Today was the first day of the Gill College Sailing Coed National Championship Semifinals hosted by Brown University with support from Dartmouth College and the New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association (NEISA). Host site Sail Newport Sailing Center in Fort Adams State Park is where the top 36 college sailing teams in the nation are vying for 18 spots in the championship finals, which will begin on Thursday, May 30.
The semifinals are divided into two fleets, an Eastern and Western, each with 18 teams. The top nine teams from each fleet will advance to the finals on Thursday. The sailors are racing on windward leeward courses in FJs and Z420s. Today the Eastern fleet sailed FJs and the Western fleet sailed Z420s. The fleets will switch boats tomorrow.
The day started with some sun and winds from an easterly direction. The wind shifted around to the southeast and in the afternoon clouds and some rain came in. The winds averaged around 8-14 knots. The sailors were able to complete eight races in each division in each fleet today. There are 10 races left in the semifinal series.
St. Mary’s College of Maryland, Stanford University and Brown University in the Eastern fleet swapped places in the top three most of the day. Their scores are close, but the day ended up with St. Mary’s on top 13 points ahead of Brown in second, who is only three points ahead of Stanford in third place.
“Our team was excited to get sailing today,” says Adam Werblow, head coach for St. Mary’s. “The players have been sailing a lot of practice races, but not real races. Our coeds were inspired by the women’s team, who sailed the best they have all year in the Sperry Women’s National Championship. It boosted their confidence.”
“I think all of the teams are hoping to jump through this first hoop to make it to the next round,” says Werblow.
Sailing for St. Mary’s is: Liam McCarthy '19 with Kate Bjerregaard '19 and Kaisey McCallion '19 in A-division and Leo Boucher '22 with Lydia McPherson-Shambarger '19 in B-division.
Hobart and William Smith Colleges is leading the Western fleet, 18 points ahead of second place team College of Charleston. Five points behind Charleston is Yale University in third place.
“I thought we were fast in the breeze and in the conditions today,” says Scott Ikle, head coach for Hobart and William Smith Colleges. “We were able to get out in front and it’s a lot easier to race when you are in front, it’s really hard to gain from the middle of the fleet.”
“We had the right combinations in our boats today and the conditions were to our liking,” says Ikle. “Tomorrow the forecast is for different conditions and we will also have different crews sailing.”
Sailing for Hobart and William Smith is: Hector Guzman '20 with Jake Vickers '22 in A-division and Charles Miller '19 with Aidan Morgan '21 in B-division.
The first warning for racing is at 10 a.m. tomorrow. No race can start after 5 p.m. By the end of the day the top 18 teams will be determined and racing will move onto the finals.
Top Nine Eastern Semifinals (8 races):
1. St. Mary’s College of Maryland, 78
2. Brown University, 91
3. Stanford University, 94
4. Bowdoin College, 103
5. U.S. Naval Academy, 107
6. Dartmouth College, 109
7. Jacksonville University, 116
8. Boston University, 118
9. Tufts University, 124
Top Nine Western Semifinal (8 races):
1. Hobart and William Smith Colleges, 56
2. College of Charleston, 74
3. Yale University, 79
4. Boston College, 80
5. Georgetown University, 94
6. U.S. Coast Guard Academy, 102
7. Connecticut College, 116
8. Old Dominion University, 127
9. University of Pennsylvania, 153
To learn more about the teams competing in all of the events and to follow the racing and results visit the event website: https://2019nationals.collegesailing.org/
Dan Egan, of Degan Media, will provide some live coverage during the events, presenting sponsor is US Sailing and supporting sponsor of the live coverage is LaserPerformance, streaming from the event website.
Coed: May 29, full day coverage; May 30, full day coverage; May 31, full day coverage and awards; June 3, release of Coed recap.
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.
Rob Migliaccio will be providing photos for these events.
Contact: Jennifer Mitchell |Toile à Voile for ICSA | media@collegesailing.org | 970-216-7072 m.
The ICSA sponsors and partners through the 2018-19 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” and “The 2019 College Sailing Live Coverage Presented by US Sailing”. Professional Boats (www.professionalboats.com/), official sponsor of the 2019 ICSA Spring National Championships.