College Sailing Week 7: Stanford doubles up, Harvard makes history, and the Midwest crowns champions

College Sailing Week 7 © clearairmag.com

College sailing delivered a loaded Week 7, with Stanford winning two showcase events, Harvard taking its first-ever Women's Atlantic Coast Championship, and conference singlehanded champions crowned in the Midwest.

College sailing packed a remarkable amount of action into Week 7, headlined by Stanford's wins at two major regattas, Harvard's first-ever Women's Atlantic Coast Championship title, and a pair of MCSA singlehanded titles decided on Lake Michigan. Meanwhile, Boston College continued its surge with a marquee women's victory, Navy won the McMillan Cup on home waters, and several earlier results reached the scoreboard for the first time.

Stanford made the strongest statement of the weekend by winning both the 35th Captain Hurst Bowl at Dartmouth and the Nevins Trophy at Kings Point (U.S. Merchant Marine Academy). At the Hurst Bowl, the Cardinal posted 96 points to win an 18-team field. Lucas Woodworth and crew Avery Peterson finished second in A Division with 48 points, while Richard Sykes and crew Hannah Crompton won B Division outright, also on 48 points. Saturday brought a blustery northwest breeze ranging from 14 to 25 knots with light snow on Mascoma Lake. No racing took place Sunday in calm conditions, leaving Saturday's ten races as the final results.

Boston College took second on 117 points, led by Tanner Krygsveld in A Division and Ryan McGauley with crew Brendan Peary in B. Tulane finished third with 134, Yale fourth with 136, and Brown fifth with 143. Yale's Wyatt Kelly and crew Ashley Highland won A Division, ahead of Stanford and Boston College. Brown's B Division pair of Noah Stapleton and Marin Soderberg finished second in B with 55 points, the Bears' strongest divisional result. Dartmouth, hosting, placed sixth with 150, buoyed by a strong B Division showing from Turner Ryon, Sam de los Reyes, and crew Alexander Donahue, who finished third in B on 57 points.

At the Nevins Trophy, Stanford was equally commanding. Thomas Whidden and crew Kate Myles won A Division with 52 points, and Dylan Sih with crew Alexandra Jones won B Division with 47 points, giving the Cardinal a combined 99, far clear of Pennsylvania's 156. Tufts finished third with 175, powered by Devon Owen in B Division, who finished second with 57 points. Navy placed fourth on 180, and St. Mary's was fifth on 182. Saturday's big northerly breeze caused numerous breakdowns. The Nevins result remains provisional.

Stanford won both overall titles, finishing second in A and first in B at the Hurst Bowl before sweeping both divisions at the Nevins Trophy.

The two wins came on the same weekend that a young Stanford women's team finished second at the Women's Atlantic Coast Championship Final, just seven points from victory.

Harvard won the Women's Atlantic Coast Championship Final at St. Mary's with 139 points, the program's first-ever Women's ACC title, edging Stanford by seven and Yale by eight. Only four points separated the leaders after Saturday's 10 races, and the top four teams finished just 15 points apart after Harvard pulled away in Sunday's final four races.

Kate Danielson won B Division with 52 points, sailing with crew Zia Zucker in Races 1-4 and 10, Grace Montgomery in Races 5-9, and Christina Chen in Races 11-14. Zoey Ziskind skippered A Division to fourth with 87 points, sailing with Christina Chen, Peyton Hadfield, and Grace Montgomery across different race sets. It was the combination of Danielson's B Division dominance and Ziskind's consistency that delivered the title. Yale's Dorothy Mendelblatt and crew Genevieve Schmidt won A Division with 49 points, 19 clear of the next boat, but the Bulldogs' B Division result of 98 left them third overall. Tulane placed a strong fourth on 154.

At the companion Women's Atlantic Coast Tournament hosted by Navy, Boston College topped a 17-team field with 151 points. Charlotte MacDonald and crew Ainsley West won B Division with 59 points, while Sophie Niemann and crew Gabrielle Trinter placed third in A with 92. Old Dominion finished a close second on 157, with Marina Conde, Morgan Auth, and Helena Allocco winning A Division on 85 points. Miami took third on 187, followed by Rhode Island at 194 and Northeastern at 195.

Saturday delivered eight races per division in a north-northeast breeze of 8-15 knots; Sunday's lighter northeast wind allowed the final six races to be completed. Boston College's win adds to an increasingly impressive fall resume for the Eagles.

Results from ICSA Techscore at time of writing

Navy won the McMillan Cup in the Navy 44s on the Chesapeake with two entries in the 10-boat fleet, and they finished first and second. Navy's Midshipmen 1 won with 17 points, followed by Midshipmen 2 on 22. College of Charleston and Rhode Island tied on 23, with the Cougars taking third on tiebreaker. Saturday's gale-force northerly winds restricted racing to two races near Greenbury Point, with spinnakers grounded, and four more races followed on Sunday.

In the Midwest, Purdue's Christopher Draper won the MCSA Open Singlehanded Championship in ILCA 7s hosted by Northwestern on Lake Michigan, finishing with 8 points. Hope College's Lucas Nykamp was second on 17, and Hope's Matthew TeVelde third on 23. Saturday started light with residual 6-foot chop before a southerly-to-easterly breeze of 8-12 knots allowed three races. Sunday brought a classic Chicago southwesterly averaging 15-18 knots with puffs to 22. Multiple breakdowns occurred, including a broken radial bottom section.

Hope College's Caroline Henry won the MCSA Women's Singlehanded Championship in ILCA 6s with 10 points in a four-boat fleet, one point ahead of teammate Ella Sligh. Chicago's Marie Schauer finished third on 13. Draper and Henry both earned berths at the national championships.

The David Lee Arnoff Trophy at Hobart and William Smith remains provisional. Vermont leads with 166 points, just one ahead of host Hobart and William Smith at 167, with Cal Poly SLO third on 194. Saturday brought cool temperatures and north winds of 8-18 knots on Seneca Lake, with 10 races completed.

At the Stoney Burke, USC won the varsity event at Berkeley with 60 points. Cal Poly Maritime's Nicholas Mueller and crew Chloe Hedge won A Division with 26 points, while USC's combined score across both divisions proved decisive. USC also won the Stoney Burke JV with 30 points. Western Washington won the Outlaw Regatta at Oregon with 48 points, led by Alexander Turloff in A Division and Adam Turloff in B.

Northwestern won the Emma B. Memorial Regatta at Hope College with 39 points. Gavin Eskilson and crew Miranda Beitel won A Division; Wisconsin's Thomas Svencer and Jenna Princing won B Division, helping the Badgers to second on 49. Minnesota won the Carin Streufert Memorial Regatta at home with 28 points.

Navy took the Washington College Fall Open with 30 points from their first team alone, placing two squads in the top two. Northeastern swept the New Hampshire doubleheader, winning the Peak Foliage on Saturday with 50 points and the Reece's Cup on Sunday with 9. SUNY Maritime won the Stony Brook Fall Open with 41. Clemson took the Tiger Town Trophy at home with 25 points, and Palm Beach Atlantic won its own Palm Beach Trophy with 10 points in an eight-team fleet.

Several results from earlier weekends were finalized this week. From Week 6, Cal Poly SLO won the UCSD Open with 45 points. UC Santa Cruz won the Frosh-Soph at UCSD with 32 points. Fordham won the Oyster Bowl Women's at Georgetown with 82 points, and Brown won the Richard Ross College Bowl at Courageous Sailing in Boston with 7 points, claiming five of six races.

Stanford's two-win weekend underscores the Cardinal's strength in coed fleet racing this fall. Brown remains dangerous, with strong finishes continuing to pile up. Harvard's first Women's ACC title and Boston College's tournament win reshape the women's picture heading toward championship season. Navy's McMillan Cup win, with both of its boats on the podium, highlights the Midshipmen's big-boat program.

Several regattas were still awaiting final results at time of writing, including the MCSA Match Race Championship and the Hatch Brown Trophy. The Savin Hill Invite and Dave Perry Trophy, both sailed October 17-18, are now complete and will be covered in next week's update along with any other late results.

Looking ahead, the schedule includes the Oberg Trophy at Northeastern, the Lake Virginia Invitational at Rollins, Cedarfest at Michigan State, the Seahawk Showdown at UNC Wilmington, and the NW Frosh Soph at Western Washington.

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