ICSA News


College of Charleston Leads Day One of LaserPerformance College Sailing Team Race Nationals


NORFOLK, V.A. (May 26, 2018) – Today was the first day of racing for the LaserPerformance College Sailing Team Race National Championship on the Elizabeth River hosted Old Dominion University. Sixteen of the best college teams across the nation qualified to compete in this event for the Walter C. Wood Trophy, awarded to the winning team.
 
Racing got underway around 10 a.m. under party cloudy skies and 85 degrees. It warmed up quickly to about 90 degrees. The winds built to about 13-17 knots from the southwest. It was hiking conditions for a lot of the day.

The format for this event is a series of round robins. In the first round all sixteen teams race each other once. This round determines places 9-16. The top eight teams then advance to a single round robin, which determines places 5-8. The top four remaining teams advance to a “final four” another single round to determine places 1-4.
 
There are a number of people who contribute to the success of this event on the water including the umpire team who evaluates all of the racing on the water. The Chief Umpire is Christine Accatella and her fellow Umpires include: Jeff Borland, Carrie Greene, Sandy Grosvner, Brian McDonald, Glenn Oliver, Rob Overton, Vicky Sodaro, John Pratt, Rick Sullivan, Steve Wrigley, Steven Wolfe, Estebarn Forrer and Darden Purrington.

The competitors made it through a total of 96 races today and there are 24 races to go in the first round for a total of 120 races. The competitors sailed on a digital N course, which has a windward mark, a windward offset mark rounded to starboard and then down to a leeward mark with another leeward offset rounded to port and finish upwind. The N course allows for long upwind and downwind legs – prime for team racing. The sailors are racing in both FJs and Z420s.
 
There was one breakdown in race 87, which resulted in a re-sail at the end of the day.

Each team has two or three more races to go in the first round robin, so there is a little room for teams to move on the scoreboard. Every race is important, as the level of team racing is so high among the teams.
 
College of Charleston is sitting in first place with a record of 12-1, and their one loss was to Georgetown University. They have the same score as Roger Williams University in second place, but Charleston beat Roger Williams when they raced each other, so they win the tiebreaker.

“We were sailing fast today, we are confident with out boat speed,” says Ward Cromwell, head coach for Charleston. “We want to have good starts and stay out of foul trouble – we don’t want to be over early and not have all our boats in the race.”
 
“Our first race with Georgetown [that we lost] was a wake up call, so it was good to finish the day strong with a win against Boston College,” says Cromwell. “We will go out and execute tomorrow, there are 12 races left for us against tough competition.”

Sailing for Charleston is: Christophe Killian '18, Elizabeth Pemberton '18, Augie Dale '19, Katherine Lounsbury '20, Stefano Peschiera '18 and Grace McCarthy '18.
 
Roger Williams is in second place, with a record of 12-1. Their one loss was to Charleston.
 
“We got off to a slow start today, Nationals is a different and competitive level and we had to be prepared for the aggressiveness of the teams,” says Sean Bouchard, assistant coach for Roger Williams. “We got into a rhythm and maybe won some raced we shouldn’t have, but the team has been sailing together for a while and they are all comfortable with each other.”

“We will take it one race at a time and use the same approach we used today,” says. Bouchard. “Coincidentally we practiced in really similar conditions to what we saw today.”
 
Sailing for Roger Williams is: Mackenzie Bryan '18, Jennifer Agell '19, Martim Anderson '18, Rebecca Anderson '18, Conner Harding '19 and Michael McBrien '18.
 
Hobart and William Smith Colleges is in third place with a record of 11-1, losing a race to Yale University, the defending champs of this event.
 
Sailing for Hobart and William Smith is: Greiner Hobbs '18, Kyle Easton '20, Charles Miller '19, Maya Weber '20, Hector Guzman '20, Russell Merchant '19 and Lindsey Kloc '19.
 
The first warning for racing tomorrow is at 10 a.m. The race committee will aim to complete the first round robin and move into the next round of racing with the top eight teams.

Day One Results (wins and losses)
1. College of Charleston, 12-1*
2. Roger Williams University, 12-1**
3. Hobart and William Smith Colleges, 11-1
4. Yale University, 10-2
5. Boston College, 9-3*
6. Georgetown University, 9-3**
7. Stanford University, 7-5
8. George Washington University, 6-6
9. Dartmouth College, 5-6
10. University of South Florida, 4-8*
11. Cornell University, 4-8**
12. University of California at Santa Barbara, 3-8
13. University of Wisconsin, 2-10
14. University of Michigan, 1-11b
14. Texas A&M University at Galveston, 1-11b
16. University of Washington, 0-12
*Number of races won when tied teams met (1)
**Number of races won when tied teams met (0)
b Tie stands

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 continue 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.

Additional social media updates will be available throughout the events on the regatta website.
 
Follow the events via the regatta app from US Sailing, learn how to sign up here:ICSA Nationals App
  
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”.