College Sailing Women's Semi-Final Champs - Day 1 overall

by Jennifer Mitchell on 27 May 2015 College Sailing Women's Semi-Final Champs - The 2015 Intercollegiate Sailing Association’s series of National Championships began today on Narragansett Bay in Newport, R.I. with the Sperry Women’s Semi-Final Championship co-hosted by Brown University, Salve Regina University and New York Yacht Club. The semi-finals are the precursor and qualifying event for the Sperry Women’s National Championship Finals, which will begin Wednesday, May 27 at 9:30 a.m.

The semi-finals are divided into two fleets, an Eastern and Western semi-final, each with fourteen teams from across the nation. The top nine teams from each fleet will advance to the finals on Wednesday. The competitors are racing in FJs and Z420s on windward-leeward three and four leg courses.

The day began with temperatures in the low 70s and winds from the south-southwest. The day progressed with sun and clouds and some oscillations in the winds, but a sea breeze prevailed most of the day with stronger winds around 13-14 knots and lighter winds around 7-8 knots. By the end of the day the temperatures fell to the low 60s and winds became light from the south-southwest direction.

Racing began at 9:30 a.m. and finished up just before 6 p.m. The Eastern fleet sailed Brown’s Z420s today, A division sailed eight races and B division completed six races. The Western fleet sailed Salve Regina’s FJs today, A division sailed eight races and B division completed six races. Tomorrow the fleets will swap boats and Eastern will sail FJs and Western will sail Z420s.

“We sailed in almost identical conditions in Newport a few weeks ago, so we felt pretty comfortable today,” Brian Swingly, head coach for the U.S. Coast Guard Academy says of the conditions today. Coast Guard is leading the Eastern fleet after today’s racing.

“We got off the [starting] line well today and the speed did the rest,” Swingly says. “We felt pretty quick today and we were also comfortable in the 420s,” he says. In preparation for the rest of the event, Swingly says, they will be sure to give the sailors a chance to rest and stay fresh.

Sailing for Coast Guard is Nikole Barnes ’17 with Jennifer Lane ’15 and Devon Rohde ’15 in A division and Dana Rohde ’18 and Hannah Herring ‘18 in B division.

College of Charleston is only one point behind Coast Guard in second place and Georgetown University is only one point behind Charleston in third place.

Yale University is leading the Western semi-final 35 points ahead of Stanford University who is in second place and 38 points ahead of Boston College in third place.

“We were comfortable in the FJs today and had good boat speed,” Bill Healy, assistant coach of Yale University says of Yale’s sailing today. “We didn’t really struggle at the starts today and if we did at all we were back in it by the first weather mark,” he says.

“Today we were trying to learn as much as we could to take with us into the finals,” Healy says of the team’s strategy today.

Sailing for Yale is Morgan Kiss ‘15 and Natalya Doris ‘17 in A division and Casey Klingler ‘18 and Isabelle Rossi De Leon ‘17 in B division.

The scores are close for the top nine teams in both fleets and the racing continues tomorrow starting at 9:30 a.m. Tomorrow will be the last day of racing in the semi-finals portion of the championship. No race will start after 5 p.m. tomorrow. The top 18 teams will be determined and they will advance to the finals on Wednesday. A dinner and competitors meeting for the finals is scheduled tomorrow evening at Salve Regina at 6:30 p.m.

Top nine teams eastern semi-final, day 1
1. U.S. Coast Guard Academy, 49
2. College of Charleston, 50
3. Georgetown University, 51
4. Dartmouth College, 64
5. University of Rhode Island, 68
6. University of South Florida, 101
7. Brown University, 102
8. St. Mary’s College of Maryland, 103
9. George Washington University, 111

Top nine teams western semi-final, day 1
1. Yale University, 32
2. Stanford University, 67
3. Boston College, 70
4. Old Dominion University, 82
5. University of Vermont, 85
6. U.S. Naval Academy, 90
7. Bowdoin College, 92
8. Eckerd College, 93
9. Cornell University, 96

Full results - Eastern semi-final


Full results - Western semi-final

			School	Team	A		B		TOT
	1		Yale University	Bulldogs	22		28		50
	2		Stanford University	Cardinal	48		29		77
	3		Boston College	Eagles	50		32		82
	4		University of Vermont	Catamounts	64		35		99
	5		Bowdoin College	Polar Bears	60		47		107
	6		Old Dominion University	Monarchs	47		70		117
	7		Cornell University	Big Red	80		39		119
	8		U. S. Naval Academy	Midshipmen	53		73		126
	9		University of Wisconsin	Badgers	69		60		129
	10		Eckerd College	Tritons	75		57		132
	11		Santa Clara University	Broncos	112		79		191
	12		Texas A&M University at Galveston	Aggies	121		81		202
	13		Western Washington University	Vikings	115		102		217
	14		University of Wisconsin Milwaukee	Panthers	135		109		244