Yale wins College Team Race Nationals

Newport, RI (May 31, 2015) – Today was the third and final day of the LaserPerformance Team Race National Championship on Narragansett Bay. This event is the second of three collegiate sailing national championships co-hosted by Brown University, Salve Regina University and New York Yacht Club this spring. After three days of racing Yale University is the national champion and winner of the Walter C. Wood Trophy for the third year in a row.

The day began with completing the top eight round robin. Racing got underway around 9:30 a.m. Competitors sailed in CFJs on digital N courses for the top eight and in Z420s for the final four round. The remaining 13 races were completed in the top eight round today. The conditions were cloudy with lingering rain and thunderstorms in the area. Winds started around 10-12 knots and by the end of the day a southwesterly sea breeze brought steady 15 knots with gusts around 20 knots.

The race officials kept the races going and by 1 p.m. the competitors were into the final four racing. A total of 154 races were completed in the event.

Today the teams were fighting to advance into the final four round. Due to the competitiveness of each team in this event, no one went through undefeated. Yale finished the top eight round with three losses, Boston College with two, Stanford University with four and College of Charleston with two. Then again in the final four everyone took a hit, but Yale came out on top.

“This is pretty amazing and it feels really good,” says Bill Healy, assistant coach for Yale University. “We have seniors on the team who missed qualifying for this event their freshman year and now they have gone on to win it three years in a row.”

“We had good races against Charleston – who came out really strong – and good matches against Stanford and Boston College,” Healy says. “We wouldn’t have changed anything, the team really gelled and we had good crews on the land and the water.”

The winning team members are: Ian Barrows ’17, Graham Landy ’15, Malcolm Lamphere ’18, Clara Robertson ’17, Natalya Doris ’17, Christopher Champa ’18, Katherine Gaumond ’15, Charlotte Belling ’16 and Meredith Megarry ’17.

There were six races total in the final four and the winds had picked up to gusts around 20 knots, so a lot of teams were making substitutions and putting their heavy air crews in. Boston College went into the round strong winning their first two races, but lost their last race against Yale. Boston College finished the event in second place.

Greg Wilkinson, head coach for Boston College, applauded Yale for their win. “The credit goes to Yale, they not only beat us in the event, but they beat us in every race we sailed against them.”

Sailing for Boston College was: William Bailey ’15, Erika Reineke ’16, Raul Rios ’16, Katherine Wysocki ’15, Elizabeth Barnard ’15, Allison Ferraris ’17, Katja Sertl ’16, Alex Palfrey ’17, Christopher Dwyer ’15 and Domenic Bove ’15.

Stanford finished the regatta in third place for the second year in a row. After sustaining losses in their first two races of the final four round they won their last race against College of Charleston.

“We were psyched to win big in our last race against Charleston to get our spot on the podium,” says John Vandemoer, head coach for Stanford. “We’re psyched to be on the podium for the second year in a row, but hope to win next time.”

“The best part of the event was how we started each morning with tough races but had solid starts to win those first races. Our seniors are also excited to have had the opportunity to finish on the podium for their last team race regatta in college.

“Every race was super close, there were no real blow outs. The top eight were really even and the top four were super even.”

Sailing for Stanford was: Antoine Screve ’16, Hans Henken ’15, Kieran Chung ’15, Haley Kirk ’15, John Cannistraro ’17, Samantha Steele ’16, Daniel Ron ’17 and Nicolette Obel ’17.

Final Results, Top 8 of 16 (wins and losses)
1. Yale University, 21-4
2. Boston College, 19-6
3. Stanford University, 17-8*
4. College of Charleston, 17-8**
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5. Georgetown University, 15-7
6. Roger Williams University, 14-8
7. St. Mary’s College of Maryland, 12-10
8. Tufts University, 9-13
* Number of races won when tied teams met (2)
** Number of races won when tied teams met (1)

Standings – Nationals details – Photos

First Place: Yale Bulldogs

Second Place: Boston College Eagles

Third Place: Stanford University Cardinal

The spring nationals conclude with the Gill Coed Dinghy National Semi-Final and Final Championship, with 36 teams which qualified through their district to compete on June 1-4.

Source: ICSA media

Background: The Intercollegiate Sailing Association’s three national championships, Sperry Women’s National Semi-Final and Final Championship, LaserPerformance Team Race National Championship, and the Gill Coed Dinghy National Semi-Final and Final Championship will be held May 25-June 4, with schools racing Z420s and Club FJs on the waters of Newport Harbor and Narragansett Bay in Newport, RI. The events are hosted by Brown University, Salve Regina University and the New York Yacht Club.