Winter reigns on as the College Sailing spring season continues in MAISA and SAISA. The St. Mary’s Team Race at St. Mary’s College in Maryland, The Navy Spring Women’s at The US Naval Academy and the John Jackson Memorial Team Race at Georgetown University were all sailed in frigid condition while the Charleston Coed Regatta was sailed in Charleston.
The St. Mary’s Team Race featured many of the projected top team race teams, including the Boston College Eagles who made their team racing debut in victory. Boasting a 10-2 record, a presumptive National Final Four team, The Eagles showed up to the scene in a big way. All indications show that this team is ready to challenge Yale University for the top spot in NEISA. Boston College started Erika Reineke (‘17), Harry Koeppel (‘17) and Charles “Scotty” Sinks (‘18) at the helm with Hannah Lynn (‘17), Tara Ferraris (‘19), Lily McGrath (‘18), Peter Lynn (‘19), Allison Ferraris (‘17) and Fiona Walsh (‘17) crewing by committee.
Finishing in a close second at the aforementioned event was the Navy Midshipmen. A final four team at the Bob Bavier Team Race the following week, Navy has started their season off strong. In a conference that appears wide open, Navy looks to be a legitimate contender for the MAISA Team Race crown. Dillon Paiva, Assistant coach at the Naval Academy, had this to say of the regatta.
“St. Mary’s team race was brutally cold but an excellent regatta as always. Uncooperative wind forced the race committee to abandon the second round robin half way through and go straight to a final four. Most teams got in fifteen or so races on the weekend even if the scores didn’t show it. It was good to get a look at some of the NEISA schools and I’m sure they liked the chance to finally get on the water. Happy with a second place finish, but still lots to clean up during our spring break trip in charleston this week.”
Hobart and William Smith Colleges squeezed into third with 7.5 wins, just ahead of fourth place George Washington Colonials who had 7 wins.
Around the corner at the Naval Academy, the Navy Spring Women’s Interconference was sailed. The Stanford Cardinals finished first overall at the event with 177 points after twelve races sailed in each division, despite two OCSs littering the scorecard. The Coast Guard Academy Bears finished second overall with 182 points while the Yale University Bulldogs finished 3rd overall with 183 points.
Greer Wattson (‘17) of St. Mary’s College, sailing with Grace Papp (‘19) and Elizabeth Dinnison (‘17), finished 1st in A-Division with 71 points, while Sophomore, Martina Sly and Freshman, Madeline Bubb from Stanford finished first in B-Division with 66 points.
The young ladies in B-Division for the Cardinal sailed extremely strong in heavy breeze throughout the event, finishing with five races in the top three. Their low point score helped stave off a charging Coast Guard Bear team that surged once the breeze dropped on Sunday. The impressive second place finish, behind a 22-point-Sunday performance by Dana Rohde, shows the depth of the Coast Guard Women’s team as the defending National Champions. Coast Guard’s head coach, Brian Swingly said, when asked about the Bear’s performance, “with so many competitors sailing well across a range of conditions, the regatta came down to the final few races. Several teams were in contention to take home the win. We put on a late charge and were happy to get back to second after being in ninth to start the day. Stanford sailed a great series and are showing their strength early in the season.”
In SAISA, the Charleston Spring Coed Regatta was sailed at The College of Charleston. The Harvard University Crimson won in tight fashion over Georgetown. Harvard finished with 175 total points, while Georgetown tallied 179. The Boston University Terriers rounded off the top three overall with 205 points. Will Logue, a freshman from Georgetown won A-Division with Jack Crystler (‘20) and Albert Kraus (‘17), totalling 72 points throughout 17 races. The Hoya A-Division only recorded one race outside the top-8. The future at Georgetown looks very bright today.
Harvard’s Nicholas Karnovsky (‘19) with Julia Lord (‘17), Kevin Coakley (‘18) and Jessica Williams (‘20) finished tied for first in B-Division with Charleston’s Gerald Williams (‘19), Payton Alexander (‘19) and Kelly-Ann Arrindell (‘20). The two teams finished with 95 points through 17 races.
Georgetown University won the John Jackson Memorial Team Race with a 9-1 record. The US Coast Guard Academy Bears finished second and The Connecticut College Camels third with 7-3 and 6-4 records respectively.
“John Jackson was one of the best kids we have ever had on our team. He was a walk on and he got very good at sailing. He did it to have fun with his friends and while he was part of some great championship teams John had fun whether we won or lost. When we lost him in a tragic accident it was a big blow to all of his. He was larger than life and we are proud to have a regatta named after him so we can keep him in our thoughts. The goal of the JTJ team race is to go out and sail and have fun and win or lose enjoy the time spent competing with your team.” – Georgetown University Head Coach, Mike Callahan.
