NEISA News


Top 18 Teams Advance in Gill College Sailing Coed Nationals


NORFOLK, V.A. (May 30, 2018) – Today was the second and final day of the Semifinals for the Gill Coed National Championship, hosted by Old Dominion University. The top 36 college sailing teams in the nation have been sailing on the Elizabeth River in front of the Old Dominion Sailing Center, for 18 spots in the championship Finals, which begin tomorrow, Thursday, May 31. The top nine teams from each of the Semifinal fleets make up the 18 teams who qualify to compete in the finals.
 
Today racing started around 10:30 a.m. The sailors were delayed on land while the race committee waited for wind to fill in. A light northerly breeze came in under cloudy skies. The temperature stayed around 80 degrees. The competitors are sailing in FJs and Z420s on windward-leeward courses with 3 and 4 and legs.
 
The race officials got off as many races as they could with the conditions and time restriction. The conditions improved as the day progressed with the wind strong enough for hiking at times. By the end of the day the wind shifted more east-northeast. The competitors completed 5 races in both fleets for a total of nine races in the regatta.

In the Eastern fleet Hobart and William Smith Colleges held onto their lead from yesterday, finishing with 71 points. Roger Williams moved up to second from third place yesterday with 98 points. Yale University finished in third just one point behind Yale. Notable in the Eastern fleet is that the University of California Santa Barbara moved up to ninth place today to qualify for the finals.

Sailing for Hobart and William Smith Colleges is: Greiner Hobbs '18 with Lindsey Kloc '19 in A-division and Hector Guzman '20 with Maya Weber '20 in B-division.
 
In the Western fleet Boston College finished in first place, moving up from third place yesterday with 85 points. Dartmouth College finished in second only one point behind Boston College. The University of South Florida finished third with 96 points.
 
“It was difficult at times to discern how long a shift would hold, like we have seen on the course before in these events,” says Greg Wilkinson, head coach for Boston College. “We aimed to start clean and sail fast, which we did.”

“Tomorrow is a brand new regatta,” says Wilkinson. “We have been practicing a lot and hope to perform. We have a strong team, but there are also a lot of strong teams here. This is what our sailors have worked for and it is great to go out and compete against the best college sailors.
 
Sailing for Boston College is: Charles Sinks '18, Sophia Reineke '21, Alice Bohan '18 and Lily McGrath '18 in A-division and Wade Waddell '19, Isabella Loosbrock '19, Katharine Bowman '20 and Emma Perry '19 in B-division.

The scoreboard is wiped clean for the Gill College Sailing Coed National Championship Finals tomorrow. The first warning for racing is at 10 a.m. The top 18 teams will be competing for the national title and the Henry A. Morss Memorial Trophy for the next two days.
 
Top Nine Eastern Semifinals Final Results (9 races):
1. Hobart and William Smith Colleges, 71
2. Roger Williams University, 98
3. Yale University, 99
4. U.S. Naval Academy, 109
5. College of Charleston, 114
6. Old Dominion University, 121
7. George Washington University, 127
8. U.S. Coast Guard Academy, 153
9. University of California Santa Barbara, 173

Top Nine Western Semifinal Final Results (9 races):
1. Boston College, 85
2. Dartmouth College, 86
3. University of South Florida, 96
4. Georgetown University, 103
5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 113
6. Stanford University, 120
7. University of Rhode Island, 127
8. St. Mary’s College of Maryland, 134
9. Eckerd College, 158 

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 for both days of the 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”.