Yale Going for Three-Peat at College Coed Nationals

San Diego, CA (June 2, 2016) – After two days of Semi-Final eliminations, the top 18 teams came out today to compete for the Gill Coed National Championship on San Diego Bay. It proved to be a glam day with full sun and double digit seabreeze to crank out 10 of the 18 races scheduled.

After a full season of competition, the pollsters considered Georgetown, Boston College, and Yale as the top three teams. And despite these three teams failing to dominate Semi-Finals, they came out today proving they knew how to perform on the big stage. And standing tallest is Yale, seeking to retain the Coed Nationals crown they have won in 2014 and 2015.

In A Division, Yale’s team of Ian Barrows ’17 and Meredith Megarry ’17 holds a two point lead over Boston College’s Raul Rios ’16 and Allison Ferraris ’17.

“When we had a bad race, we didn’t freak out, we kept thinking about the next race,” says Bill Healy, assistant coach for Yale. “Everyone is so close that tomorrow we really need to treat it like a new regatta.”

In B Division, Georgetown’s team of Sean Golden ’16 and Isabelle Ruiz De Luzuriaga ’16 lead by six points over Augie Dale ’18 and Kaylie Gallagher ’16, but with Yale freshman Nicholas Baird ’19 just a point further back with crews Charlotte Belling ’16 and Isabelle Rossi De Leon ’17.

“Sean and Isabelle have been sailing together for four years and have strung together wins at good regattas, so I knew they had it in them to do well here and in these conditions,” says Mike Callahan, head coach for Georgetown, of their B-division boat. “The conditions are not easy and staying consistent is tough. You can’t panic at a bad start or missing a shift, because everyone will struggle and rebound at some point.”

With eight races to go, there remains much uncertainty as to who will hold the Henry A. Morss Memorial Trophy.

Will 2015 Sailor of the Year Nevin Snow, sitting in fourth, find him groove in A Division to elevate Georgetown? Will 2016 Women’s Sailor of the Year Nikole Barnes ’17, struggling in 8th, avoid the big scores in B Division to get Coast Guard on the podium? Will Old Dominion and St Mary’s, sitting in 6th and 15th, return to their strong Semi-Final form to spoil the party?

The first warning for racing tomorrow is at 10:30 am… watch the races online live here.

Day One Standings (Top 10 of 18; 10 races)
1. Yale University, 129
2. Georgetown University, 134
3. Boston College, 147
4. U.S. Coast Guard Academy, 155
5. University of South Florida, 155
6. Old Dominion University, 158
7. Stanford University, 163
8. U.S. Naval Academy, 179
9. Brown University, 183
10. Hobart and William Smith Colleges, 189

Event details – Scoreboard – Livestream – Photos – Facebook

Background: The Intercollegiate Sailing Association’s three spring 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 24-June 3, with schools racing Club and Collegiate FJs on San Diego Bay in San Diego, CA. The three events will be co-hosted by San Diego Yacht Club and the Pacific Coast Collegiate Sailing Conference.