Hawkins, Yoshiyasu win Ida Lewis Trophy at 2018 U.S. Junior Women’s Doublehanded Championship

Yumi Yoshiyasu (left, crew) and Maddie Hawkins (right, helm) on Lake Erie from Day 2 at the 2018 U.S. Junior Women's Doublehanded Championship © Erin Gallagher

Another great week of junior women's sailing came to an exciting conclusion Sunday on Lake Erie. It was an especially exceptional weekend for the team of Maddie Hawkins (Edgewater, Md.) and Yumi Yoshiyasu (Houston, Texas) who claimed the Ida Lewis Trophy at the 2018 U.S. Junior Women's Doublehanded Championship, hosted by Mentor Harbor Yachting Club. It was the second consecutive win at this US Sailing National Championship for Hawkins who won this title last year in Annapolis, Md.

Forty teams of two in the Club 420 featuring young women sailors, age 13-18, wrapped up an action packed week in Mentor, Ohio for three days of racing Friday through Sunday, two day of clinics on Wednesday and Thursday with a strong cast of coaches from around the country, and a series of social events and experiences throughout the week in the greater Cleveland area.

Hawkins and Yoshiyasu were incredibly consistent all week. They won four races and placed no worse than fourth, despite a 10th place finish in Race 10, which was their throwout score. The team of Colleen O'Brien (Fair Haven, N.J.) and Michaela O'Brien (Fair Haven, N.J.) stayed close all week with Hawkins and Yoshiyasu and sailed at a high level throughout. They won Race 9 and 10 to close out the weekend in second place, just five points back. Vanessa Lahrkamp (Rye, N.Y.) and Katherine McNamara (Darien, Conn.) took home third place honors.

"We have been greatly improving our starts and just having a fast boat helped us look up for pressure which was a big key for this regatta," said Hawkins. "We had a lot of fun at the scheduled activities this week, including the Yoga session and the Rock'n Roll Hall of Fame. Overall it was a really good experience."

Next up for this dynamic duo is the I-420 World Championships this week in Newport, R.I. and back to high school sailing in the Fall.

Overall Results: (top five)

1. Maddie Hawkins/Yumi Yoshiyasu, Annapolis YC/Houston YC, – 1 – 2 – 1 – 2 – 1 – 1 – 2 – 4 – 2 – (10); 16
2. Colleen O'Brien/Michaela O'Brien, Bay Head YC, – (4) – 4 – 2 – 1 – 4 – 3 – 3 – 2 – 1 – 1; 21
3. Vanessa Lahrkamp/Katherine McNamara, American YC, – 6 – 3 – 7 – 3 – 5 – (8) – 1 – 3 – 5 – 7; 40
4. Cordelia Burn/Sarah Moeder, Bay Head YC, – 11 – 5 – 5 – 7 – 7 – 7 – (13) – 7 – 4 – 4; 57
5. J.J. (Jessica) Smith/Laurel Tyson, Sarasota Youth Sailing/CRYC, – 2 – 6 – 3 – (OCS-41) – 15 – 11 – 4 – 6 – 3 – 11; 61

Complete standings and results can be found here.