Petersen, Montgomery win College titles

The Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association held its 2022 Singlehanded National Championships on November 5-6 in Norfolk, VA. Chapman Petersen ’26 of Stanford won the men’s title in ILCA 7s, finishing with an 8 point margin over last year’s winner, Leo Boucher ’22 of St. Mary’s. Sophia Montgomery ’25 of Harvard, finishing fourth a year ago, won the women’s title in ILCA 6s, amassing a 15 point lead on Hallie Schiffman ’23 of Stanford.

Left to right: 3rd place Richard McCann (University of Miami), 2nd place Leo Boucher (St. Mary’s College of Maryland), Open Singlehanded Champion Chapman Petersen (Stanford), Women’s Singlehanded Champion Sophia Montgomery (Harvard), 2nd place Hallie Schiffman (Stanford), 3rd place Christine Reimer (Bowdoin College) | Photo by Ben Schill Photography

ICSA report:
18 ILCA 7 and 19 ILCA 6 collegiate sailors arrived at Old Dominion University for the ICSA Singlehanded National Championships for the Janet Lutz and Glen S Foster Trophies. Sophia Montgomery ‘25 of Harvard University took home the Janet Lutz Trophy and Chapman Petersen ‘26 of Stanford University took home the Glen S. Foster Trophy.

On Saturday, racing started at 10 a.m. with winds around 5-8 knots from the Southeast. Throughout the day the breeze steadily built to 14-16 from the East Southeast. In the ILCA 6 Fleet, Sophia Montgomery ‘25 of Harvard University ended the day in the lead with 42 points. Hallie Schiffman ‘23 of Stanford University was in second with 44 points. Christine Reimer ‘24 of Bowdoin College finished off day one with 56 points.

“Today we had challenging conditions with the wind varying in intensity and speed,” said Christine Reimer. “It picked up throughout the day which was great because I enjoy the windy laser sailing. I managed to get some good results and am looking forward to more racing tomorrow!”

In the ILCA 7 Fleet, Chapman Petersen ‘26 of Stanford University was in the lead with 35 points. Connor Nelson ‘24 of Brown University was in second with 42 points. Leo Boucher ‘23 of St. Mary’s College of Maryland was in third with 52 points.

“The conditions today were tricky – you had to be in phase but know when to dig further into a side when there was more pressure,” said Connor Nelson. “Moving into the afternoon, velocity increased and shifted left which made for a different race course with lots of time on starboard.

“I started strong in the beginning of the day then had a few misfortunes with some unforced errors, a protest, and my mainsheet breaking on the last race which redress was not given for. Everyone from College Sailing, the race committee, and the competitors made for an excellent day of sailing.”

On the second day of ICSA Singlehanded Nationals, competitors experienced conditions starting around 8-10 kts out of the Southeast. In the ILCA 6 fleet, Sophia Montgomery ‘25 of Harvard University won with a total of 58 points. Hallie Schiffman ‘23 finished second with a total of 73 points. Christine Reimer ‘24 finished third with a total of 74 points.

“I had lots of fun sailing this weekend!” Sophia Montgomery said. “Great conditions and an awesome fleet. There were definitely some ups and downs, but I’m super stoked to come out with the win!”

In the ILCA 7 fleet, Chapman Petersen ‘26 of Stanford University won with a total of 64 points. Leo Boucher ‘23 of St. Mary’s College of Maryland finished second with a total of 72 points. Richard McCann ‘23 of University of Miami finished third with a total of 73 points.

“It was great to come back to Norfolk again for a laser regatta,” Chapman Petersen said. “We were incredibly lucky to have beautiful sailing conditions for November – eight to fifteen knots with temperatures in the 70s both days. I was able to improve starting and downwinds throughout the regatta which allowed me to stay consistent enough to keep a small lead throughout the event.

“Big shout out to Leo, Conner, Marshall, and Nick for all the incredible fights at the front of the fleet. Honestly my favorite part of the event is how close our whole ILCA 7 fleet is; we’ve all been sailing against each other for years and while very competitive on the water, it was also very fun to spend time with all my friends off the water as well.”