar, Minnesota, and Washington, with the top two finishes advancing to the finals.

Meanwhile, in the lightweight four heat, Mercyhurst finished in third, holding off Dayton to advance to the semifinals. The Lakers, featuring Jessica Ritchie, Mike Gallagher, Jim Gallagher, Ben Urbanowski, and Gary Loo, finished with a time of 7:03.04, holding off Dayton's boat by eight-tenths of a second. Minnesota won with a time of 6:53.62, while Penn State finished second in an even seven minutes.

The lightweight four semifinal features Mercyhurst, New York Maritime, Milwaukee School of Engineering, Rochester, Iona, and Delaware, with the top two advancing to the semifinals.

Mercyhurst's men's varsity lightweight eight will also be in action on Saturday, with the heats taking place around 10:15 a.m. The boat consists of John Thiede, Ivan Palikuca, Xavier Alexander, Jake Schuppe, David Cullmer, Sam Rouse, Marcin Osajda, Zack Pappas, and Caleb Schuder. The Lakers will compete against William & Mary, Delaware, Michigan, and Michigan State, with the top three advancing to the finals.

The WPVI (6ABC) broadcast of the Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta finals will include two camera boats catching the action from the Schuylkill River. WPVI (6ABC) will also provide live-cut-ins at the top of every hour beginning at 1:00 p.m. For continuing coverage of all the final races rowing fans can tune in to 6ABC.com/ESPN3.com.  Action News Sports Anchor Keith Russell will lead the coverage on Saturday, May 12, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m., along with commentators Ferdinand Bergen, former LaSalle High School and Temple University Dad Vail gold medal winner, and Renee Hykel, a standout rower at St. Joseph's University and a former Olympian. Jason Read, a four-year Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta gold medal winner for Temple and current women's rowing coach at Temple will join Russell, Bergen and Hykel on Saturday evening for a recap show that can be viewed on 6ABC beginning at 7:30 p.m.