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2026 COLLEGE TEAM RACE RANKINGS #2
ICSA Team Race Rankings #2 Are Out!
You can find the Open rankings HERE and the Women’s Rankings HERE.
Open Rankings
For this edition we welcomed Coach Annabell Carrington from the College of Charleston to our rankings panel, which already consisted of John Mollicone (Brown), Chris Klevan (Stanford), Charles Higgins (Tulane), and Brendan Feeney (Fordham).
On the open side of things, Harvard still sits confidently at the top and has repeatedly been called “the team to beat.” The defending champions just claimed their second win at the Liam O’Keefe Team Race with a 7–0 record. Extremely impressive results. Extremely hard to beat.
No team race ranking is complete without Roger Williams in the mix. Feeney put it best saying, “When I think master-of-the-fundamentals in sports I think of Roger Federer on the court and Roger Williams on the Digital N. From starting, to communication, to boathandling this team makes it their mission to be at or very near the top” of the fleet.
Rounding out the top three in this second edition of the rankings is Stanford. Mollicone noted the team’s recent regatta success saying, “Same team as last year that finished 4th at Open Team Race Nationals. Perfect 10-0 at the Nelson Roltsch at Tulane last weekend against solid Navy, Tulane, and Charleston teams” while Feeney even went so far as to propose them as the possible “fastest team in the country.”
Brown slots in at number four, with the entire panel agreeing that this team is solidly placing itself in the same league as the other top three teams. Do we already know who our final four at nationals will be?
Navy is currently ranked as the top team from MAISA. Carrington notes their strong returning sailors, while Mollicone is expecting great things but is looking to see how the team stacks up within MAISA at the Marchiando.
Charleston from SAISA and Tulane from SEISA are holding their own in the rankings, sitting 7th and 8th respectively. Tulane will even get the benefit of nationals on their home waters this spring.
From MAISA, St. Mary’s is currently ranked 12th, but we’ve seen them improve greatly as the season goes on, especially as teams visit for spring break practices. Another MAISA team, Hobart and William Smith, is making its climb back toward a nationals berth, with Higgins noting that results in the coming weeks will prove just how good this team can be.
Overall, in this second edition of the rankings we can see that the top four teams are distinguishing themselves early on, but for the rest of the fleet there is still a lot in play.
Women’s Rankings
In the women’s fleet it is no surprise that the Stanford women are sitting at the top. Mollicone wonders if this team will “lose a single race this season,” and frankly, so do we.
Brown holds the number two spot and, with a strong open team to practice against, our panel is confident this team will continue to build as the season progresses. With a strong group of returners, their top team finished 2nd in the recent Harvard Women’s Team Race.
Yale is ranked third with Carrington calling them, “a fast group with new starters coming in hot”. Mollicone said, “Despite turning over all of their starting skippers from the past 4 years, they are reloaded and were able to win their first event of the season.”
Georgetown and Cornell sit back-to-back (6th and 7th respectively) in the rankings and will likely battle it out to be MAISA’s top team. This Georgetown team is coming off a win at the ODU Women’s Team Race.
Charleston is looking like the top team from SAISA ranking 9th, but coaches are waiting to see how they perform when they head north for the Dellenbaugh.
There is a lot more sailing to come in the women’s team race calendar, and more interconference events will start to establish what we can expect as teams begin setting their sights on New Orleans.
Expect the next ranking in about two weeks. There are several events (many of them interconference) coming up in the next 2 weekends. These results could very well shake things up before the next edition of the rankings drops.
Stay tuned! Team race season is just getting started.
Check out our pre-season/week 1 breakdown HERE. Photos are from Rob Migliaccio can be found HERE.
2026 Southern Collegiate Offshore Regatta and the Future of College Offshore Sailing
By Airwaves writer Julia Brighton, awesome photos by Priscilla Parker
During the weekend of February 14–15, nearly thirty college sailing teams from across the country gathered in Charleston, South Carolina, to compete in the Southern Collegiate Offshore Regatta (SCOR).
Ned Goss, the Varsity Offshore Coach at the College of Charleston, spoke emotionally about how much collegiate offshore sailing has grown since the regatta was launched in 2014 by Tripp Fellabom with the help of George Scarborough and Frickie Martschink. Looking out at the room, he reflected on the event’s early days and the steady progress it has made over the past decade. What began as a small gathering has developed into a major regatta that now attracts teams from across the country.
Offshore sailing is working to establish a stronger presence within collegiate sailing. For many sailors, big-boat racing represents the next step after graduation. Because of this, some sailors and coaches argue that offshore racing should hold equal weight alongside traditional dinghy competition at the college level.
In addition to SCOR, there are other major collegiate offshore regattas held each year: the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta (GLIOR) in Chicago, Illinois, the Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta (IOR) in Larchmont, New York, and, in Fall 2026, the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta (PCIOR) in Seattle, Washington will be added to the circuit. With these regattas drawing competitive fleets from across college sailing divisions, momentum continues to build. Supporters hope to expand offshore opportunities even further, ultimately establishing a collegiate offshore national championship.
As offshore sailing grows, it raises an intriguing question: might we one day see offshore-specific All-American honors, such as Bowperson, Trimmer, or Driver, awarded alongside the traditional All-American Skipper and Crew recognitions in dinghy sailing?
While collegiate offshore sailing is making the case for greater recognition, it is regattas like SCOR that serve as a strong argument. Over two days on Charleston Harbor, teams demonstrated exactly why offshore racing deserves a larger stage.
Here’s how SCOR played out, day by day:
Day 1: The opening day of the 2026 Southern Collegiate Offshore Regatta brought a packed schedule of racing for every fleet. Teams in the J/105 and Sportboat divisions completed five races each, while the J/22 fleet sailed four. The Race Committee positioned the course southeast of Middle Ground, where Charleston Harbor offered prime conditions, including a consistent easterly breeze of 6–10 knots.
Current played a major role throughout the day. A powerful ebb tide shaped the first two races, making current management critical to success. By the third race, the tide transitioned to a moderate flood, favoring crews that quickly adapted their strategy to the shifting water.
Day 2: With heavy winds and afternoon thunderstorms in the forecast, Day 2 of SCOR featured a single distance race sailed in a south-southeasterly breeze of 10–15 knots against a powerful ebb tide.
The course sent teams all over Charleston Harbor, beginning with a beat toward James Island, followed by a reach around Fort Sumter, then a run up toward the Ravenel Bridge, before finishing with a final beat back to the Carolina Yacht Club.
Find the full results HERE
Results:
Overall Highest Winning Percentage: College of Charleston – J/105 Class
Sportboat Class A
- College of Charleston
- Brown University
- University of Rhode Island
Sportboat Class B
- Miami University
- University of Michigan
- North Carolina State University
J/105 Class
- College of Charleston
- Harvard University
- Cal Poly Maritime Academy
J/22 Class
- University of Michigan
- University of Tennessee – Knoxville
- College of Charleston
About Julia Brighton, Airwaves writer
Julia Brighton grew up in North Carolina but spent her summers sailing in Scituate, Massachusetts, where her connection to the water began. She is currently an Environmental Studies major at the University of Vermont and serves as Treasurer of the UVM Sailing Team, competing in both women’s and coed events. Julia sailed on the varsity sailing team at Choate Rosemary Hall, building a strong foundation in team racing and competitive sailing. She has also worked with coastal photographer Kat Hanafin of The Nautical Collection, contributing written content and assisting with business operations and client communications. Outside of college sailing, Julia works as a race coach at Cohasset Yacht Club, where she enjoys mentoring young sailors and fostering both competitive skills and a lasting respect for the marine environment.
2026 ILCA-NA Gulf Coast Championship Regatta Recap & Results
The 2026 ILCA North American Gulf Coast Championships were hosted by the Sarasota Sailing Squadron from February 28th to March 1st. Across the ILCA 4, 6, and 7 fleets, 105 sailors showed up ready to battle it out. With very few races completed, the regatta appears to have been a test of consistency.
The ILCA 4 fleet delivered some of the tightest racing of the weekend, with just a single point separating each of the top three sailors. Bennett Lamb (SPYC) closed out the event with a win in Race 4 to secure third overall with 17 points. Just ahead, Charles Julien (Tuuci Racing) ended the regatta with 16 points. But it was Pablo Munoz Montes (Tuuci Racing) who claimed the title with 15 points, and notably without winning a single race.
With 43 sailors on the line, the ILCA 6 fleet completed just three races over the weekend. Just like the other fleets, so few races means no drop races. Elisa De Becker (KBYC) secured third place with 15 points, keeping all her scores inside the top 10. Che Liu (ABYC/Tabor Sailing) claimed silver with 12 points, highlighted by a race win and consistent front-of-the-fleet finishes. Sander Block (Coral Reef Yacht Club / Tuuci Racing) edged out the fleet with 11 points to take the championship. Like the ILCA 4 winner, his strength was consistent results. His worst finish was a seventh, and avoiding double-digit scores made the difference in a three-race series.
Jackson Bjorklund (Tuuci Racing) earned bronze in the ILCA 7 fleet with 18 points. Landon Stahl (ABYC/KBYC) put together a solid series to take second overall on 16 points, including a race win and three steady top-five results. At the top of the scoreboard, however, Cole Fanchi (Lauderdale Yacht Club) created separation. With just 11 points across four races, he never finished outside the top four.
Even with only three or four races completed, events like this are incredibly valuable. They give sailors the chance to put training into action, test decision-making under pressure, and learn how to manage a series. Whether the lesson is about consistency, starting strategy, or bouncing back from a tough race, every weekend adds experience.
Congratulations to all of the finishers! See the top 10 finishers below or full results HERE.
Photos are from Jennifer Joy Walker. The gallery can be found HERE.
ILCA 4:
- Pablo Munoz Montes (15 pts)
- Charles Julien (16 pts)
- Bennett Lamb (17 pts)
- Alexander Forssen (23 pts)
- David Porzecanski (25 pts)
- Grant Chin (30 pts)
- Ethan Cox (32 pts)
- Diego De Teran (43 pts)
- Charlie Pensom (55 pts)
- Jessica Martello (57 pts)
ILCA 6:
- Sander Block (11 pts)
- Che LIU (12 pts)
- Elisa De Becker (15 pts)
- Brayden Zawyer (25 pts)
- Oliver Holt (27 pts)
- Gabriela Mascarenhas (28 pts)
- Enzo Biello (34 pts)
- Emilio Bocanegra (38 pts)
- Ricardo Benjamin Dreyfuss (39 pts)
- Marina Wardlaw (41 pts)
ILCA 7:
- Cole Fanchi (11 pts)
- Landon Stahl (16 pts)
- Jackson Bjorklund (18 pts)
- Peter Hurley (23 pts)
- Jackson Wilcox (26 pts)
- David Mendelblatt (27 pts)
- Beck Brill (28 pts)
- Dave Wells (36 pts)
- Dave Chapin (36 pts)
- Brody Wood (37 pts)
Airwaves Career Center Spotlight: Director of Jr Sailing, Groton Long Point YC
COLLEGE TEAM RACE RANKINGS #2 are Live!
You can find the Open rankings HERE and the Women’s Rankings HERE.
Open Rankings
For this edition we welcomed Coach Annabell Carrington from the College of Charleston to our rankings panel, which already consisted of John Mollicone (Brown), Chris Klevan (Stanford), Charles Higgins (Tulane), and Brendan Feeney (Fordham).
On the open side of things, Harvard still sits confidently at the top and has repeatedly been called “the team to beat.” The defending champions just claimed their second win at the Liam O’Keefe Team Race with a 7–0 record. Extremely impressive results. Extremely hard to beat.
No team race ranking is complete without Roger Williams in the mix. Feeney put it best saying, “When I think master-of-the-fundamentals in sports I think of Roger Federer on the court and Roger Williams on the Digital N. From starting, to communication, to boathandling this team makes it their mission to be at or very near the top” of the fleet.
Rounding out the top three in this second edition of the rankings is Stanford. Mollicone noted the team’s recent regatta success saying, “Same team as last year that finished 4th at Open Team Race Nationals. Perfect 10-0 at the Nelson Roltsch at Tulane last weekend against solid Navy, Tulane, and Charleston teams” while Feeney even went so far as to propose them as the possible “fastest team in the country.”
Brown slots in at number four, with the entire panel agreeing that this team is solidly placing itself in the same league as the other top three teams. Do we already know who our final four at nationals will be?
Navy is currently ranked as the top team from MAISA. Carrington notes their strong returning sailors, while Mollicone is expecting great things but is looking to see how the team stacks up within MAISA at the Marchiando.
Charleston from SAISA and Tulane from SEISA are holding their own in the rankings, sitting 7th and 8th respectively. Tulane will even get the benefit of nationals on their home waters this spring.
From MAISA, St. Mary’s is currently ranked 12th, but we’ve seen them improve greatly as the season goes on, especially as teams visit for spring break practices. Another MAISA team, Hobart and William Smith, is making its climb back toward a nationals berth, with Higgins noting that results in the coming weeks will prove just how good this team can be.
Overall, in this second edition of the rankings we can see that the top four teams are distinguishing themselves early on, but for the rest of the fleet there is still a lot in play.
Women’s Rankings
In the women’s fleet it is no surprise that the Stanford women are sitting at the top. Mollicone wonders if this team will “lose a single race this season,” and frankly, so do we.
Brown holds the number two spot and, with a strong open team to practice against, our panel is confident this team will continue to build as the season progresses. With a strong group of returners, their top team finished 2nd in the recent Harvard Women’s Team Race.
Yale is ranked third with Carrington calling them, “a fast group with new starters coming in hot”. Mollicone said, “Despite turning over all of their starting skippers from the past 4 years, they are reloaded and were able to win their first event of the season.”
Georgetown and Cornell sit back-to-back (6th and 7th respectively) in the rankings and will likely battle it out to be MAISA’s top team. This Georgetown team is coming off a win at the ODU Women’s Team Race.
Charleston is looking like the top team from SAISA ranking 9th, but coaches are waiting to see how they perform when they head north for the Dellenbaugh.
There is a lot more sailing to come in the women’s team race calendar, and more interconference events will start to establish what we can expect as teams begin setting their sights on New Orleans.
Expect the next ranking in about two weeks. There are several events (many of them interconference) coming up in the next 2 weekends. These results could very well shake things up before the next edition of the rankings drops.
Stay tuned! Team race season is just getting started.
Check out our pre-season/week 1 breakdown HERE. Photos are from Rob Migliaccio can be found HERE.
