Annapolis, Md. (May 30, 2014) – Today was the last day of racing for the Sperry Top-Sider Women’s National Championship on the Severn River at the U.S. Naval Academy. Eighteen women’s collegiate teams raced for the Gerald C. Miller Trophy and Dartmouth College came out the victor for the second year in a row.
The day started with a short on shore postponement while the race officials waited for the breeze to fill in. The temperature was in the 60s with cloudy skies. A light northerly at around 4 knots filled in and racing got underway. After a set and a half the breeze died again and the teams went in for a long lunch break. By the afternoon temperatures rose to about 70 degrees with more sun in the sky and the winds shifted to the east remaining light and eventually shifted to a southerly direction, which was stable, but light again around 5 knots.
Today the divisions swapped boats again, A-division sailed in Z420s and B-division sailed in FJs. The sailors completed seven races today in both divisions on windward leeward courses with 4 legs for a total of 17 races in each division for the championship. The race committee was able to start the last race of the day minutes before the 5 p.m. racing time limit.
Going into today’s racing Yale University and Dartmouth were neck-and-neck with only three points separating them. The U.S. Naval Academy trailed the top two by 35 points and behind Navy, the other teams were more condensed, which allowed for movement on the scoreboard today. Most notable was Old Dominion University who moved up from ninth place yesterday to finish just one point behind Navy in fourth place.
The home and host team, Navy, won the Ann Campbell Trophy for finishing the event in third place. The Navy women sailed consistently and were a well-balanced team. Sailing for Navy was Mary Hall ’15 with Elizabeth Morrison ‘14 in A-division and Marissa Lihan ’14 with Emma Ferris ’15 and Megan Hough ’16 in B-division.
After an all-day battle, Yale finished second winning the New England Women’s Trophy. It was not until the fourth to last race of the day that Yale gave up their lead. They battled back and forth with Dartmouth and even had some leads in B-division, but they could not hang on to them.
“Dartmouth’s A-division was pretty much unbeatable today,” says Bill Healy, assistant coach for Yale, “We tried to stay as close as we could.” Yale’s A-division suffered a few over-early starts and while Healy says their B-division did a fabulous job, in the end it was not enough to take home the win.
“It is bittersweet for us,” Healy says of finishing second, “Especially for the seniors who have worked hard for four years and wanted the win.” Sailing for Yale was Morgan Kiss ’15 with Katherine Gaumond ’15 in A-division and Marlena Fauer ’14 with Eugenia Custo Greig ’14 and Charlotte Belling ’16 in B-division.
Winning the Women’s Championship title and the Gerald C. Miller Trophy for the second year in a row is Dartmouth. Deirdre Lambert ’15 with Avery Plough ’14 sailed in A-division and Kelsey Wheeler ’14 and Lizzie Guynn ’16 sailed in B-division. Lambert and Plough won four of the last five races helping their team to stay well ahead of Yale.
“We knew it was going to be a really tough day. Conditions were changing all of the time as they had been the whole regatta,” John Stork III, co-head coach for Dartmouth says. “There were two things we knew we had to do well. We had to start well and we had to be fast. So if we could control our destiny off of the starting line and be fast then we knew we would have a shot,” Stork explains about going for the win today.
Dartmouth did not talk about winning the event for the second year in a row, but Stork confessed, “We quietly all believed it was possible.”
This will be Stork’s last year coaching college sailing and he says, “It’s been an amazing run with these girls and with this team and it’s something I am going to cherish for the rest of my life.”
Lambert, Wheeler and Guynn were also part of the pairings that won the championship last year. This is the fourth time that Dartmouth has won the Sperry Top-Sider Women’s National Championship they also won in 1992, 2000 and 2013.
After racing awards were presented at the Robert Crown Center for the top teams and also for the first place finishers in each division. Deirdre Lambert ’15 and Avery Plough ’14 from Dartmouth won the Madeleine Trophy, awarded to the low-point A- division team. They finished with 60 points total, 41 points ahead of the second place pairing.
Marlena Fauer ’14 with Eugenia Custo Greig ’14 and Charlotte Belling ’16 from Yale won the Judy Lawson Trophy, awarded to the low-point B-division team. They finished with 89 points total, 20 points ahead of the second place pairing.
For full results visit the event website: http://2014nationals.collegesailing.org/. To view or purchase photos from today’s racing and awards visit: www.ebrianschneider.com.
Women’s Final Overall Results
1. Dartmouth College, 185
2. Yale University, 190
3. U.S. Naval Academy, 275
4. Old Dominion University, 276
5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 286
6. U.S. Coast Guard Academy, 291
7. Hobart and William Smith Colleges, 296
8. College of Charleston, 305*
9. University of Rhode Island, 305*
10. Boston College, 328*
11. Eckerd College, 328*
12. Stanford University, 336
13. Bowdoin College, 359
14. Brown University, 381
15. University of Hawaii, 414
16. Georgetown University, 417
17. University of South Florida, 419
18. University of Wisconsin, 423
* Head-to-head tiebreaker
Racing will continue in the Spring Intercollegiate National Sailing Championships with the APS Team Racing National Championship, which will take place over the next three days at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. Sixteen teams will report at 8:30 a.m. for a Competitor’s Briefing and the racing will follow.
Live coverage, sponsored by LaserPerformance, will continue tomorrow with highlights and updates. Click on “Live Coverage” on the event website for these up-to-date racing details. Social media coverage will be provided on collegesailing.org. To learn more about the teams competing in the events and to follow the racing and results visit the event website: http://2014nationals.collegesailing.org/.
The Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) is the governing authority for sailing competition at colleges and universities throughout the United States and in some parts of Canada. Visit www.collegesailing.org to learn more.
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S1D Welcomes our Newest Team Member: Selden Mast!
Selden Mast …for Sailing; and for Summer
Greetings! Allow us to introduce ourselves. We are Selden Mast Inc.; your connection to the Selden Group. For over 50 years, Selden is proud to have manufactured the most durable and reliable sailing spars in the world.
Located in Charleston, South Carolina, Selden Mast Inc. is the largest dinghy spar manufacturer in North America. We also distribute a large array of Selden dinghy products ranging from our complete line of dinghy deck hardware to a huge selection of all the well-known Selden dinghy components.
On this page, we will provide monthly updates from our company to keep you in the loop on what we’ve got cooking down here! From product reviews and announcements to updates on Team Selden we got you covered.
With the summer sailing season just around the corner, we are hard at work producing all of your dinghy needs to guarantee you have a fun and enjoyable season on the water. Be sure to check out our freshly redesigned website at www.seldenmast.com to find the Selden dealer closest to you.
If you have any reason to contact us directly, feel free to e-mail us at [email protected].
US Sailing's Olympic Rising Tide Video
The US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider has released Episode 2 of their video project “Rising Tide”, titled “Youth Infused” which focuses on the younger members of the team including Annie Haeger, Briana Provancha, Charlie Buckingham, and Caleb Paine. Check out the new video with some great footage from the Sailing World Cup Hyères in France, and stay tuned for more episodes to come!
Follow the US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider at its social media hub: http://bit.ly/Qz1d0q
Read the latest US Olympic Sailing Newsletter: http://bit.ly/1qt6dkq
Subscribe: http://eepurl.com/EZH6D
Team One Newport Supports Newport-Bermuda Race
Team One Newport is proud to be the Official Merchandising partner for The Newport Bermuda Race. Having been in the sailing outfitters business for thirty years, we have the expertise where it counts. We are sailors, so we know what sailors need for offshore racing and what they want for when they are on land. That’s why the Cruising Club of America selected Team One Newport to supply the merchandise for the hundred and sixty nine boats entered in the 2014 Race.
Our online store boasts a large selection of both clothing and accessories, all customizable with your boat name and sail number. We know that for any blue water passage, comfort is key. As such, we are proud to supply practical technical shirts that keep you dry by wicking away moisture and pull-over fleeces for layering under foul weather gear during chilly night watches. For looking sharp at crew dinners, we have everything from causal polos to button downs, in styles for both men and women and in a variety of colors.
Our know-how is not limited to sailing apparel; we are also masters when it comes to customization. For customized gear, make sure you place your order by June 6th or before to ensure you receive your items before the June 20th start. In the event that you would like an item that is not featured on our online store, we are happy to customize anything else we sell with the iconic NBR logo. We can decorate nearly anything so we encourage you to browse online and in our store at 561 Thames Street.
Team One Newport will also be selling these items at registration at the New York Yacht Club’s Harbour Court. We will be selling Bermuda Race gear up until race day—and beyond—if you would like to memorialize the occasion. Conveniently located in downtown Newport, we are an easy walk from the water for sailors needing to pick up last minute items before heading the 635 miles to Bermuda. And there’s no need to limit attire to race participants. Family, friends, and fans can show their support for this year’s race by getting decked out as well!
The Bermuda Race is on every sailor’s bucket list. Don’t miss this opportunity to commemorate the 2014 Race!
Visit www.team1newport.com or call us at 401-847-4327 for more information.
2014 ICSA Team Race Nationals Preview and Final Rankings!
Sail1Design ICSA Team Race Rankings
Nationals are upon us! Teams across the country have been practicing all season, and we are down to the final 16 teams that have qualified in their conferences to compete for ICSA’s APS Team Race Nationals Championship for the Walter C. Wood Trophy. The pool of teams this year is one of the strongest in recent history, and so the fight from start to finish will be tough, with no easy races and every win counting.
Teams that have had great seasons could miss the Top Eight with just one or two bad races, and the Top Four will be determined by those who come to Nationals at the top of their game!
Stanford has yet again dominated the spring season with a deep squad and great practice competition, and are a favorite going into the event. We will see if they can finally put the pieces together this year and come away with the victory! St. Mary’s will be close on their heels, and with a home water advantage they will also be a tough team to beat. Yale is another favorite to finish near the top, returning much of last year’s championship team.
Follow the action at St. Mary’s College of Maryland May 31st to June 2nd to see who will be crowned the champions.
SEE THE RANKINGS AND COACHES PROGNOSTICATIONS: CLICK HERE
Olympic Sailors Face a Murky, Potentially Dangerous Road to Rio
Shared from the New York Times, this report uncovers an alarming situation at Guanabara Bay, the upcoming site of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. Unless something changes, sailors may well face dangerous health concerns while competing in the polluted waters of Guanabara Bay in Rio. Sailors have reported animal caracasses floating in the water, horribly polluted sewage-infested water, garbage floating in the Bay, collecting on foils, and one sailor reported capsizing after hitting a partially submerged sofa.
