Conference Championship Weekend crowns champions across college sailing

Conference Championship Weekend crowns champions across college sailing © Clear Air Editorial

Conference titles fell across every region in college sailing this week, with Georgetown, Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Tulane, and Navy all capturing hardware on championship weekend.

College sailing delivered its biggest weekend of the fall season as conference championships took center stage from Annapolis to Corpus Christi to Lake Champlain. Georgetown won the War Memorial, Harvard claimed the NEISA women's crown, Yale took the NEISA open title, Stanford won three regattas on two coasts, Tulane swept both SEISA fall championships, and Navy won the Kennedy Cup, the keelboat national championship, on home waters. The results sharpen the national picture heading into singlehanded nationals and the remaining postseason events.

Navy captured the Kennedy Cup, the ICSA's big-boat national championship sailed in Navy 44s, edging Maine Maritime Academy by a single point. Host Navy topped the 10-boat fleet with 34 points, just one ahead of Maine Maritime at 35. North Carolina State and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy tied at 37, with NC State taking third on tiebreak. Cal Poly Maritime (43), College of Charleston (46), Massachusetts Maritime Academy (55) and the University of Rhode Island (63) completed the top eight, with Kings Point (U.S. Merchant Marine Academy) ninth and the U.S. Military Academy tenth.

Racing ran Friday through Sunday, October 30 to November 1, in Annapolis, in the first year of a modified format: a practice on Friday morning was followed by four races that afternoon. Friday's conditions featured persistent shifts and a strong current that pushed boats into marks, making lay line calls treacherous. Navy's Aden Newman skippered the Midshipmen to the overnight lead with eight points after the first day. Saturday brought a more familiar northerly breeze that leveled the playing field somewhat. On Sunday the race committee moved the start earlier to try to fit in two more races, but the wind faded during the first one, and a passing tanker cast a large wind shadow across the course. Only three boats finished within the time limit, and with the wind shutting off completely, no second race was possible. NC State won that race, and Navy's second place sealed the championship. Maine Maritime received redress for the race.

It was Navy's first Kennedy Cup since 2012, ending a 14-year gap, and a step up from second place last fall. Newman sailed with Lawton Harper, Brendan Hawko, Nolan Stanfield, Frank Bradshaw, Ford Buckley, Lauren Aaby, Nico Martinez and Sofia Parker. Maine Maritime improved from fifth to second, and NC State climbed from ninth to third. Coast Guard finished fourth, one place below its third-place finish a year ago.

Georgetown wins the War Memorial

Georgetown won the War Memorial, the MAISA open fall championship, at Navy with 31 points across five races in each division. Navy was second with 40, and Hobart and William Smith Colleges took third with 44 in the 17-team field.

Conditions in Annapolis were a challenge. Saturday opened in a northwest breeze that clocked to the north and then northeast, with two races per division completed in four to six knots before a break. An easterly that became southeasterly allowed a third race per division before pressure dropped below four knots. Sunday's southeasterly hovered near four knots with an outgoing current on the Severn, and two more races per division were completed.

Georgetown's Peter Barnard and Teddy Stoldt scored 20 points in A Division, while Pierce Olsen and Abigail Chang posted just 11 in B Division, tied with Navy for the division's best score. St. Mary's Nathan Jensen and Lauren Choi also scored 20 in A Division, but the Seahawks finished sixth overall after their B Division scored 42. The University of Pennsylvania placed fourth at 50, Fordham fifth at 58, and Princeton seventh at 66.

Georgetown's nine-point War Memorial win over host Navy makes the Hoyas the team to watch in MAISA heading into the spring.

Harvard takes the Victorian Urn; Yale wins the Schell Trophy

The two marquee NEISA conference championships split across New England venues, and two traditional powers came away with the trophies.

At the Victorian Urn Trophy, the NEISA women's fall championship hosted by Dartmouth on Lake Mascoma, Harvard won with 79 points in a 16-team fleet. Tufts and Roger Williams tied at 129, with Tufts taking second on tiebreak. Brown was fourth at 140, Yale fifth at 142, and host Dartmouth sixth at 146. Saturday produced a strong northwest breeze of eight to fifteen knots that allowed ten races per division. Sunday's fickle west-northwest wind yielded only a few additional races before dying.

Harvard's Zoey Ziskind skippered A Division to a first-place divisional finish with 40 points, crewed by Peyton Hadfield and Christina Chen. Kate Danielson led B Division to first as well, scoring 39 with crew from Christina Chen and JJ Drummond. That across-the-board dominance powered the comfortable win.

Harvard's women won their first Women's Atlantic Coast Championship earlier this fall, and the Urn strengthens their case as the team to beat on the women's circuit.

At the Schell Trophy, the NEISA open fall championship hosted by Vermont on Lake Champlain, Yale took the title with 129 points in an 18-team fleet. Brown was second at 142, and Boston College third at 147. Roger Williams (167), Harvard (188), Tufts (222), and Dartmouth (228) followed. Saturday's racing started in a four-to-ten-knot northerly that shifted northeast, with eight races completed per division in cold, partly cloudy conditions. Sunday brought a warmer southerly at eight to twelve knots that clocked west and built a steep one-to-two-foot chop, with six more races per division.

Brown's Noah Stapleton led B Division to a first-place finish with 55 points, sharing duties with James Pine, Marin Soderberg, and Reese Corckran. Yale's strength was more evenly distributed: the Bulldogs posted 67 in A and 62 in B. Boston College's Alex Lech and Lanie Ferrarone finished second in A Division with 79 points.

Yale won the Open Atlantic Coast Championship in Week 8, and the Schell adds a conference title to a strong fall for the Bulldogs.

Stanford dominates out West with three titles

Stanford claimed three trophies over the weekend of October 31 to November 1, winning two regattas at home on Redwood Creek and the Nickerson Trophy hosted by Tufts. At home, conditions were tricky both days: Saturday featured a light northerly that built before going hard northwest mid-race, causing abandoned races. Sunday saw the breeze oscillate between a northerly and a northwest, making for a frustrating day that still produced six races to go with Saturday's eight.

At the PCCSC Women's Fall Championship, Stanford won with 74 points in a nine-team fleet. Hawaii was second at 112, and UC Santa Barbara third at 216. Ava McAliley led B Division to first with 28 points, crewed by Alexandra Jones and Piper Blackband. Alice Schmid and Avery Baldwin shared A Division skipper duties, finishing second with 46.

At the Top-9 Fall Invite, Stanford's coed squad won with 108 points in a nine-team fleet. San Diego State was second at 189, and UC Santa Barbara third at 248. Thomas Whidden topped B Division with 43 points, while Dylan Sih and Lucas Woodworth combined to finish second in A Division at 65.

At the Nickerson Trophy, the interconference first-year championship hosted by Tufts, Stanford took the title with 68 points in a 17-team fleet. Brown was second at 85, and Roger Williams third at 105. Nathan Pine of Brown won A Division outright with 25 points, but Stanford's balanced scoring across both divisions proved decisive.

Results from ICSA Techscore at time of writing

Tulane and New Hampshire round out College Sailing Conference Champions

Tulane swept both SEISA Fall Championships in Corpus Christi on October 31 and November 1. In the five-team open championship, the Green Wave posted just 10 points. Charles Hackel and Sabrina Casagrande won A Division with five points, while Nicholas Anders and Maura McPartlin matched that total to win B Division. Texas A&M was second at 17. In the three-team women's championship on Sunday, Tulane won with 14 points. Paige Tillson and Brynn Behrens led A Division with six points. Texas A&M was again second at 16. Racing was delayed by heavy fog and a marine layer, with the fleet not launching until after 11:30 a.m. and the first start not coming until 3:41 p.m. in four to five knots of southeasterly breeze.

At the NEISA Fall Tournament, hosted by Bentley, the University of New Hampshire won with 99 points in an eight-team fleet. McGill was second at 145. Marykate Hanus led B Division to first for the Wildcats, while Ted Richardsson finished second in A Division. UMass Amherst and Middlebury tied at 224 for third.

College Sailing heads into championship stretch

The SAISA Fall Open Fleet Race Championship remains provisional, with College of Charleston leading at 63 points, well clear of South Florida at 115 in the 16-team field. Charlie Allen and Jack Bolton paced A Division, with Clara Murphy crewing two races, while Jonnie Ciffolillo and John Szynal topped B Division, with Andrea Melnik crewing two races.

Racing has finished at the MAISA Fall Women's Championship at Hobart and William Smith, where Georgetown is first on 53 points ahead of Columbia on 76, but Techscore had not marked the result official at time of writing. The Dave Perry Trophy at Yale was still listed as in progress, with Brown leading. Both will be covered once final.

Next week brings the final stretch of the fall championship season. The Janet Lutz Trophy and Glen S. Foster Trophy, the women's and open singlehanded national championships, are both hosted by Fordham on November 7. The MCSA Fall Championship takes place at Ohio State, while the West Coast Championships are hosted by San Diego State. The North North regatta at Washington rounds out the schedule.

With conference titles now decided, the national picture is taking shape. Brown, Yale, Stanford, Georgetown, Harvard, and Navy have all staked claims as contenders heading into the spring. The singlehanded nationals will add another data point before the long winter break.

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