Macky in 2007/2008 ICSA All-America Sailing Team

by Jan Harley, Media Pro Newport on 28 Jun 2008
Yale University rising senior Jane Macky of Auckland has been named an ICSA All-American by the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association.

The Intercollegiate Sailing Association of North America (ICSA) has announced the members of its 2007/2008 ICSA All-America Sailing Team, along with the Quantum Female College Sailor of the Year, the College Sailor of the Year, Sportsman of the Year and the winner of the Leonard M. Fowle Memorial Trophy for the all-around best college team.

The ICSA All-American honors are awarded to competitors who demonstrated outstanding performance in competition during the college sailing year (fall and spring seasons) just concluded. A panel of representatives from each of the seven ICSA conferences reviews each sailor’s individual results and sailors are named to the team as All-Americans, Women’s All-Americans and/or All-American Crews. Their names will be added to the permanent ICSA Hall of Fame display located in the Robert Crown Sailing Center at the U.S. Naval Academy (Annapolis, Md.).

2008 College Sailor of the Year – Chris Behm (Hampton, Va.) a graduating senior from Georgetown University (Washington, D.C.) has been recognized as the 2008 College Sailor of the Year. The honor caps a season that ended with a bang earlier this month when his performance in A-Division at the ICSA/Gill National Championship (June 2-4) earned Georgetown that coveted title for the first time in school history. He also skippered the Hoya’s A-Division boat to several conference wins in the Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association, and helped Georgetown win the ICSA Western Region Semifinals by 20 points in order to qualify for the national championships.

During the ICSA/APS Team Race National Championship (May 30-June 1) Behm was again helming the Hoya’s A-Division boat. 'It was such a competitive nationals. We were definitely happy with our finish [second] -- BC sailed really well -- but it also made us hungry for a win [heading into the ICSA/Gill National Championship]. GU had never won that title and this was something we really wanted to give to our coaches and the school.'

Behm, who was also recognized as an ICSA All-American for the third consecutive year, had learned to sail by going out with his father and older brother, progressing through the junior program at Hampton Yacht Club, the 'Opti circuit' and the high school sailing team. 'My parents told me not to pick a college based on sailing,' said Behm. 'But Georgetown was a win-win situation for me because both the school and the sailing team had a great reputation.'

With a degree in business management, Behm now hopes to line up a six-year apprenticeship driving container ships. And as the owner of a 505, he’ll also be continuing his competitive sailing career.

Quantum Female College Sailor of the Year – Kaitlin Storck (Huntington, N.Y.) has been named the 2008 Quantum Female College Sailor of the Year. Storck, a graduating senior at Tufts University (Medford, Mass.) is the first Lady Jumbo to win the honor and was also named an ICSA All-American for the second time (2006, 2007).

'She is physically and mentally tough and she is an incredibly good sport,' said Tufts Head Sailing Coach Ken Legler of Storck who, in April, was named New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association Woman Sailor of the Year and Women’s Sportsmanship award winner for 2008.

Storck and crew Lyndsey Gibbons-Neff (Rosemont, Penn.), placed second in A -Division at the New England Championships, helping the Jumbos finish second overall to qualify for the ICSA Womens’ National Championship. At Nationals, the duo dominated A-Division for the first two days of the championship before finishing fourth after several double-digit scores on the final day of racing.

'I had gotten nervous and didn’t sail well,' said Storck of the final day of the ICSA Women’s National Championship. 'I didn’t think I was getting this [award] because I sailed so badly the last day. But the award was for the whole year and it was really exciting for me to get it.'

Earlier in the spring, Storck, with Gibbons-Neff crewing for 10 out of 12 races, won A-Division at the Dellenbaugh Trophy after starting the season as the division runner-up at the St. Mary's College Inter-sectional. Last fall, the duo won the Atlantic Coast Championship and placed second at the Stu Nelson Trophy.

Storck’s older brothers, Erick and John, were both ICSA All-Americans, and her parents met on a sailboat. The family, including younger brother Ian, also a sailor, regularly race together. 'I’m naturally competitive. I did a lot of dance in high school (St. Anthony’s) and that was different, but I always liked sailing more,' said the political science major whose sailing resume includes competing at the 420 Worlds, the ISAF Youth World Championship and the J/80 World Championship. Armed with the knowledge that she wants to continue sailing competitively – 'I like to go fast and get wet' -- Storck is seriously eyeing an Olympic campaign.

2008 ICSA Sportsman of the Year – Paul Kleinschrodt (Mobile, Ala.) – University of South Alabama rising senior Paul Kleinschrodt has been recognized as the 2008 ICSA Sportsman of the Year. A member of a well-known sailing family, he learned to sail at Buccaneer Yacht Club and by the time he entered 'South' he was able to join the fairly new team organized by his brother Karl, the 2006 ICSA Student Leadership Award recipient. With the leadership reigns passed to him, Paul organized fundraisers to make up the difference between the $1000 the student government gives the sailing team each semester and the cost of getting to events the team wanted to compete in. The USA team takes off only one or two weekends during the entire school year -- when the regattas were too far to travel to.

The All America Selection Committee recognized Kleinschrodt’s ability to compete at the highest levels of the game (he won A-Division at the SEISA championships by a big margin, and had four sectional wins out of five inter-sectionals) and maintain the highest ethical standards of fair play and good sportsmanship. Competitors recognized both his competitive excellence and spirit when racing against them.

Kleinschrodt was 'very surprised' when news came that he was the recipient of the honor. 'I got a phone call while I was at work, and then 10 more calls. I was excited to hear about it and it made my heart feel really great.'

After he spends this summer working in the family’s custom cabinetry business, senior year will see Kleinschrodt resume his studies in civil engineering. 'When I graduate from college I’m going to upgrade my yacht club membership to from student to active membership to get involved. I’m 100% dedicated to the sport. I’ll be sailing the rest of my life.'

Fowle Memorial Trophy – Boston College: The Leonard M. Fowle Memorial Trophy, recognizing the year’s best all-around performance in college sailing, has been awarded to Boston College (Chestnut Hill, Mass.). Presented since 1972, the award is determined by points accumulated at the six major Intercollegiate Sailing Association Championships.

Last fall, BC finished second at the ICSA/Vanguard Men’s Singlehanded National Championship and the ICSA Sloop National Championship. At the end of May, the Lady Eagles won BC’s first-ever sailing title when they claimed the 2008 ICSA Women’s National Championship after three days of racing saw them triumph over 17 other colleges. After a day off, BC scored their second national title with a win over 14 colleges battling for the ICSA/APS Team Race National Championship (May 30-June 1). The Eagles then finished the year with a second-place finish at the ICSA/Gill National Championship after a hard-fought series.

For more on ICSA, visit www.collegesailing.org. A full list of the 2007/2008 ICSA All-Amer