Navy wins College Coed Nationals

Annapolis, MD (June 8, 2021) – The US Naval Academy won the 2021 College Coed National Championship, sweeping through the final six races today to claim the title.

Beginning in light shifty winds from the south west, but slowly filling in to twelve knots by the end of the day, the Midshipmen were led by Joseph Hermus ’22 and Kimmie Leonard ’22 which finished second in A Division while Connor Bayless ’21 and Fiona Lobon ’22 were third in B Division.

Topping A Division was Alfonso Garcia Bringas ’21 and Logan Brickhouse ’21 of Jacksonville University and Stanford’s Michelle Lahrkamp ’23 and Sammy Pickell ’22 won B Division.

This was the second national title for Navy after they won the 2021 Team Race Nationals on June 2-3.

With 18 races held June 7-8 on the Severn River in FJs and Z420s on windward-leeward courses, Navy held onto their first place lead throughout the regatta to win the Henry A. Morss Memorial Trophy. Navy last won this title in 1995.

“Winning today is an amazing feeling,” says Ian Burman, head coach for Navy. “Going into the season we thought we could accomplish a lot, but to win today and the Team Race Nationals is amazing and I am so proud of the team. Every time we thought we would pull ahead we would have a little set back and it was closer than we hoped, but we are so happy to pull it [the win] off.

“Stanford and Jacksonville came on strong today, but luckily we had a cushion. We tried to sail conservatively and hold onto the lead, sometimes it was too conservative and we were focused on Charleston, which also allowed Stanford and Jacksonville to catch up.

“But to be able to win is awesome and we could not have done it without all the help from volunteers, local clubs, coaches, the Navy athletic department and midshipman.”

Stanford University finished in second place after moving up from third place yesterday and in a tight battle won the Oxford University Trophy.

“Michelle [Lahrkamp] and I didn’t keep track of the scores,” says Sammy Pickell a junior, who sailed in B-division for Stanford. “There were three women’s pairings in the top three and we wanted to stay ahead of the guys! We focused on controlling the fleet – especially when the wind picked up today and it was less about boat speed – we wanted to get off the starting line well and sail where we wanted.

“We were told with one race to go that we had won B-division, we were so excited to not only win, but be a women’s team in a coed regatta.”

Sailing for Stanford was: Telis Athanasopoulos Yogo ’22 and Patricia Gerli ’23 in A-division and Michelle Lahrkamp ’23 and Sammy Pickell ’22 in B-division. Pickell sailed in all three national championships this spring.

Jacksonville University finished in third place, just five points ahead of Georgetown University in fourth. Jacksonville was in fourth place after yesterday’s racing, but fought hard with a number of top three finishes today to stay ahead of the College of Charleston and Georgetown University.

“Third place was hard fought,” says Jon Faudree, head coach for Jacksonville. “We tried to just take it one race at a time and one start at a time. Being outside of the podium going into racing today I think helped relieve some of the pressure.

“We have worked on consistency, over the last five years with Alfonso Garcia Bringas in particular and I couldn’t be more proud of him. Logan Brickhouse has also only been sailing for two years and is such a naturally talented sailor.

“We practiced for the light air and chop at Florida Yacht Club but practicing in it and executing in it is another story. It’s not the conditions we like, but we did it. Our team is finishing it’s eighth year as a team and I am so grateful to the small group of alumni we have and those who took a chance on the unknown sport. Having assistant coaching has helped us get to this level too – I’m very grateful.”

Sailing for Jacksonville was: Alfonso Garcia Bringas ’21 and Logan Brickhouse ’21 in A-division and Telmo Basterra ’21, Charlotte Rose ’22, Mia Porter ’22 and Grace Benzal ’23 in B-division.

The Fowle Trophy, which recognizes the best overall collegiate team based on a calculation that includes results from all the national championship regattas, is awarded to the College of Charleston which won Women’s Nationals and was third in Team Race Nationals. This is the fifth time that Charleston has won this honor in the last ten years (2012, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2021).

UPDATE: This report initially stated that Charleston had won the Fowle Trophy three years in a row, but it was Yale which won it in 2019, and it was not awarded in 2020 due to the pandemic.

Event information – Scores – Facebook

Competing Teams
Boston College – Newton, MA
Brown University – Providence, RI
College of Charleston – Charleston, SC
George Washington University – Washington, DC
Georgetown University – Washington, DC
Hobart & William Smith Colleges – Geneva, NY
Jacksonville University – Jacksonville, FL
North Carolina State – Raleigh, NC
Roger Williams University – Bristol, RI
St. Mary’s College – St. Mary’s City, MD
Stanford University – Stanford, CA
Tulane University – New Orleans, LA
University of California Santa Barbara – Santa Barbara, CA
University of Oregon – Eugene, OR
University of Rhode Island – South Kingstown, RI
US Coast Guard Academy – New London, CT
US Merchant Marine Academy – Kings Point, NY
US Naval Academy – Annapolis, MD

The 2021 Women’s Nationals, won by the College of Charleston, was held May 19-20, while the US Naval Academy won the 2021 Team Race Nationals on June 2-3.

Final Results:

Source: ICSA, Scuttlebutt