Boston College and Stanford lead College Coed Nationals

Newport, RI (June 1, 2015) – The first day of the Gill Coed National Championship Semi-Finals got underway with the top 36 collegiate sailing teams in the nation ready to compete for 18 spots in the championship finals, which will be held June 3-4.

The semi-finals are divided into two fleets, an eastern and western semi-final fleet, each with 18 teams. The top nine teams from each fleet will advance to the finals on Wednesday. The sailors are racing on windward leeward courses with three and four legs in both CFJs and Z420s. Each fleet sails one type of boat one day and swaps boats the next day. Today, the eastern fleet sailed in Z420s and the western sailed in CFJs.

A nor’easter blew in overnight turning what has been warm sunny weather for the last few days, into rainy and cold conditions. Temperatures were in the low to mid 50s and winds were from the northeast around 10 knots, which built to around 15-18 knots at times in the afternoon. Light rain persisted most of the day, but for the last few races it rained steadily.

Racing got underway around 0930 and finished before 1830. The race officials were able to complete eight races in A-division and B-division in both of the fleets.

By the end of day one, Boston College is leading the eastern fleet followed closely by College of Charleston and Georgetown University. Stanford University is leading the western fleet winning a tiebreaker with Yale University in second and followed by St. Mary’s College of Maryland in third.

With the top of the standings dominated by eastern schools, Stanford was showing the west could compete too.

“The windier conditions with chop is something we practice in a lot in the spring at Stanford, so we feel pretty comfortable in it,” says John Vandemoer, head coach for Stanford. “I was happy with our starting, it was important for us to really find the line and get in fleet racing mode after so much team racing.”

Sailing for Stanford is: Kieran Chung ’15 with Haley Kirk ’15 and Samantha Steele ’16 in A-division and Antoine Screve ’16 with John Cannistraro ’17 and Daniel Ron ’17 in B-division.

There are still 10 races to sail in both A and B-division in each fleet to complete the semi-final round. The first warning for racing is at 0930 tomorrow, with no race to start after 1700 EDT.

Top Nine Teams Eastern Semi-Final, Day 1:
1. Boston College, 76
2. College of Charleston, 82
3. Georgetown University, 89
4. U.S. Naval Academy, 94
5. Fordham University, 95
6. Tufts University, 101
7. U.S. Coast Guard Academy, 113
8. SUNY Maritime, 125*
9. Harvard University, 125*
* Head-to-head tiebreaker

Top Nine Teams Western Semi-Final, Day 1:
1. Stanford University, 64*
2. Yale University, 64*
3. St. Mary’s College of Maryland, 95
4. Roger Williams University, 96
5. Brown University, 97
6. Old Dominion University, 102
7. University of Wisconsin, 107
8. USMMA Kings Point, 129*
9. Bowdoin College, 129*
* Head-to-head tiebreaker

Nationals details – Eastern Semifinals Results – Western Semifinals Results

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.