ICSA News


Massachusetts Institute of Technology Leads the First Day of the Sperry Women’s College Sailing National Championship Finals


NORFOLK, V.A. (May 24, 2018) – The Sperry Women’s National Championship continued today on the Elizabeth River, hosted by Old Dominion University. Eighteen collegiate teams advanced from the previous two days of competition in the Semifinals to make it to the Finals racing. The teams are vying for the national title and the Gerald C. Miller Trophy.
 
Racing got underway around 10 a.m. and the temperatures heated up into the 80s under sunny skies. The winds were from the north and northeast today, which is different from the previous two days of racing and it brought a variety of conditions. At times the wind was light around 4-6 knots and at others it was steady around 8-12 knots.

Another big factor in the conditions today was the current. It developed a strong current line in the later afternoon and for the last two races or so, the sailors really had to take it into account on the course.
 
Today A and B divisions sailed 12 races in Z420s and FJs on windward leeward courses with four legs. Racing wrapped up at around 5:30 pm and only one protest was filed that was disallowed. There are six races left in each division to complete the regatta.

The variety in the conditions today also brought varied scores. The top four teams moved around on the scoreboard and the College of Charleston, Boston College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Hobart and William Smith Colleges kept switching spots until MIT took the lead in the seventh race of the day and held onto it for the rest of the day’s racing.
 
Sailing for MIT is Annie Hughes '19 and Tiffany Xi '19 in A-division and Emily Haig '21 and Greta Farrell '18 in B-division.
 
Charleston finished the day in second place, only 4 points behind MIT.

“We experienced peaks and valleys in our racing today,” says Mitch Hall, assistant coach for Charleston, “It shows how competitive the fleet is and how challenging the conditions were. There were pressure and current lines that the women had to keep their eyes out for.”
 
“Our boat handling and boat speed is good, so we are looking for consistency and maybe some more consistent conditions tomorrow,” says Hall. “The women sailed really well, but we made some mistakes, so we will minimize errors tomorrow.”

“This group of women is one of the most easy going groups I have ever coached, so they don’t show the pressure they may feel in the racing,” says Hall, “They have a lot of fun and keep it light and happy.”
 
Sailing for Charleston is Alie Toppa '20 and Annabel Carrington '19 in A-division and Paris Henken '19 and Liza Toppa '20 in B-division.
 
Boston College is sitting in third place 14 points behind Charleston.

“We are feeling pretty good,” says Greg Wilkinson, head coach for Boston College, “We work all year to be in the fight at Nationals and we are in it. The girls may not have felt that they had a stellar day at the end of the day, but they were passing boats all day and that’s all we can ask for.”
 
“It was a long day with a lot of different conditions,” says Wilkinson. “And one thing we learned from the last two days of racing is that the conditions were changing a lot, so we got used to the idea of change and keeping heads out of the boat.”
 
Sailing for Boston College is Isabella Loosbrock '19 and Emma Perry '19 in A-division and Sophia Reineke '21 and Megan Bamford '18 in B-division.

Racing is set to begin at 10 a.m. tomorrow. No race can begin after 5 p.m. Awards will take place after the racing the top three women’s teams will be presented with the Gerald C. Miller Trophy for first place, the New England Women’s Trophy for second place and the Ann Campbell Trophy for third place. The Quantum Women’s College Sailor of the Year will also be awarded to a female sailor who has consistently performed at the highest competitive level in the 2017-2018 season. Additionally the Women’s All-Americans and All-American Honorable Mentions will be announced.
 
Sperry Women’s Finals, Day 1
1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 156
2. College of Charleston, 160
3. Boston College, 174
4. Hobart and William Smith Colleges, 175
5. Brown University, 179
6. Cornell College, 197
7. U.S. Coast Guard Academy, 199
8. University of Rhode Island, 205
9. Yale University, 210
10. Boston University, 223
11. George Washington University, 240
12. Dartmouth College, 241
13. Connecticut College, 247
14. University of South Florida, 274
15. Stanford University, 281
16.University of Pennsylvania, 302
17. Harvard University, 315
18. Georgetown University, 326

To learn more about the teams competing in all of the events and to follow the racing and results visit the event website: http://2018nationals.collegesailing.org/
 
Dan Egan, of Degan Media, will provide some live coverage during the events sponsored by US Sailing, streaming from the event website. Live coverage will be May 25 for the final day of Women’s, May 27 and 28 for the final round of eight and final four of Team Racing, May 30 for last day of Gill Dinghy Semifinals, and both days of Finals May 31 and June 1.

Follow the events via the regatta app from US Sailing, learn how to sign up here:ICSA Nationals App
 
Additional social media updates will be available throughout the events on the regatta website.
  
Photo Credit: Colin Grey Voight, https://colingreyvoigt.smugmug.com/College-Sailing-Nationals-2018
Facebook and Other Social Media Outlets: Colin Grey Voigt
Instagram: @colingrey

Contact: Jennifer Mitchell |Toile à Voile for ICSA | media@collegesailing.org | 970-216-7072 m.
 
The ICSA sponsors and partners through the 2017-2018 season are: LaserPerformance (www.laserperformance.com), title sponsor of “LaserPerformance Men’s and Women’s Singlehanded National Championship”, title sponsor of “LaserPerformance College Sailing Team Race National Championship” and Official Boat Supplier of the ICSA Spring National Championships. Sperry (www.sperry.com), title sponsor of the “Sperry College Sailing Women’s National Championship”. Gill North American (gillna.com), title sponsor of “The Gill College Sailing National Championship”. Quantum Sail Design Group (www.quantumsails.com), official sponsor of the “Quantum Women’s College Sailor of the Year”. Marlow Ropes (www.marlowropes.com), presenting sponsor of the “Marlow Ropes College Sailor of the Year Award” and “Official Rope of College Sailing”. US Sailing (www.ussailing.org), “The Robert H. Hobbs Sportsman of the Year Sponsored by US Sailing”.