April 8, 2002
WC Makes First Appearance at
Competitive MAISA Team Race

KING'S POINT, NY -- The 20th-ranked Washington College sailing team placed seventh in a field of eight teams at the Middle Atlantic Team Race Championships this past weekend. The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at King's Point hosted this event which was contested in conditions that ranged from a 25 mph breeze and snow flurries on Saturday to sun and no wind on Sunday.

This was Washington College's first-ever appearance in the championship event which invites the top seven MAISA Teams from the Fall Championships (The War Memorial Regatta) and one qualifier. WC was an automatic qualifier as the sixth place MAISA team at the War Memorial. The top two teams from this event earn berths in the ICSA Team Racing National Championships hosted by University of Hawaii, June 2-4.

Washington College posted a 2-9 record at the event, winning both of its matches against Columbia University. WC had many close matches against the top teams but could not muster any other victories. Due to a lack of breeze on Sunday, the second round robin was not completed and the race committee opted to run a double-round robin final four in the remaining time using the results from the first round robin to determine the final four. Third-ranked Georgetown University won the event with a 12-1 record. Second-ranked Old Dominion finished second at 10-3. These teams will represent MAISA at Nationals.

The WC team for the regatta was comprised of Mike Buckley (Sandwich, MA/Tabor Academy), freshman Colin Robertson (Annapolis, MD/St. Mary's), sophomore Nathan St. Onge (Hyannis, MA/Barnstable), senior Simon Day (Middletown, RI/Rocky Hill), freshman Chad Hillyer (Summit, NJ/Morristown-Beard), freshman Max von Roth (Weston, VT/Long Trail), senior Sarah Corson (Demarest, NJ/The Masters School, NY), senior Lisa Semanick (Baltimore, MD/Western Tech), and freshman Diane Morrow (Tabernacle, NJ/Shawnee).

Next weekend WC will compete in the Moody Trophy at Rhode Island and the Arrigan Memorial at Georgetown.