Charleston wins Team Race Nationals

Norfolk, VA (May 28, 2018) – Racing was completed today in the LaserPerformance Team Race National Championship on the Elizabeth River hosted by Old Dominion University. This is the second of three spring college sailing national championships.

The top sixteen collegiate team racing teams in the nation competed for the national title and the Walter C. Wood Trophy and the defending champions, College of Charleston won the title.

The day began with a 180-degree wind shift; so racing was delayed but got started around 11 a.m. when the wind settled into a northeast direction around 7 knots. The winds stayed light and temperatures were about 80 degrees under cloudy skies.

Going into the final four Charleston led the regatta; they were the leaders at the start of each day of the event. In their first race in the final four, however, they lost to Georgetown University. They turned things around for their next two close races and won them both to move on as the regatta champions.

“We are feeling good,” says Ward Cromwell, head coach for College of Charleston. “The top four teams were all really tight and our guys sailed really well. We were over early in the Georgetown race and Augie Dale [and Katherine Lounsbury] got us back in the race. They were our fastest boat out there today.

“I told the team if you get off the line, then no one can beat you – we have great boat speed. We are stoked, they worked really hard all season and came together well. The team put in a lot of effort and we had great conditions in Charleston to practice in, and it was great to see the sailors peak this week.”

Sailing for Charleston is: Christophe Killian ’18, Elizabeth Pemberton ’18, Augie Dale ’19, Katherine Lounsbury ’20, Stefano Peschiera ’18, and Grace McCarthy ’18.

After the final four racing there was still a three-way tie for second place. The sailing instructions called for a sail off for the podium finish. Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Roger Williams University, and Georgetown University all had a 18-7 record.

The rainy weather and the light wind held on for some more racing in the sail-off. The three teams all fought hard for the remaining podium finishes, and even after the additional races, each team had one win and one loss so the tie was still in place. The scoring reverted back to using points to break ties, but included the points from the sail-off round.

Roger Williams finished in second place having sailed a very good event and made it out in front of Hobart and William Smith, who was in second place after yesterday’s racing.

“We went out today and took it one race at a time,” says Sean Bouchard, assistant coach for Roger Williams. “We wanted to stay calm and keep it simple and mechanical. Easier said than done, but this is a seasoned team who has sailed together a lot and they were able to transition well with the races and the conditions.

“We had the potential to win today and that was a great position to be in. I am proud of their mentality, ability to bounce back and proud of how they sailed.”

“I am so incredibly proud of the team and how they have progressed over the last four years,” says Amanda Callahan, Roger Williams head coach. “They have an amazing chemistry – you can’t fake it, can’t buy it – they have been amazing to work with.”

Sailing for Roger Williams is: Mackenzie Bryan ’18, Jennifer Agell ’19, Martim Anderson ’18, Rebecca Anderson ’18, Conner Harding ’19 and Michael McBrien ’18.

Hobart and William Smith Colleges finished in third place after a hard fought regatta.

“It was great sailing and tight racing – just what you want in a final four,” says Scott Ikle, head coach for Hobart and William Smith Colleges. “It was incredible that we went back to scoring off points after the sail off, but it shows how evenly matched the teams are and is a great testimony to how good they are.

“Of course we wanted to do better, but we are proud of our accomplishment and it is a good way to end the year. It is an improvement from last year and to have a podium finish is great, there are plenty of teams who would have liked to be third. We did a great job and these top teams were great to sail against all season long.”

Sailing for Hobart and William Smith is: Greiner Hobbs ’18, Haley Okun ’18, Charles Miller ’19, Lindsey Kloc ’19, Hector Guzman ’20 and Maya Weber ’20.

Georgetown finished in fourth place. They sailed very well with only one loss in the final four and the sail off round, but combined with their previous record they were not able to place on the podium.

Sailing for Georgetown is: Roger Dorr ’18, Rebecca Fung ’19, Haley Shea ’19, Sean Segerblom ’20, Meaghan MacRae ’18, William Logue ’20, Caroline Teare ’21, and Rose Edwards ’18.

Racing continues tomorrow at 10 a.m. in the Gill College Sailing Coed National Championship at Old Dominion University. The event will begin with two days of Semifinals racing followed by two days of Finals racing.

Final Results (wins and losses):
1. College of Charleston, 20-5
2. Roger Williams University, 19-8
3. Hobart and William Smith Colleges, 19-8
4. Georgetown University, 19-8

Final Scores, places 5-8, (wins and losses)
5. Stanford University, 14-8
6. Boston College, 14-8
7. Yale University, 14-8
8. George Washington University, 10-12

Final Scores, places 9-16 (wins and losses)
9. Dartmouth College, 7-8
10. Cornell University, 5-10
11. University of California at Santa Barbara, 5-10
12. University of South Florida, 4-11
13. Texas A&M University at Galveston, 3-12
14. University of Wisconsin, 2-13
15. University of Michigan, 2-13
16. University of Washington, 0-15

Event details – Results – Facebook

Follow the events live via the regatta app from US Sailing.

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