GOLD RIVER, Calif. -- Day one at the IRA National Championship Regatta on Lake Natoma is complete for the defending champion Harvard men's lightweight rowing. All three Harvard boats advanced to their respective final with the varsity eight winning its heat.

Results | Video | Photos

The morning started with the junior varsity in the second heat against fellow Ivies Princeton, Dartmouth and Columbia. The Tigers led wire-to-wire, but Harvard was able to trim a 1.1-second difference at the 1500m mark to just .45 seconds; finishing in second at 5:53.840 and securing a spot in Sunday's A Final at 1:12 pm ET.

The defending-champion varsity boat, stroked by captain Ben Lundie, picked up a wire-to-wire win in heat 1 with a slight push from Penn. The Harvard Lights advanced to Sunday's A Final at 2:34 pm ET with a time of 5:44.610 and a margin of victory of close to six seconds.

Harvard's varsity four raced through a morning time trial and an evening semifinal, placing second to Penn in 6:32.830 and gaining a berth to Saturday's A Final at 2:12 pm ET.

Results
V8 (Heat 1)
1. Harvard - 5:44.610
2. Penn - 5:50.380
3. Cornell - 5:50.970
4. Georgetown - 5:55.750
5. Columbia - 6:01.250

2V (Heat 2)
1. Princeton - 5:53.390
2. Harvard - 5:53.840
3. Dartmouth - 6:02.190
4. Columbia - 6:05.430

V4+ (Semifinal)
1. Penn - 6:29.540
2. Harvard - 6:32.830
3. Columbia - 6:35.830
4. Navy - 6:36.750
5. Yale - 6:43.270

Harvard Boat Lineups
V8
Coxswain - Nathalie Gregg
Stroke - Ben Lundie
7 - Alex Forbes
6 - Charles Rahdon 
5 - Preston Darling
4 - Jackson Violich
3 - Zarret Mills
2 - Andrew Buda
Bow - Kyle Sutherland 

2V 
Coxswain - Haley Hicks 
Stroke - Nikhil Ramaraju 
7 - Jack Duggan 
6 - Brody Luce
5 - Herbie Austin-Baker 
4 - Ian O'Riley 
3 - Maxton Kilroy
2 - Lucas Pinsent 
Bow - Henry Jones 

4V+
Coxswain - Ericka Lai
Stroke - Matt Lyons
3 - Grant Atkinson
2 - Nathan Pappas
Bow - Russell O'Donnell

Saturday Race Times*
2:12 PM - Varsity Four (Final)

Sunday Race Times*
1:12 PM - Junior Varsity (Final)
2:34 PM - Varsity (Final)
*All times listed as Eastern Time and subject to change.