Gill Coed National Championship - Finals Day 1

by Jennifer Mitchell on 6 Jun 2014 The Gill Coed Dinghy National Championship continued today at St. Mary’s College of Maryland on the St. Mary’s River. The top eighteen collegiate teams in the nation advanced from the previous two days of competing in semi-finals to make it to the finals event today.

Racing got underway on time at 9:30 a.m. The conditions were some of the windiest this championship series has seen. The winds were 10-12 knots from the west-northwest causing whitecaps on the river. Temperatures were in the mid-70s. The winds were really shifty making for difficult racing. By the late afternoon the winds started to die and sailors were sent to shore to wait for breeze. After about an hour postponement, the race officials called the racing for the day.

A-division sailed in FJs and completed nine races and B-divison sailed in 420s and completed 10 races. The fleets sailed on trapezoid coursed in the morning and windward leeward four leg courses in the afternoon.

Yale University is leading after today’s racing with a 48-point gap between them and Tufts University, who is in second place. Yale was able to sail consistently today to stay on top of the leader board, especially in B-division, where they have a 27-point lead over the second place pairing, St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

'Zach [Leonard, Yale’s head coach] has been preaching to the team to stay consistent, sail for the pressure and stay in the lead group,' Bill Healy says, assistant coach for Yale. 'Tomorrow we will aim to do the same,' he says. The prediction for tomorrow is a light northerly breeze.

Sailing for Yale is: Graham Landy '15 with Eugenia Custo Greig '14 and Katherine Gaumond '15 in A-division and Ian Barrows '17 with Amanda Salvesen '14 and Marlena Fauer '14 in B-division.

Tufts University finished the day in second place, six points ahead of third place. Tuft’s A-division sailors are also sailing consistently 16 points ahead of Yale’s A-division in second place.

'We are happy with how our A-division is sailing and in B-division we just had to work on starting,' says Ken Legler, head coach for Tufts. 'We are trying to get off the [starting] line and use our speed,' he says.

'We are just focusing on our racing tomorrow and not looking at scores or other schools,' Legler says. Tomorrow will be the last day of racing.

Sailing for Tufts is: William Haeger '14 with Paula Grasberger '14 in A-division and Alejandro Ruiz-Ramon '15 with Alexander Tong '17 and Sam Madden '15 in B-division.

Georgetown University is in third place after racing today with teams in hot pursuit behind them. Stanford University is just 11 points behind Georgetown followed closely by St. Mary’s and Boston College.

Sailing for Georgetown is: Nevin Snow '16 with Katia DaSilva '15 in A-division and Alex Post '15 with Katie Olsen '15 and Bettina Redway '16 in B-division.

Racing is set to begin at 9:15 a.m. tomorrow, 15 minutes earlier than today to try and get a little extra time to race in the predicted light winds. No race can begin after 5 p.m.

An awards ceremony is scheduled to take place after racing at St. Mary’s College. Awards for podium finishers in this event will be presented, as well as the Marlow Ropes College Sailor of the Year, the Leonard M. Fowle Trophy for the best overall performing team and the Robert H. Hobbs Sportsmanship Award.

Top Nine Teams, Finals Day 1:
1. Yale University, 87
2. Tufts University, 135
3. Georgetown University, 141
4. Stanford University, 152
5. St. Mary’s College of Maryland, 154
6. Boston College, 156
7. Old Dominion University, 160
8. Dartmouth College, 170
9. U.S. Coast Guard Academy, 174

To follow live media coverage of the Gill Coed Dinghy National Championship, click on the Live Media link for the event website. Social media updates are provided daily by College Sailing.

Gary Jobson and Chris Love will be filming portions of the Championships for an ESPNU segment, which will air on Friday, July 11 at 7 p.m. ET, Saturday, July 12 at 4 a.m. and 9 a.m. ET and Sunday, July 13 at 8 a.m. ET. This will be the tenth time the ICSA/Gill Coed Dinghy National Championships have been covered on ESPNU.

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. Click here to learn more.

Complete Results:

Gill National Championship Finals

Score summary

			School	Team	A		B		TOT
	1		Yale University	Bulldogs	54		33		87
	2		Tufts University	Jumbos	38		97		135
	3		Georgetown University	Hoyas	61		80		141
	4		Stanford University	Cardinal	76		76		152
	5		St. Mary's College of Maryland	Seahawks	94		60		154
	6		Boston College	Eagles	77		79		156
	7		Old Dominion University	Monarchs	76		84		160
	8		Dartmouth College	Big Green	70		100		170
	9		U. S. Coast Guard Academy	Bears	99		75		174
	10		U. S. Naval Academy	Midshipmen	98		87		185
	11		University of Hawaii	Rainbows	80		110		190
	12		College of Charleston	Cougars	103		89		192
	13		Brown University	Bears	95		112		207
	14		University of South Florida	Bulls	82		133		215
	15		Bowdoin College	Polar Bears	85		132		217
*	16		University of Wisconsin	Badgers	108		120		228
*	17		Connecticut College	Camels	112		116		228
	18		Harvard University	Crimson	131		128		259

Sym.	Explanation
*	Head-to-head tiebreaker