Top 18 advance at College Women’s Nationals

Mount Pleasant, SC (May 24, 2017) – Racing continued today on the Cooper River in Charleston Harbor for the second day of the Sperry Women’s Semifinals, with 36 teams from across the nation striving to advance at the end of the day to compete in the College Women’s Nationals.

The 36 teams are divided into two fleets of 18 teams, Western and Eastern Semifinal groups, with the top nine from each fleet to make up the 18 teams who will race in the finals on May 25-26.

The morning racing started just after 9 a.m. with winds from the southwest around 8-12 knots. Winds built significantly to 15 knots and then up to 30 knots at the end of the ninth B-division race, which made for some excitement and capsizing in the end.

The cut off time for racing today was 5 p.m., however the high winds and thunder around the area halted racing early and the regatta was called at 4 p.m. Sailing FJs and Z420s both fleets completed five races today for a total of nine races for the regatta.

The top three teams in the Eastern fleet after yesterday’s racing are the same today, but rearranged. The University of Rhode Island finished the day on top, moving up from second place yesterday. Boston College also moved up to second place and Boston University, who was in the lead after racing yesterday, moved down to third place.

Because this is a qualifying regatta for the finals, the most important finishes are the top nine teams and the ninth place team in particular, who makes the cut to move onto the finals. In the Eastern fleet that team is Bowdoin College.

“We had a good day today,” says Frank Pizzo, head coach for Bowdoin College. “We knew the weather would be an issue this afternoon, so we were looking for consistent results, to use our boat speed and keep it simple.

“The current here is significant and has made starting challenging,” says Pizzo, “And tomorrow will be that much more competitive with an even stronger fleet, so we are going to have a team dinner tonight, rest up and get ready for the next event.”

Sailing for Bowdoin is Mary Paz ’17 with Nora Cullen ’18 in A-division and Catherine Price ’18 with Dana Bloch ’17 and Isabelle Austin-Green ’19 in B-division.

“We sailed mostly well,” says Skip Whyte, head coach for the University of Rhode Island, “We need to start better in our B-division and focus on facing our demons on the race course and doing a good job.

“We have sailed at this venue before, so we will apply the basics we know about sailing to this venue and learn from our past experiences,” Whyte says.

Sailing for URI is Rachel Bryer ’17 with Hannah Scanlon ’18 in A-division and Sarah Hermus ’18 with Kathryn Nota ’19 and Marisa DeCollibus ’17 in B-division.

Yale University moved up the leader board today in the Western fleet followed by Brown University in second place and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, 2016 champions, in third. Finishing in ninth place and moving on with the top of the fleet is the University of California Santa Barbara.

“We liked the breeze today and in particular we have really good crews in these conditions,” says Bill Healy, assistant coach for Yale. “The current was still a big factor today too and we had simulated practices for it before this event, so we felt prepared.”

“Now there will be 18 really good schools to compete against, so we will look to minimize mistakes and not take big risks on the starting line,” Healy says. “We will focus on ourselves and what we have learned about the sails, boats and the venue moving forward.”

Sailing for Yale is Casey Klingler ’18 with Natalya Doris ’17 and Christine Klingler ’20 in A-division and Louisa Nordstrom ’20 with Isabelle Rossi De Leon ’17 and Claire Huebner ’18 in B-division.

“We have had our ups and downs in the racing the last two days,” says Brad Schaupeter, head coach for the University of California Santa Barbara, “And today it was a fight all the way to the end to qualify for the finals. We have not sailed our best yet, so we are excited for what is to come over the next two days.”

Sailing for Santa Barbara is Simone Staff ’18 with Ellen Gable ’17 and Marina Fennell ‘17 in A-division and Olivia Godfrey ’17 with Sarah Scoffone ’19 and Elizabeth Moody ’20 in B-division.

The top teams in the semifinal fleets today are also the teams who finished in the top of the finals last year, so tough competition and good racing will be expected over the next two days.

The scoreboard is wiped clean for the finals tomorrow and racing is set to begin at 10 a.m. The top 18 teams will be competing for the Gerald C. Miller Trophy over the next two days.

Final Nine Teams – Eastern Semifinal:
1. University of Rhode Island, 73
2. Boston College, 87
3. Boston University, 89
4. Stanford University, 98
5. St. Mary’s College of Maryland, 104
6. Tufts University, 121
7. George Washington University, 128
8. University of South Florida, 136
9. Bowdoin College, 136

Final Nine Teams, Western Semifinal:
1. Yale University, 61
2. Brown University, 74
3. U.S. Coast Guard Academy, 87
4. College of Charleston, 95
5. Dartmouth College, 98
6. University of Vermont, 117
7. Georgetown University, 127
8. U.S. Naval Academy, 163
9. University of California Santa Barbara, 170

Live coverage will be provided on the last day of racing (May 26).

Event details – Social feed – Results: Eastern Semi – Western Semi – Finals results

Following the women’s nationals are the team racing nationals (May 27-29) and the coed fleet racing nationals (May 30-June 2). Details.

Livestream Broadcast Schedule
• LaserPerformance Team Race National Championship – May 27-29
WATCH HERE: Saturday, May 27 through Monday, May 29 @ 9:30 EST (3 days)

• Gill Co-Ed Dinghy National Championship (May 30 – Jun e 2
WATCH HERE: Thursday, June 1 through Friday, June 2 @ 9:30 am EST (2 days):

Source: Jennifer Mitchell | Toile à Voile for ICSA