It was a nail-biter of a finale as the 2007 ICSA/Gill Coed National Championship was decided today at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. With 168 points (A division=61; B division=107), the College of Charleston Cougars (Charleston, S.C.) were leading the standings after the first-two days of racing, and, as defending champions, were in position to repeat history. Dartmouth College (Hanover, N.H.) was in pursuit in second with 172 points (A division=102; B division=70), and Day 1 leader UC-Irvine was third with 184 points (A division=92; B division=92). But while the B-Division teams of Dartmouth and fourth-placed Yale University (New Haven, Conn.) were able to bring plenty of pressure to bear, Charleston’s senior skipper Russ O’Reilly (Charleston, S.C.) and junior crew Megan Riddle (Vermillion, Ohio) racked up finishes of 2-9-1-2 over today’s four final races to win A-Division on 75 points for the series – a whopping 36-point margin over Hobart & William Smith Colleges (Geneva, N.Y.) with 111 points. [O’Reilly and Riddle won B-Division at this championship last year, which was the deciding factor in Charleston winning the 2006 title.] This year, the Cougar’s B-Division team of senior skipper Brendan Healy (Arnold, Md.) and sophomore crew Britney Haas (San Diego, Calif.) had a rougher go of it, posting double-digit finishes in three of their final four races. Still, their total 150 points in B-Division was enough to for the Cougar’s to win with 225 combined points – nine points over Dartmouth who ended with 234 (A division=133; B division=101). The College of Charleston becomes the first school in 12 years [since Navy in 93/94/95] to win this championship in back-to-back years. Rounding out the top five standings: Yale, 237 points (A division=161; B division=76) for third place; UC-Irvine, 237 (A-Division 126; B-Division 111) for fourth; and Boston College, 252 points (A-Division=121; B-Division=131) for fifth. Complete results are available here.St. Mary’s laid claim to the other two spring championships, winning the Women’s Dinghy Championship behind the leadership of Quantum Female Sailor of the Year Adrienne Patterson and taking the Team Race Championships just days after. For complete results, click here.For the ICSA All-American list, click here.
