November 4, 2002
WC Sails to Best-Ever Finish
at MAISA Fall Championships

ST. MARY'S CITY, MD -- The 17th-ranked Washington College sailing team finished fourth at this weekend's MAISA Fall District Championships, the War Memorial Regatta at St. Mary's (MD) College. The fourth-place finish is Washington's best-ever finish at any district championship event, topping last year's seventh-place finishes at the fall and spring championships.

WC's finish also moved the squad ahead of Navy in the scheduling rankings, enabling WC to select its schedule ahead of Navy for the 2003-04 season.

In A Division, junior skipper Mike Buckley (Sandwich, MA/Tabor Academy), sailing with sophomore crew Diane Morrow (Tabernacle, NJ/Shawnee) and freshman crew Carl Horrocks (Point Pleasant, NJ/Point Pleasant Boro) finished in sixth place.

Sophomore Colin Robertson (Annapolis, MD/St. Mary's) skippered WC to a fourth-place finish in B Division, sailing with junior crew Jennifer Hanley (Sparks, MD/Maryvale Prep) and sophomore crew Nathan St. Onge (Hyannis, MA/Barnstable).

Second-ranked St. Mary's (MD) won the regatta with 95 points. Fifth-ranked Hobart/William Smith was second with 115 points, followed by 11th-ranked Georgetown with 133 points. WC finished just 22 points behind Georgetown and ahead of four nationally-ranked teams: seventh-ranked Dartmouth (10th place), 10th-ranked Kings Point (fifth place), 14th-ranked Charleston (sixth place), and 15th-ranked Navy (eighth place).

Saturday's races were held in westerly breezes which began at 15 knots and diminished throughout the day to less than 10 knots. On Sunday, the breeze went right and then died before coming back from the northwest to finish up with a one and one last set.

By finishing among the top seven teams, Washington earned the right to compete at the Atlantic Coast Dinghy Championships at Coast Guard on November 16th and 17th.