| NEWPORT, R.I. (May 31, 2019) – Today was the last day of the Gill College Sailing Coed National Championship, the final of three high caliber spring college sailing national championships that were run out of host site Sail Newport Sailing Center at Fort Adams by host school Brown University with support from Dartmouth College and NEISA. It was very close racing in the harbor today in Newport, R.I. and it was not until the last beat of the last race that the College of Charleston came out on top winning the national title and the Henry A. Morss Memorial Trophy. A wind delay this morning kept sailors onshore until enough filled in to have a 12:10 p.m. harbor start. Winds filled in from the southeast and stayed light to moderate in the afternoon. The last races of the day brought some stronger pressure and hiking conditions. There were big oscillating shifts across the racecourse challenging the sailors to stay in phase and sail fast. Racing concluded just before 5:30 p.m. meeting the deadline to not start a race after 5 p.m. The competitors completed six races in each division today for a regatta total of 16 races in both divisions in FJs and Z420s on windward-leeward courses. The racing could not have happened or been such a success without the race officers: regatta chairs John Mollicone (Brown) Justin Assad (Dartmouth); college sailing representative, Danielle Richards; principal race officer, John Mollicone; chief judge, Fred Hagedorn; judges, Cliff Black, Don Becker and Megan Roach. Charleston won this regatta two years ago and they have claimed back the title today. The Henry A. Morss Memorial Trophy was donated by a group of nationally known yachtsmen as a memorial to Henry A. Morss, a Boston yachtsman and 1907 Bermuda Race winner, as well as an MIT alumnus and benefactor. “Augie [Dale] and Katie [Lounsbury] sailed well all of the event in A-division,” says Ward Cromwell, head coach for Charleston, “which is not an easy task, but they were one of the fastest boats out there – and that was one edge we had. We also made a switch in our B-division sailors for the last set when the wind picked up a bit and we needed another edge.” “There were challenging starts in the last races,” says Cromwell, “but we held it together. We were able to get off the line well and we had great boat speed and that’s what kept us out in front. After a tough team race regatta it was great to see the team rally and win this event.” Sailing for Charleston is: Augie Dale ’19 with Katherine Lounsbury ’20 in A-division, Alie Toppa ’20 with Annabel Carrington ’19 and Jack Brown ’21 with Payton Alexander ’19 in B-division. Yale University finished in second place just five points behind Charleston and won the Oxford University Trophy. The Oxford University Trophy is awarded to the second place team in the Gill Coed Dinghy National Championship. The Oxford University Yacht Club team and its captain Jeremy Thomas presented this trophy in 1954 on the occasion of the first of a continuing series of college regattas between British and North American teams held alternately in the United States and Great Britain every two years. “Today was about getting re-focused and getting our confidence up,” says Bill Healy, associate head coach for Yale. Yale finished yesterday in sixth place, so they made a big move up the scoreboard today. “We had a great group of teammates who helped each other get up and rebound to get back in the racing today,” says Healy. “There were not many mistakes on the racecourse to allow any breathing room, it was tight racing for the whole event.” Sailing for Yale is: Nicholas Baird ’19 with Sonia Lingos-Utley ’21 in A-division and Shawn Harvey ’21 with Graceann Nicolosi ’20 and Louisa Nordstrom ’20 with Claudia Loiacono ’21 in B-division. U.S. Naval Academy finished in third place only five points behind Yale, winning the Metropolitan Sailing League Trophy, which was first presented in 1971. “It was a tight fight this event,” says Ian Burman, head coach for Navy, “and there were a lot of teams in it, it was so close. Our B-division sailed spectacularly, it was impressive to see our skipper, Joseph Hermus, come so far. He had not been in an FJ or sailed short course races before college sailing. He worked hard and learned a lot.” “I think the hardest part of this regatta was that the fleet was so good,” says Burman, “there are a lot of good sailors on the water and at this event the level of sailing is so high.” Sailing for Navy is: Parker Loftus ’20 with Olivia de Olazarra ’22 and Emma Remis ’20 in A-division and Joseph Hermus ’22 with Ana Mier ’19 and Sean Linden ’21 in B-division. The Robert Allan, Sr. and Robert Allan, Jr. Trophies are awarded to the low point “A” and “B” teams, respectively, in the Gill Coed College Sailing National Championship. Augie Dale ’19 with Katherine Lounsbury ’20 won A-division from College of Charleston with 79 points, three points ahead of second place. Joseph Hermus ’22 with Ana Mier ’19 and Sean Linden ’21 from the U.S. Naval Academy won B-division with 65 points, 33 points ahead of second place. Gill Coed Final Results (16 races): 1. College of Charleston, 205 2. Yale University, 210 3. U.S. Naval Academy, 215 4. Hobart and William Smith Colleges, 256 5. Brown University, 260 6. Georgetown University, 261 7. St. Mary’s College of Maryland, 266 8. Stanford University, 285 9. Dartmouth College, 301 10. Boston University, 302 11. Tufts University, 311 12. U.S. Coast Guard Academy, 316 13. Old Dominion University, 339 14. Bowdoin College, 359 15. Boston College, 373 16. Jacksonville University, 377 17. Connecticut College, 391 18. University of California at Santa Barbara, 442 To learn more about the teams competing in all of the events and to follow the racing and results visit the event website: https://2019nationals.collegesailing.org/ Dan Egan, of Degan Media, will provide some live coverage during the events, presenting sponsor is US Sailing and supporting sponsor of the live coverage is LaserPerformance, streaming from the event website. Coed: June 3, release of Coed recap. Rob Migliaccio provided photos for these events. Contact: Jennifer Mitchell |Toile à Voile for ICSA | media@collegesailing.org | 970-216-7072 m. The ICSA sponsors and partners through the 2018-19 season are: LaserPerformance (www.laserperformance.com), title sponsor of “LaserPerformance Men’s and Women’s Singlehanded National Championship”, title sponsor of “LaserPerformance College Sailing Team Race National Championship” and Official Boat Supplier of the ICSA Spring National Championships. Sperry (www.sperry.com), title sponsor of the “Sperry College Sailing Women’s National Championship”. Gill North American (gillna.com), title sponsor of “The Gill College Sailing National Championship”. Quantum Sail Design Group (www.quantumsails.com), official sponsor of the “Quantum Women’s College Sailor of the Year”. Marlow Ropes (www.marlowropes.com), presenting sponsor of the “Marlow Ropes College Sailor of the Year Award” and “Official Rope of College Sailing”. US Sailing (www.ussailing.org), “The Robert H. Hobbs Sportsman of the Year Sponsored by US Sailing” and “The 2019 College Sailing Live Coverage Presented by US Sailing”. Professional Boats (www.professionalboats.com/), official sponsor of the 2019 ICSA Spring National Championships. |
