NWICSA News


MIT Wins Gill College Sailing Coed National Championship


NORFOLK, V.A. (June 1, 2018) – Today was the last day of the Gill Coed National Championship. This is the final of three high caliber spring college sailing national championships that were run on the Elizabeth River, hosted by Old Dominion University. After four days of challenging conditions and competition the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has won the national title and the Henry A. Morss Memorial Trophy.
 
The sailors arrived to very little wind this morning and had a slight delay before racing began in about 5-8 knots from the southwest. It was a hot and sunny day and the winds did lighten up off and on, so the sailors had some more delays through the day and a wind shift to the northwest.

There was another long delay midday, but the race committee tried again to get the sailors out for at least another race, however the wind did not cooperate, and the day ended with two races in each division to make the regatta total 14 races. The race committee tried up until the deadline, but called the racing just before 5 p.m.
 
The competitors sailed in FJs and Z420s on windward-leeward courses. Principal Race Officer, Gary Bodie, and his team did the best they could with the conditions today - a dying shifting breeze.
 
MIT stayed on top of the leader board for the two days of the Finals and beat the defending champions College of Charleston. The Henry A. Morss Memorial Trophy was donated by a group of nationally known yachtsmen as a memorial to Henry A. Morss, a Boston yachtsman and 1907 Bermuda Race winner, as well as an MIT alumnus and benefactor.

The top teams in this regatta were consistent and close throughout the event, but MIT separated from the pack early on and held their place at the top of the fleet. Both the A-division and B-division sailors won their fleets and were 57 points overall ahead of second place.

“We were able to make comebacks when we didn’t’ start well and when we did we were able to capitalize on boat speed,” says Matt Lindblad, head coach for MIT. “ This group of sailors is exceptional, all of the team members are. They are able to make a commitment to sailing with their most rigorous academics. Sailing is one beat behind academics for these guys.”

“Our goal this year was to win this Nationals,” says Lindblad. “It was the first thing we talked about this year and we thought we could do it. We knew it would not be easy, but we hoped this is where we would be at the end of the season.”
 
“Hard work, skill and some luck played a part,” he says. “We are definitely feeling good. We have been through heart break and success together so this is the perfect culmination of the positive attitude everyone has had.”

It has been 57 years since MIT last won this championship, in 1961.
 
Sailing for MIT was: Ty Ingram '18, Sameena Shaffeeullah '19 and Greta Farrell '18 in A-division and Trevor Long '19, Julia Cho '20, Greta Farrell '18 and Marcus Abate '20 in B-division.

College of Charleston finished in second place, which they held throughout the Finals. They finished just two points ahead of third place overall and won the Oxford University Trophy.
 
The Oxford University Trophy is awarded to the second place team in the Gill Coed Dinghy National Championship. The Oxford University Yacht Club team and its captain Jeremy Thomas presented this trophy in 1954 on the occasion of the first of a continuing series of college regattas between British and North American teams held alternately in the United States and Great Britain every two years.
 
Sailing for Charleston was: Stefano Peschiera '18 and Grace McCarthy '18 in A-division and Augie Dale '19 and Katherine Lounsbury '20 in B-division.

Georgetown University finished in third place, moving ahead of Hobart and William Smith Colleges today by one point winning the Metropolitan Sailing League Trophy, which was first presented in 1971.
 
“Today was a super hot day, so we kept the sailors under the tent and hydrated, but it was a mental challenge to stay focused all day,” says Mike Callahan, head coach for Georgetown. “Our A-division was really consistent and sailed well and I am really happy with their performance. Our B-division had some younger sailors who rose to the occasion and I am proud of their sailing.”
 
“What kept us in the races was good starts, getting off the line clean and out in the top of the fleet so we could use good tactics and boat speed,” says Callahan.

Sailing for Georgetown was: Sean Segerblom '20 and Meaghan MacRae '18 in A-division and William Logue '20 and Caroline Teare '21 in B-division.
 
The Robert Allan, Sr. and Robert Allan, Jr. Trophies are awarded to the low point "A" and "B" teams, respectively, in the Gill Coed Dinghy National Championship. Ty Ingram '18, Sameena Shaffeeullah '19 and Greta Farrell '18 won A-division from MIT with 73 points, 16 points ahead of second place. Trevor Long '19, Julia Cho '20, Greta Farrell '18 and Marcus Abate '20 won B-division with 63 points, 15 points ahead of second place.

Final Overall Results (14 races)
1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 136
2. College of Charleston, 193
3. Georgetown University, 195
4. Hobart and William Smith Colleges, 196
5. Stanford University, 225
6. Roger Williams University, 234
7. Yale University, 248
8. George Washington University, 253
9. Old Dominion University, 273
10. U.S. Naval Academy, 276
11. University of Rhode Island, 286
12. U.S. Coast Guard Academy, 293
13. Dartmouth College, 294
14. St. Mary’s College of Maryland, 303
15. Boston College, 314
16. University of California Santa Barbara, 353
17. University of South Florida, 356
18. Eckerd College, 364

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 and LaserPerformance, streaming from the event website.
 
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”.