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Brought to you by Dynamic Dollies, Sail1Design is pleased to present the official ICSA Team Race Rankings! Welcome to the 2016 ICSA Team Race Rankings Preview & Prognostication! Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines, college team racing’s championship season is upon us!
NEISA
By: Ken Legler(tufts) and Bill Healy(Yale)
Yale: Three time defending ICSA Team Race Champs will surely miss Graham Landy and Kate Gaumond but a deep roster with names like Belling, Doris, and Barrows, all current All Americans, the Bulldogs will be in the mix.  Minus Landy and Gaumond, the rest of the team is intact plus some great freshman.
BC: Although only Rios returns from last year’s final-four squad, Charles Sinks is ready. Will former Opti world champ Sinclair Jones be their third skipper or will they rely on a more experienced but not quite as fast veteran.
Harvard: Mollerus, Zaleski, and Sertl will be tough. Nick DiGiovanni leads the B team and could sub in.
CGA: If you haven’t been paying attention lately, let me fill you in.  The US Coast Guard Academy has a legit team.  It’s clear they can succeed in fleet racing.  They will be put to the test this Spring to see if they can translate that success into team racing.  Avery Fanning and crew Robert Turley along with Nikki Barnes will be the backbone of this team.  Crews on this squad look strong with Andrew Britton and Anna Morin along with Turley will only raise the bar for the Cadets.
Brown: The winners of the only team race inter conference regatta of the Fall season will lean heavily on Pearson Potts and teammate Marina Cano to get the most out of this team.  2/3 of this team finished 5th at the Hinman Trophy so they know how to do this, they just need to pull at all together when it counts.
RW: One of the best teams in the country last year lost 13 players to graduation.  Returning starters Connor Corgard and All American Bre Baldino will have skippers Stuart Dreheim  and Mack Bryan who saw some action at Nationals last year.  They area very young team with exceptional crews so it will be interesting to see how they gel this Spring.
Boston University: NEISA’s most improved, perhaps, did not make NEISA’s top 12 last year but they have been terrific in dinghies starting right after TR champs last spring. Will that translate into a nationals berth? Probably not, but they are awfully fast.
Dartmouth: The early TR season hurts Dartmouth and their sailors lack big time TR experience.  One skipper, however, has more match racing experience than anyone in NEISA.  Look for Charles Lalumiere to lead a young group in New Englands.
Bowdoin: The polar Bears have never broken through in team racing but they have more talent this year than any in recent memory.
Tufts: Gone are all five skippers that made TR nationals last two years.  Not only do have a high hill to climb but they might not have a consistent third boat.
MIT: MIT looks to build off their strong fleet race results and carry to momentum into the team racing season. They will rotate five skippers through the team race squad, but the strength of the team lies with the experienced crews.  Junior standout crew Jordan Ladd, senior crew Christopher Ford, junior crew Paige Omura and senior crew Lisa Sukarev-Chuyan will give the Engineers solid boat-handling and team racing experience.The five skippers vying for a starting role at New Englands include seniors David Larson and Joe Paggi, junior Alec Stewart, but sophomores Cutter O’Connell and Ty Ingram are learning the game quickly and will be rotated through the A-squad.
URI: The Rams have one of the best women’s sailor in the county in Rachel Bryer who sails with Hannah Scanlon.  IT’s not unusual to see the top women’s sailors in the team race mix and they often do quite well.  But with URI’s limited TR schedule it will be hard to form a cohesive group.  But  senior Caleb Armstrong wants to prove that the Rams belong in the mix at the New England Champs.  Bryer will be focusing on Womens events which will hurt their development as a team in the early Spring.
Conn: The Camels work really hard at the team racing discipline But this team is young and inexperienced at this level.  i’m not saying they can’t succeed but it will be an uphill battle which Coach Bresnahan understands and he will get the most out of them at practice.  Senior Bryce Kopp will lead this young group and just when you think that the Camels are out od top notch crews, more come out of the woodwork.  Boat handling won’t be their problem.
MAISA
By: Johnny Norfleet(Fordham)
Georgetown: A perennial MAISA powerhouse and contender at nationals, Georgetown will once again be one of the favorites to come out of MAISA. With an army of immensely talented crews (including Isabelle Ruiz De Luzuriaga ’16, Bettina Redway ’16, and Meaghan MacRae ’18) and a mostly returning group of skippers (including CSOTY Nevin Snow ’16, Sean Golden ’16, and some combination of AJ Reiter ’17, High School Nationals Champ Campbell D’Eliscu ’19, and transfer Roger Dorr ’18), Georgetown will be the team to beat in all conditions.
St. Mary’s: Expect this extremely well coached and disciplined team race group to start off slow, qualify out of MAISA, and then outperform your expectations at nationals. Crews Mariah Leffingwell ’16, Shelby Jacobs ’17, and Kaitlyn Noreen ’16 and skippers Alex Curtiss ’16, Mackenzie Cooper ’17 and either Markus Edegran ’16 or Chase Quinn ’17 should round out this team.
Navy: Always a contender and one of the teams coming out of MAISA last year, Navy will be one of the teams you need to beat at the Prosser Trophy if you want to get to the big dance. Though they lose speed demon Mary Hall, veteran team racers Patrick Snow ’17, and Michael Popp ’16 will whip their younger teammates into shape. They will have plenty of time to hone their skills as they will have to sail out of the Team Race Challenge and the Prosser Trophy to get to Nationals.
Fordham: Rounding out the group of MAISA teams to make it to nationals last spring, this team will have their work cut out for them as they also have to sail out of the uncharacteristically competitive Team Race Challenge this season. Returning all three skippers from last season (Connor Godfrey ’16, Alec Tayler ’17, and Will Holz ’17), with a strong group of young alternate skippers, and a group of talented crews (Connor Murphy ’16, JJ Monro ’16, Madeline Sims ’16, Evan Morgan ’18, and Katherine Jones ’18), Fordham will be one of the teams vying for a spot at nationals if they can work hard and make it through the Team Race Challenge.
Old Dominion: This team has been on both the winning and losing side of a tiebreaker to make it to nationals the past two years. Another team that will have to compete with Navy and Fordham for one of the two spots out of the Team Race Challenge, expect ODU to be a competitor and a team to beat if they can make it to the Prosser Trophy. Esteban Forrer ’16 and All-American crew Gabe Smith ’17 will lead a team of returning skippers Joe David ’16 and Augie Dale ’18 and crews Grace Mason ’16 and Kaylie Gallagher ’16.
George Washington: This young team that played spoiler at last year’s MAISA Champs will likely rise as a contender for one of the final spots to nationals. Though they lost their team race specialist Roger Dorr to transfer, they added a number of talented sailors to their roster that seems to grow significantly deeper and stronger each year. Expect to see Kai Friesecke ’18 and Brendan Shanahan ’17 lead a team likely rounded out by Andrew Sheerin ’18 and crews Mercedes McPhee ’19, Belle Strachan ’18, Henry Young ’16, and all-star skipper/crew Miranda Bakos ’18 when she isn’t competing on the women’s circuit.
Cornell: Though they did not compete in the MAISA Team Race Champs last spring, they are coming off a successful fall fleet race reason. With the weather looking to be on their side for an early practice start and a strong team race schedule set for this season, this well coached team could very well turn some heads. Expect to see Alex Woloshyn ’17, Shawn Kelter ’18, and Clark Uhl ’19 lead this young team race squad.
Hobart and William Smith: A longtime great in MAISA, this team just barely missed out on a spot to nationals last year. Expect this team led by Greiner Hobbs ’18, Eddie Cox ’16, and a group of talented crews to be a contender by the end of the team race season.
New York Maritime: Though they have not yet had much team race success, NY Maritime has emerged as a MAISA fleet racing powerhouse in the past two years with two podium finishes in the last three conference championships. Expect this team led by Zach Hill ’18, Nick Valente ’16 and crew Caitlin Cummings ’18 to use speed to their advantage and they could emerge as a dark horse contender.
With one of these top nine teams missing out on the Prosser Trophy this season, expect this to be the most competitive MAISA Team Race Championship in conference history.
UPenn: This team led by Mac Agnese ’17 and Drew Gallagher ’18 will be fast but will have their work cut out getting past two of Navy, Old Dominion, and UPenn at the Team Race Challenge.
KP: Like UPenn, this team led by Charlie Lomax ’18 will have their work cut out for them to get through the team race challenge. However, given their strong fleet race results the last two seasons and their emergence as a match racing contender, this team might just surprise you.
SAISA
By: Ward Cromwell(Charleston)
University of Miami: After a few years hiatus from Team Racing the Hurricanes will compete at both the Mendelblatt and the SAISA Champs. U. Miami is getting back up to speed, fueled by an energetic freshman class!
Jacksonville University: The Dolphins will be competing in the Mendelblatt, John Jackson, and the SAISA Champs. JU will make its first push in Team Racing this spring with junior skippers Danny Lawless and Peter Hidley. Julia Wiesner (ODU ’14)  joined the Dolphins coaching squad last year bringing a wealth of knowledge and a fun perspective to this  teams development.
University of South Florida: The Bulls are slated to compete in the Mendelblatt, Bob Bavier, Graham Hall, and the SAISA Champs.  Under the new leadership of Allan Caplain the team will look to find  a cohesive game plan which will likely be leed by the senior team of Fernando Monllor and Rebecca Campbell.
Eckerd College: The Tritons have an aggressive Team Race schedule planed competing in the Mendelblatt, the Bob Bavier, the Graham Hall, the Admiral Moor, & SAISA Champs. Senior skipper Tim Siemers along with Junior Skipper Jason D’Agostino will lead this squad along with an impressive list of Senior crews. Overall this team has progressed tremendously under the guidance of their head coach, Kevin Reali.  This team is very excited for some high level team racing and eager to clinch a berth to the Nationals.
The College of Charleston: The Cougars are excited to compete in the Mendelblatt, Bob Bavier, St. Mary’s, Graham Hall, Szambecki, and the SAISA Champs.Several team members will be returning from last year’s final four appearance in Newport. Senior skipper Jake Reynold will pair with junior crew Chloe Dapp to lead off a very impressive list of sailors. Look for this squad to be on the podium early and often this team race season.
PCCSC
By: Clinton Hayes(Stanford)
Stanford: Coming off 2 consecutive 3^rd place finishes at Nationals Stanford will once again lead the team racing charge from the west coast. They suffered some key loses to graduation but will return key drivers from last season Antoine Screve ’16 and Will Ladow ’18. Look for senior Sammy Steele along juniors Nikki Obel and JP Cannistraro to make big contributions. The Cardinal’s biggest question this season will come with their 3^rd boat. If they can build strength in that position they can be a final 4 team in San Diego.
Santa Barbara: Santa Barbara is enjoying solid team depth and is working hard to break thru this year in team racing. They have used the warm California winter to develop strategy and discipline in team race clinics with local rock-star sailors Willie McBride and Allie Blecher. The team will travel to the Mendleblatt team race in Florida in addition to sailing the McIntyre at Stanford. UCSB is filled with good sailors so if they can get their team race game together they will take wins off the best. They are the favorite for taking the 2^nd PCCSC birth at Nationals.
Hawaii: Hawaii is coming off a strong fall of great west coast fleet race results. They can sail the FJ fast but might struggle to get 3 cohesive drivers together for team racing. Chuck Eaton will likely lead the team after good results in A-division and Match Racing.
USC: Like Hawaii, the Trojans had some really strong fleet racing results but aren’t quite deep enough to put together 3 really strong boats. They look to play the spoiler at qualifiers and steal that 2^nd birth to Nationals. Senior Matthew Hecht looks like their strongest driver to lead the team.
MCSA
By: Clinton Hayes(Stanford)
 U Wisconsin: WISCO suffered some large loses to graduation and only retain driver Lauran Wefer ’16 and crew Jennifer Burke ’16 from their starting team at last year’s Nationals. Despite that, they are one of the only teams in the Midwest with a full time coach and will certainly make big improvements as they travel to compete against the countries best at the Marchiando and Szambecki team races later in the season. It’s also noteworthy that they picked up another sailor from the talented Kutschenreuter family so we’ll see how he continues to progress as a freshmen.
U Michigan: The Wolverines may very well have another solid year. They look to retain 5 out of 6 starters from last year and showed some decent results this fall when they sailed their top players. Michigan will attend the Mendleblatt Team Race this year and may be in line to pick up an invite birth to another. I would count them as a favorite to make a trip to San Diego.
Minnesota: The Gophers have put up some good results in conference this fall and bring what might be the midwest’s best women’s team to also start in team racing. With coach Cappy leading the way and a group of junior and senior drivers they will certainly challenge for a spot at Nationals. 
Northwestern: Don’t count out this super organized team from the big city. They work hard in team racing and, once again, are making the trip out to Stanford for the McIntyre Team Race. 
NWICSA
By: Clinton Hayes(Stanford) 
Oregon State, U Washington, and Western Washington all have a reasonable chance of grabbing the Northwest’s lone spot at nationals. Oregon State qualified for births at both Singles and Match Racing this fall and had the conferences best result as Rose Bowl. They also return 2 out of 3 starters from last years Nationals appearance.
SEISA
By: Clinton Hayes(Stanford) 
Texas A&M Galveston has owned the Southeast birth at Nationals for a number of years. After winning much of their inconference events this fall they look likely to return.

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