MIT leads College Women’s Nationals

Norfolk, VA (May 24, 2018) – The Sperry Women’s National Championship continued today on the Elizabeth River as 18 collegiate teams advanced from the previous two days of competition in the Semifinals to make it to the Finals racing. The teams are vying for the national title and the Gerald C. Miller Trophy.

Racing got underway around 10 a.m. and the temperatures heated up into the 80s under sunny skies. The winds were from the north and northeast today, which is different from the previous two days of racing and it brought a variety of conditions. At times the wind was light around 4-6 knots and at others it was steady around 8-12 knots.

Another big factor in the conditions today was the current. It developed a strong current line in the later afternoon and for the last two races or so, the sailors really had to take it into account on the course.

Today A and B divisions sailed 12 races in Z420s and FJs on windward leeward courses with four legs. Racing wrapped up at around 5:30 pm and only one protest was filed that was disallowed. There are six races left in each division to complete the regatta.

The variety in the conditions today also brought varied scores. The top four teams moved around on the scoreboard and the College of Charleston, Boston College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Hobart and William Smith Colleges kept switching spots until MIT took the lead in the seventh race of the day and held onto it for the rest of the day’s racing.

Sailing for MIT is Annie Hughes ’19 and Tiffany Xi ’19 in A-division and Emily Haig ’21 and Greta Farrell ’18 in B-division.

Charleston finished the day in second place, only 4 points behind MIT.

“We experienced peaks and valleys in our racing today,” says Mitch Hall, assistant coach for Charleston. “It shows how competitive the fleet is and how challenging the conditions were. There were pressure and current lines that the women had to keep their eyes out for.

“Our boat handling and boat speed is good, so we are looking for consistency and maybe some more consistent conditions tomorrow. The women sailed really well, but we made some mistakes, so we will minimize errors tomorrow.

“This group of women is one of the most easy going groups I have ever coached, so they don’t show the pressure they may feel in the racing. They have a lot of fun and keep it light and happy.”

Sailing for Charleston is Alie Toppa ’20 and Annabel Carrington ’19 in A-division and Paris Henken ’19 and Liza Toppa ’20 in B-division.

Boston College is sitting in third place 14 points behind Charleston.

“We are feeling pretty good,” says Greg Wilkinson, head coach for Boston College. “We work all year to be in the fight at Nationals and we are in it. The girls may not have felt that they had a stellar day at the end of the day, but they were passing boats all day and that’s all we can ask for.

“It was a long day with a lot of different conditions. And one thing we learned from the last two days of racing is that the conditions were changing a lot, so we got used to the idea of change and keeping heads out of the boat.”

Sailing for Boston College is Isabella Loosbrock ’19 and Emma Perry ’19 in A-division and Sophia Reineke ’21 and Megan Bamford ’18 in B-division.

Racing is set to begin at 10 a.m. tomorrow. No race can begin after 5 p.m. Awards will take place after the racing the top three women’s teams will be presented with the Gerald C. Miller Trophy for first place, the New England Women’s Trophy for second place and the Ann Campbell Trophy for third place.

The Quantum Women’s College Sailor of the Year will also be awarded to a female sailor who has consistently performed at the highest competitive level in the 2017-2018 season. Additionally the Women’s All-Americans and All-American Honorable Mentions will be announced.

Sperry Women’s Finals, Day 1
1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 156
2. College of Charleston, 160
3. Boston College, 174
4. William Smith College, 175
5. Brown University, 179
6. Cornell College, 197
7. U.S. Coast Guard Academy, 199
8. University of Rhode Island, 205
9. Yale University, 210
10. Boston University, 223
11. George Washington University, 240
12. Dartmouth College, 241
13. Connecticut College, 247
14. University of South Florida, 274
15. Stanford University, 281
16.University of Pennsylvania, 302
17. Harvard University, 315
18. Georgetown University, 326

Event details – Results – Facebook

Follow the events live via the regatta app from US Sailing plus live video coverage on May 25 for the final day of racing.

Background: The ICSA is the governing authority for sailing competition at colleges and universities throughout the United States and in some parts of Canada. There are seven Conferences that schedule and administer regattas within their established geographic regions, with ICSA hosting two national championships in the fall (singlehanded, match racing) and three national championships in the spring (team, women’s, coed). collegesailing.org

2018 Spring Nationals – Norfolk, VA
5/22-25 – Women’s National Championship
5/26-28 – Team Race National Championship
5/29-6/1 – Coed National Championship

Source: Jennifer Mitchell |Toile à Voile for ICSA