Qualifying complete at College Nationals

Mount Pleasant, SC (May 31, 2017) – The second day of the semifinals for the Gill Coed National Championship completed the task of reducing the field of 36 college sailing teams to the top 18 that will advance to the championship finals tomorrow, Thursday, June 1.

Sailing in FJs and Z420s, the top nine teams from each of the 18-boat semifinal fleets qualify to compete in the finals.

Racing started on time around 10 a.m. in a light southwesterly around 8 knots under partly sunny skies with temperatures in the low 80s. As the day progress, winds varied down to 5-7 knots from the southwest and up to 8-12 knots from the south. At the end of the day, the winds were light again making it difficult to fight the ebb current and fit all of the races.

The race officials got off as many races as they could given the time restriction completing six races in A-division in both fleets and eight races in B-division in the Eastern fleet and 7 races in B-division in the Western fleet. This makes the regatta total 12 races for the Eastern, but only the first 11 races will count for the Western fleet since B-division was not able to get the last race in before the 5 p.m. cut off time.

In the Eastern fleet College of Charleston took the lead on their home waters, moving up from fourth place yesterday. George Washington University moved up to second place from third yesterday and Hobart and William Smith Colleges took third place, moving up from sixth place yesterday.

Charleston’s A-division won their last two races today, ending the semifinals on a high note.

“Where yesterday was hot with not a lot of races, today was good sailing,” says Ward Cromwell, head coach for Charleston. “It was really shifty conditions, but the team sailed well. We will get some rest tonight and treat tomorrow like any other day. If we start well, stay in phase and we are smart on the downwinds, we will be in good shape for the finals.”

Sailing for the College of Charleston is: Stefano Peschiera ’18 with Grace McCarthy ’18 in A-division and Jack Cusick ’17 with Chloe Dapp ’17 in B-division.

In the Western fleet the U.S. Naval Academy held onto their lead from yesterday finishing 19 points ahead of second place team Yale University. Yale was also in second yesterday. Tufts University took third place tied in points with Yale and only two points ahead of Boston College in fourth.

“It was tricky sailing today,” says Ian Burman, head coach for Navy, “It was important to stay out of trouble, because it’s easy to get caught up in the current and light winds. But we sailed well and we have been fast all regatta. Today it was helpful for us to be sailing in the FJs and get used to starting in them in the current. That will help us moving on. We feel fast and ready for tomorrow.”

Sailing for Navy is: Patrick Snow ’17 with Mary Morocco ’19 in A-division and Gary Prieto ’18 with Ana Mier ’19 and Hannah Hughes ’17 with Manuel Inserni Pagan ’17 in B-division.

The scoreboard is wiped clean for the Gill College Sailing Coed National Championship Finals tomorrow. The first warning for racing is at 10 a.m. The top 18 teams will be competing for the national title and the Henry A. Morss Memorial Trophy the next two days.

Top Nine Eastern Semifinals Final Results (12 races):
1. College of Charleston, 130
2. George Washington University, 147
3. Hobart and William Smith Colleges, 154
4. U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, 174
5. Fordham University, 176
6. Stanford University, 176
7. Roger Williams University, 180
8. Hampton University, 188
9. Boston University, 188

Top Nine Western Semifinal Final Results (11 races):
1. U.S. Naval Academy, 115
2. Yale University, 135
3. Tufts University, 135
4. Boston College, 137
5. U.S. Coast Guard Academy, 141
6. Brown University, 146
7. Georgetown University, 147
8. University of South Florida, 169
9. University of California Santa Barbara, 181

Event details – Social feed – Results: Eastern Semis – Western Semis – Final results

Livestream broadcast on June 1 and 2 at 10:am EDT.

Source: Jennifer Mitchell (words), Michael Wiser (photos)