June 3, 2009
SAN FRANCSICO - The No. 3 Bulldog coed sailing team finished up competition at the ICSA/Gill Coed Dinghy National Championships with a second-place finish, just missing out on winning the national title for the first time since 1975. The three-day event, the premier competition in collegiate sailing, featured three days of intense racing on San Francisco Bay, with the title coming down to the last B division race of the regatta.
The Bulldogs competed strongly at the event, sailing consistently the entire time, a hard feat considering the tough conditions, which included strong wind and current. The team faced perhaps the toughest competition at the National Championships in history because the teams at the National Championships had to go through both district eliminations as well as the ICSA National Semifinal events.
The Bulldogs were very close to the overall title, placing second with 199 points. No. 4 St. Mary's College of Maryland won the event with 179 points. The point total at the end of the day, however, does not tell the entire story. With only two races left in the entire regatta, the Bulldog led the regatta by a three-point margin. It was only until the last two races of the event that the Seahawks pulled ahead of the Bulldogs in the entire tally.
The Bulldogs turned in terrific divisional performances as well, with junior captain Thomas Barrows with crews sophomore Blair Belling, junior Marla Menninger and senior Jane Macky. The combination scored 68 points over the 18 races to win their division by 34 points. St. Mary's was second with 102 points. Barrows has now been the winning skipper in both A and B divisions during his collegiate career. He won the B division title as a freshman with crew freshman Abigail Coplin '08.
The team also did well in B division, taking fourth with 131 points. Sailing in the division were freshman skipper Joseph Morris along with crews junior Michael Hession and senior Grace Becton. The division was won by St. Mary's with 77 points.
This concludes the season for the team. A complete recap of the event, including quotes and reactions from the athletes, will be posted soon.
Report filed by Caleb Dorfman '09, Yale Sports Publicity
