September 18, 2005
WC 8th at Nevins, 5th at Fr. Groundbreaker
Washington Also 7th at Ocean County Fall Open

CHESTERTOWN, MD -- The Washington College sailing team finished eighth overall of 19 teams at the Nevins Trophy, a co-ed intersectional regatta hosted by Kings Point this weekend. WC also finished fith of 16 teams at the MAISA Freshman Groundbreaker at New York Maritime. In addition, Washington competed at the Ocean County Fall Open, finishing seventh of 18 schools.

At the Nevins Trophy, senior skipper Carl Horrocks (Point Pleasant, NJ/Point Pleasant Boro) and freshman crew Derek Packard (Excelsior, MN/Breck) led the way with a fifth-place finish in A Division. Horrocks and Packard sailed to six top-four finishes in 14 races, including two first-place finishes. Sophomore skipper Alex Hood (Newport, RI/Portsmouth Abbey) and freshman crew Colleen Kelly (Brick, NJ/Monsignor Donovan) were sixth in B Division. Hood and Kelly recorded six top-five finishes, including one first-place finish. Sophomore Parker Mitchell (Malibu, CA/Malibu) sailed in C Division, finishing 12th.

Ninth-ranked Boston College won the Nevins Trophy, followed by 17th-ranked Kings Point in second and fifth-ranked Georgetown in third. In all, 11 schools nationally-ranked in co-ed sailing competed at the regatta and Washington finished ahead of four of them - 16th-ranked Navy (10th place), 20th-ranked Connecticut College (11th place), third-ranked Dartmouth (12th place), and 15th-ranked Charleston (13th place).

Saturday's racing at the Nevins Trophy was delayed by now wind, then began in a light southerly breeze, then was delayed by a lightning storm, and was then finally completed. Six races in each division were sailed on Saturday. Four races were completed in a shifty northerly at 3-8 knots before lunch Sunday morning and another four more races were sailed in an extremely shifty northerly with strong upwind current after lunch. In all, 14 races were sailed in each division.

At the Freshman Groundbreaker, freshman skipper Nick Larmore (Wilmette, IL/New Trier) and freshman crew Brad Wright (South Orange, NJ/Columbia) were seventh in A Division, winning one race. Freshman skipper Jenn Tonks (Cumberland, ME/Greely) and freshman crew Nina Penman (Island Heights, NJ/Monsignor Donovan) placed third B Division, finishing in the top five in five of the eight races in the division.

St. Mary's won the Freshman Groundbreaker, followed by Georgetown in second and New York Maritime in third. Only two races in each division were completed Saturday after the wind filled in around 3:00 p.m. from the south at 8-10 knots. Sunday morning saw a patchy wind coming from the west varying between 4-10 knots. The breeze became more steady around noon when it shifted to the southwest. Six races in each division were sailed on Sunday.

At the OCC Fall Open, sophomore crew Chase Hillyer (Summit, NJ/Moorestown-Beard) and sophomore crew Meredith Bluefeld (King of Prussia, PA/Upper Merion) finished ninth in A Division, while sophomore skipper Meredith Dodd (Pittsburgh, PA/Upper St. Clair) and sophomore crew Tonie Domino (Crownsville, MD/Old Mill) were fifth in B Division.

St. Mary's won the OCC Fall Open, followed by Pennsylvania in second and Loyola in third. Saturday's races at the OCC Fall Open were sailed in a light breeze from the west switching to a light southeast breeze. Sunday featured light northwest breezes. Sixteen races were sailed in each division at the regatta.

The WC sailors will compete at the Laser Qualifier South (hosted by Navy), the Senator's Cup (hosted by St. Mary's), and the MacMillan Cup Eliminations (hosted by Navy) next weekend.