RALEIGH, N.C, OCTOBER 9, 2018 – Week 5's outstanding performance by South Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association sailors is a case of déjà vu as we witnessed another dominant performance from College of Charleston sailors Alie Toppa and Annabel Carrington, who were named SAISA Week 4 Sailors of the Week. This week, the pair was nominated and selected for winning the A-fleet division at the Stu Nelson Women's Showcase Regatta hosted by Connecticut College. Toppa and Carrington finished the regatta with a 13 point lead over Yale. The Cougars' experience and acumen in current proved beneficial in a strong Thames River ebbing tide and their A-division win helped propel the College of Charleston to second place overall in the regatta.
In co-ed sailing, SAISA recognizes College of Charleston offshore sailor William Comerford who led his team to a five-race "picket fence" win in the J/105 class of the Storm Trysail Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta held at Larchmont, NY this past weekend. With Comerford at the helm, the Cougars team of Key Becker, William Hundahl, Graham Post, Frances Schulte, and Samuel Tobio secured the lead and went wire-to-wire to win their class and deliver the best performance of any of the nearly 50 collegiate teams in the competition across six one-design and PHRF divisions.
This week, SAISA would also like to recognize women's offshore sailor Katie Lawless of Vanderbilt University. Lawless, a Larchmont, New York native, skippered the aptly-named Commodores to a second-place finish in the very competitive J/105 class at the Storm Trysail Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta. With local knowledge and experience in both keelboat and dinghy racing, the Vanderbilt team captain kept her squad in the mix and delivered improving finishes throughout the event as well as a five-point lead over third-placed Webb Institute. Together with teammates Blake Andreou, William Franke, Chris Keller, Maddi Nystrom, and Harrison Vandervort, Lawless continues to strengthen Vanderbilt's presence in collegiate offshore racing.
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