Blog

By Tufts Head Coach Ken Legler
Until this year, the Joseph Duplin Trophy at Tufts was the only event for women’s team racing.  On NEISA’s opening weekend in early March, Yale ran the NEISA women’s Team Race.  Though only five teams could make it, all the entrants were pretty good and the conditions were spectacular, at least in the afternoons.  Let’s start with the five teams at Yale, then look at other NEISA teams participating in the Duplin, and consider other women’s teams around the nation that could have excellent all-women’s team racing squads.
Under the leadership of senior skipper Marly Isler, Yale won at home with some consistent speed and a few good moves.  They were not invincible, losing two races to Bowdoin and close wins over Tufts but they might have been had their fastest skipper, Casey Klinger, been there instead team racing elsewhere that weekend with the Yale coed B team.
Bowdoin was paced by the speedsters Erin Mullins/Catherine Price in the rock steady ten knot Southerly sea breeze.  They were the only team to knock off Yale and all three of their boats are fast, really fast.
Tufts struggled with the team racing plays the first day but rallied to go 5-1 on day two taking two close ones from Bowdoin although one of those was in the early morning crapshoot Northerly.  Tufts did do two things well throughout; their team race starts were excellent and they too had good team speed.
Connecticut had a good team but found a bit of trouble getting into a rhythm when rotating different players in.  Unfortunately they are not entered in the Duplin later this month.  One of their better women skippers, Charlotte List, was also team racing elsewhere.
Brown was without Megan Grapengeter-Rudnick who, like Yale’s Klingler, was racing for the Brown coed B team.  Meanwhile Lindsay Baab, a superstar in Radials, is still figuring out FJ speed.   That was particularly noticeable against faster Bowdoin.  Give Baab a little more FJ training and watch out.
Dartmouth, Boston College, Vermont and Northeastern will also play at the Duplin in Tufts brand new Turbo Larks.  Dartmouth won the women’s AC’s in the fall and should be strong at team racing following spring break with Sarah Williams, Emily Petno, and Peggy Kilvert at the helm.  Emma White is another skipper but is also an excellent crew.
Boston College has always enjoyed and done well at the Duplin and they likely will again.  Allyson Donahue and Isabella Loosbrock are their lead skippers.  Not sure who the third skipper will be but over half of their many female crews are also good skippers.
Vermont, like many women’s teams, has two great skippers but their sizable roster includes more women than men.  Megan Yeigh and Amina Brown will lead the way.
Northeastern has not been ranked high in women’s sailing yet but they have players, are improving rapidly, and can start three experienced women skippers; Elise Gehling, Sarah de Silva and Victoria McGruer.
Other good NEISA teams such as Coast Guard, Boston Univ. and Harvard will be focusing entirely on fleet racing this year.  Coast Guard in particular could put together a very good women’s team racing squad.
Stanford might have the best women’s team race unit in the nation.   With four great skippers, Maeve White, Lily Katz, Julia Lambert, and Martina Sly, along with strong crews including senior Yuki Yoshiyasu; it’s too bad there isn’t a women’s team racing nationals already.  Although they cannot make the cross country trip to the Duplin this year, they have in the past and will again.  In the meantime they got to enter the McIntyre at home at tied for second.  Their coed team won.
I’d like to see a women’s team from George Washington.  Mirtanda Bakos and Hannah McNomee skippered to a win at the Fall MAISA women’s champs while India Johnstone alternates as skipper and also does really well.
Georgetown could be team racing with Mary Kate Mezzetti, Rose Edwards and Haddon Hughes at the helm.  St. Mary’s College has Carolyn Smith, Greer Watson, and Marissa Golison.
Team Racing can be frustrating at first, particularly when you are focusing on fleet racing.  Once you get over a certain hump on the learning curve, such as when your teammates thank you for advancing them in a play on the course, team racing becomes very rewarding.  Top women’s skippers and crews are so fast that their coed teams often ask them to practice team racing against them.  The Duplin Trophy at the end of March now gives motivation for these women’s sailors to express their team work in the form of team racing.  Spring break in March is where much of this team racing training is happening.  With the Yale Team Race kicking off the season, a few women’s teams now have a measure of their starting point.  This has led to more accurate goals and expectations.   There are no umpires at the Duplin.  There are however, really cool team racing boats, great camaraderie and mutual respect among the various teams competing.