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Written by Chris Klevan, Photos: ODU Sailing Facebook
March 26, 2018#5 Yale University won the Friis Team Race, held at Roger Williams University. Last weekend’s premier team race event in New England featured the NEISA elite. Despite the depth of talent, two teams were able to pull in front late in the regatta. Both Yale and #1 Roger Williams University separated themselves from the field but drama was not lost as rights to the regatta crown came down to the final race. Yale, for the second straight week, went undefeated in the top-6, final round robin and this time, the elite sailing late stole the regatta from the home team. Yale finished with 12 wins and 2 losses, while Roger Williams finished with 11 wins and 3 losses.
Yale sailed the event with 4 skippers, Malcolm Lamphere, Nicholas Biard, Shawn Harvey and Nicolas Hernandez. While Malcolm Lamphere and Nic Baird, Yale’s most experienced skippers, sailed the event in entirety, youngster Shawn Harvey and Junior, Nick Hernandez split races. Five crews served for the Bulldogs throughout the event. Senior KB Knapp, Graceann Nicolosi ‘20, Kira Woods ‘19, Sonia Lingos-Utley ‘21 and Nicholas Marwell ‘21 are clearly a competent group as superior crew work is a prerequisite to succeed at the highest level of college team racing, let alone finish 12 and 2 at a top tier interconference event.
Roger Williams sailed mostly with their typical starting lineup. Skippers Mack Bryan, Martim Anderson and Connor Harding have spent the entire spring season working together and this seems to be the case moving forward. On the crew front, notably, Senior Rebecca Anderson was missing from the fold. Hallie Repeta ‘19 subbed in for the missing Anderson while Jen Agell ‘19 and Michael McBrien ‘18 assumed their normal roles in front of the two other RWU boats.
The duel between Yale and Roger Williams at the top of NEISA should be an exciting one to watch for the rest of the season.
Boston College finished tied for 3rd at the event, with a record of 8 wins and 6 losses. Dartmouth College also finished third, in their first appearance since early March. After the top 2 spots in NEISA, it is anyone’s guess who the conference’s other representatives will be, if the Friis was any indicator, it will be a battle.
Former George Washington and Dartmouth head coach, John Pearce served as the Chief Judge for the event. Pearce had this to say of the regatta, “Very impressive sailing in the extreme conditions. Cold and wind on Sunday provided enough gnarliness to keep it interesting. The sailors should walk away thinking, ‘If I can make it through this, I can make it through anything.’”
Pearce continued, “The boat handling out there is impressive. These kids are so good at sailing these simple boats. Especially, Martim [Anderson] of Roger Williams who really impressed with some smooth, buttery boat handling.” John Pearce now serves as the Youth Director  for US Sailing.
#13 Navy finished first overall at the Aaron Szambecki Team Race, hosted by Old Dominion University. While the Mid Atlantic’s top 2 teams, Hobart and William Smith and Georgetown were absent for the event, #11 Stanford and #4 Charleston filled in with what seems to be  their top squads.
Navy finished with a record of 12 wins and 3 losses, narrowly edging Stanford (11 and 4). This was the best performance, so far, for both teams.
“Winning a major regatta like the Szambecki at this time of the year is a very big deal for us,” said Navy Assistant Coach, Dillon Paiva. “This means we will not need to sail the Team Race Challenge Easter weekend and can give the team the week off.  This win allows our team to keep the momentum up while still having a weekend of rest before our conference qualifier.”
Navy sailed a combination of Peter Hogan ‘18, Kelly Milliken ‘21, Maxwell Brill ‘20, Emma Remis ‘20, Parker Loftus ‘20, Kent Mathes ‘20, Gary Prieto ‘18, Ana Mier ‘19 and Parker Loftus ‘20. Like NEISA, the competition for the last 2 spots in MAISA (after HWS and Georgetown) looks to be dramatic.
St. Mary’s finished 3rd with a 10 and 5 record.
Notably, College of Charleston finished with a lackluster 8 win and 6 loss record despite sailing with their best team in conditions that the Cougars should be comfortable with. This is the second straight week Charleston has finished in a position that has raised some eyebrows. Like Stanford, they are all but a lock to qualify out of their respective conference. Furthermore, as experts have stated, Charleston started last season with a similarly slow start and finished with a National Championship. However, the team is slightly different this year, others seem poised to usurp the crown and, maybe most importantly, nationals will be sailed at ODU, away from the comfort of home for the defending champions.
Elsewhere in MAISA, #2 Hobart and William Smith dominated at the Admiral Moore Team Race where the other top contenders failed to make an appearance. HWS showed the nation just how tight they can be, finishing with 17 wins and 0 losses, winning almost half of their races in a 1-2-3 or a 1-2-4. On top of that they spent some of regatta incorporating Kyle Easton ‘20 who seems like next year’s replacement for senior, Greiner Hobbs.
This move showed that they aren’t just a force this season, but perhaps will be a player for years to come. Beyond Easton, the normal group sailed the event, Greiner Hobbs, Hector Guzman ‘20, Charles Miller ‘19, Lindsey Kloc ‘19, Haley Okun ‘18 and Maya Weber ‘20 are continuing to gain confidence and continuity leading into conference championship season.
#3 Yale won the Joseph R. Duplin Women’s Team Race hosted by Tufts University. A type of event growing appropriately more common, the women’s team race regatta was extremely competitive throughout. Yale won a three way tiebreaker over the home team, Tufts and the Dartmouth Big Green. All three finished with a record of 9 wins and 4 losses. In a trend that does not appear to be unique to their coed squad, Yale finished the event extremely strong, with a 4-1 record in the final-6 round robin. Both Dartmouth and Tufts were the opposite, starting the event 7-1 and finishing 2-3.
“It is great to see that we are prioritizing women’s development in team racing,” said Dartmouth Assistant Coach, Ali Blumenthal. “This regatta shows that the ladies can play the top level of our game. Our Lady D’s are excited about the future of women’s team racing.”
Yale sailed Casey Klingler ‘18, perhaps the most accomplished female team racer in college, with Caroline Colwell ‘18, Christine Klingler ‘20 with Catherine Mollerus ‘21 and Louisa Nordstrom ‘20 with Claire Huebner ‘18. Yale is one of the strongest women’s team in the nation and a favorite to repeat as national championships. If there were a women’s team race nationals, they would likely also be the favorite to win.
Photos taken from the Yale Sailing Instagram account and the ODU Sailing facebook page