Top 18 on to Women’s Dinghy Nationals
Published on May 21st, 2024
After two days of intense racing (May 20-21) on the Charles River, Yale University emerged victorious in the Western division and Stanford University claimed the Eastern division at the 2024 College Women’s National Semi-Finals. The event is hosted by Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University in Boston, MA.
The final day of the Semi-Finals presented challenging conditions, with a long postponement while waiting for the breeze to establish from the southwest. On the previous day, the sailors contended with a 4-9 knot easterly wind. Eighteen teams competed in both divisions, with the top nine advancing to the Finals on May 22-23.
“It was great to get two totally different days on the Charles and take those lessons on to the finals,” noted Yale Associate Head Coach Bill Healy. “The first day was about as steady as the Charles can get, while day two was quite shifty.”
In the Eastern Semi-Finals, Stanford University was firmly in the lead after the first day with only 69 points, followed by Cornell University with 132 points. Brown University and the US Naval Academy were tied for fourth with 172 points each.
Over in the Western Semi-Finals, Yale University mirrored Stanford’s dominance, holding a strong lead with 98 points. Boston College was in second place with 120 points, and Dartmouth trailed with 130 points.
Day one ended with twelve races in each division, with three protests heard—one disallowed and two resulting in disqualifications. By the end of the Semi-Finals and five more races, Stanford led their division with 116 points, and Yale secured first place with 132 points. The top nine teams from each division advance to the finals starting tomorrow.
“We learned so much these past two days and are grateful to the race committee and umpires for putting on a great regatta in some challenging conditions,” said Stanford’s Gwendolyn Donahue ’24. “It was wonderful to see our team coming together, and we look forward to continuing to work hard in the finals.”
Eastern results: https://scores.collegesailing.org/s24/east-national-women-semi-final/
Western results: https://scores.collegesailing.org/s24/west-womens-national-semi-finals/
Finals details: https://scores.collegesailing.org/s24/women-dinghy-national/
Women’s Fleet Race National Championship: May 20-23
• Women’s Semi-Finals at MIT and Harvard: May 20-21
• Women’s Finals at MIT: May 22-23
Open Fleet Race National Championship – May 24-27
• Open Semi-Finals at MIT and Harvard: May 24-25
• Open Finals at Harvard: May 26-27
Stanford University will seek to defend their 2023 titles as champions of both the Open and Women’s Fleet Race National Championships.
• Women’s Nationals: https://nationals.collegesailing.org/events/2024-womens-fleet-racing
• Open Nationals: https://nationals.collegesailing.org/events/2024-open-fleet-racing
2023-24 Season
Fall National Championships:
November 3-5: Match Race Nationals – Charleston, SC
November 11-12: Women’s and Open Singlehanded Nationals – New Orleans, LA
Spring National Championships:
April 25-27: Open Team Race Nationals – Boston, MA
April 28-29: Women’s Team Race Nationals – Boston, MA
May 20-23: Women’s Dinghy Nationals – Boston, MA
May 24-27: Open Dinghy Nationals – Boston, MA