March 7, 2004
WC Sailors Win ODU Open
Horrocks & Thompson Win A Division

NORFOLK, VA -- The 16th-ranked Washington College sailing team finished first of 17 teams this weekend at the ODU Open, hosted by Old Dominion. The event was the first of two MAISA South qualifiers this season. The WC sailors' first-place finish earned them a spot in the MAISA Spring Championships, the America Trophy, to be held May 1-2.

Washington finished one point ahead of 11th-ranked St. Mary's (MD) to win the regatta. Navy finished a distant third. Thirteenth-ranked Georgetown was fourth and Hampton was fifth.

Sophomore skipper Carl Horrocks (Point Pleasant, NJ/Point Pleasant Boro) and freshman crew Nat Thompson (Frederick, MD/Westtown, PA) finished first in A Division by a 12-point margin. They finished in the top four in nine of the ten A Division races. Junior Chad Hillyer (Summit, NJ/Morristown-Beard) and freshman Vanessa Anderson (Narragansett, RI/The Prout School) were second in B Division.

Saturday's race were held in strong southwesterly winds that twice caused racing to be postponed. Sunday morning's wind was east-northeast at 3-9 mph. Late in the morning it shifted to the north and then oscillated from north to northwest. At about 2:00, the wind shifted to the east-southeast and built to 12-15 mph.

The WC sailing team returns to action next weekend at the Ice Free Open, hosted by Christopher Newport.