November 11, 2007
#16 WC Finishes Fall Season at
Pair of Atlantic Coast Championships

CHESTERTOWN, MD -- The 16th-ranked Washington College sailing team finished its fall season this weekend, finishing 15th of 18 schools at the Atlantic Coast Co-Ed Dinghy Championships, hosted by Eckerd College, and 14th of 18 schools at the Atlantic Coast Women's Championships, hosted by Yale University.

At the Atlantic Coast Dinghy Championships, senior skipper Alex Hood (Newport, RI/Portsmouth Abbey) and senior crew Shrijana Puri (Bethesda, MD/Bethesda-Chevy Chase) were 17th in A Division, while sophomore skipper Conner Blouin (Tampa, FL/Jesuit) and sophomore crew Krista Hankins (Bridgeton, NJ/Cumberland Regional) were 15th in B Division.

Top-ranked Boston College won the Atlantic Coast Dinghy Championships, followed by third-ranked St. Mary's in second and fifth-ranked Georgetown in third. Saturday's races were sailed under sunny skies and temperatures in the 70's with a north-northeast shifty breeze from 7-11 miles per hour. Sunday's winds started light in the morning and built to a steady breeze for most of the day. Winds were east-northeast from 8-12 miles per hour with some shifty conditions late in the day.

At the Atlantic Coast Women's Championships, senior skipper Meredith Dodd (Pittsburgh, PA/Upper St. Clair) and sophomore crew Genevieve Smith (Hampstead, MD/North Carroll) were 15th in A Division, while senior skipper Alexandria Starks (Toms River, NJ/Monsignor Donovan) and freshman crew Caroline Hill (Tiverton, RI/Bishop Stang, MA) finished 15th in B Division.

Sixth-ranked Yale won the Atlantic Coast Women's Championships, followed by third-ranked Charleston in second and fifth-ranked Georgetown in third. Saturday's races began in a 10-15 knot shifty northerly. As the day progressed, the wind shifted west and fell to 5-8 knots. Sunday's wind was consistently unstable. The breeze shifted from north to west and then to the northwest as the day went on with velocity ranging from 3-12 knots. Two races were abandoned due to extremely large shifts and unstable wind conditions.