September 8, 2003
WC Wins Anderson Trophy
Shore Sailors Capture First Co-Ed Intersectional Crown

NEW HAVEN, CT -- It's hard to imagine a better head coaching debut at a new school than the one Scott Leppert had this weekend. Leppert, in his first year at Washington College, guided the 11th-ranked WC sailors to a first-place finish at the Harry Anderson Trophy, their first ever co-ed intersectional championship. Twelve of the top 20 schools in the preseason Sailing World College Rankings participated in the regatta.

Washington College took second in both divisions to capture the overall title, outdistancing second-place and seventh-ranked Tufts by 27 points. Senior skipper Mike Buckley (Sandwich, MA/Tabor Academy) and junior crew Halle Ricker (Traceys Landing, MD/St. Mary's) represented WC in A Division, while junior skipper Colin Robertson (Annapolis, MD/St. Mary's) and senior crew Jen Hanley (Sparks, MD/Maryvale Prep) sailed in B Division.

WC was in second place after Saturday's races, trailing Dartmouth by three points, but a strong Sunday performance, led by race finishes of third, eighth, third, and first in A Division, resulted in Washington taking home the title by the wide 27-point margin.

Besides Washington College and Tufts, the other ranked schools competing were top-ranked Harvard (which finished third), fourth-ranked Dartmouth (sixth), fifth-ranked Stanford (eighth), eighth-ranked St. Mary's (MD) (10th), ninth-ranked Brown (fifth), 12th-ranked Kings Point (seventh), 16th-ranked M.I.T. (13th), 17th-ranked Yale (fourth), 18th-ranked Connecticut College (18th), and 19th-ranked Navy (12th).

Both days of racing at the regatta, hosted by Yale, began with shifty winds from the north at 0-6 knots. This was followed by a brief period with no wind each day. On Saturday the wind filled in from the southwest at 6 knots and on Sunday the afternoon southwesterly was about 12 knots.

The 2003 Harry Anderson Trophy is the sixth sailing regatta of any kind that Washington College has won. The WC sailors won co-ed intrasectional titles at the 2000 Salisbury State Open, the 2000 Washington College Open, and the 2001 Old Dominion Open and women's titles at the 1999 Princeton Women's Spring Open and the 2000 Princeton Women's Fall.

Next weekend, the WC sailors are scheduled to compete at the Captain Hurst, hosted by Dartmouth, the Riley Cup, hosted by Old Dominion, and the Navy Laser Open.

FULL RESULTS AT COLLEGESAILING.ORG