Singlehanded titles at College Nationals

Daniel Escudero ‘25 of the Webb Institute and Sophia Montgomery ’25 of Harvard University won the 2024 College Sailing Open and Women’s Singlehanded National Championships held November 9-10 in St. Petersburg, FL.

With 18 boats in each fleet, the breeze on Tampa Bay started light and shifty out of the East and stayed that way for most of the eight races held on day one.

Gilda Dondona ‘28 from Cornell University, and Montgomery ended the day tied for the lead with 35 points, 16 points ahead of 2023 women’s national champion Katharine Doble ‘26 of Brown University. Montgomery’s Harvard Crimson teammate Kate Danielson ‘28 ended the day in third with 44 points.

In the open fleet, Martins Atilla ‘27 from Brown University ended the day with 31 points, seven points ahead of Escudero in second place, and 18 points in front of Mathias Reimer ‘27 of Yale University.

“These were challenging conditions,” said Montgomery’s coach Bern Noack. “Competitors were forced to adjust to the race and play to their strengths. The sailors needed to be good through the range of conditions.”

The changing conditions on day two contributed to a scoreline shakeup as the breeze and sea state picked up. A third place at the start of the day gave Escudero the momentum needed to secure and hold the top spot with three races left in the series. Meanwhile, Montgomery’s consistent top-five finishes carried into the second day and secured her lead.

“I’m really happy to come away with the win,” said Montgomery. “Having to be consistent through a variety of different wind conditions helped me stay in it.”

Escudero’s win is the first college sailing National Championship for the Webb Institute, according to Techscore. Results in Techscore, the scoring software used in college sailing, go back as far as 2008.

“I’m incredibly proud,” said Escudero. “ [A win like] this doesn’t come often for Webb and I couldn’t have done it without their support.”

In 2024, Escudero had also won the ILCA 7 North American Championship while Montgomery represented Thailand at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Janet Lutz Trophy–Women’s Championship
1. Sophia Montgomery ’25, Harvard University
2. Gilda Dondona ’28, Cornell University
3. Okyanus Arikan ’26, University of Rhode Island

Details: https://singlehanded.collegesailing.org/events/2024-womens-singlehanded

Glen S. Foster Trophy–Open Championship
1. Daniel Escudero ’25, Webb Institute
2. Guthrie Braun ’26, Brown University
3. Mathias Reimer ’27, Yale University

Details: https://singlehanded.collegesailing.org/events/2024-open-singlehanded

2024-25 Season

Fall National Championships:
November 9-10: Women’s and Open Singlehanded Nationals – St Petersburg, FL
November 15-17: Match Race Nationals – Oyster Bay, NY

Spring National Championships:
Open Team Race Nationals
Women’s Team Race Nationals
Women’s Dinghy Nationals
Open Dinghy Nationals

Source: ICSA