April 8, 2007
WC Finishes Fifth at Prosser Trophy

NORFOLK, VA -- The Washington College sailing team finished fifth of eight teams at the Captain Prosser Trophy, the MAISA Team Race Championships, held yesterday and today at Old Dominion University.

Washington finished with a 7-7 record at the regatta. Second-ranked St. Mary's won the regatta with a 15-2 record, 14th-ranked Navy was second with a 10-7 record, and third-ranked Hobart/William Smith was third with a 13-4 record. Navy went 2-1 in the four-team finals to claim second over Hobart/William Smith. St. Mary's, Navy, and Hobart/William Smith qualified for the ICSA Team Race National Championships with their top three finishes.

Junior skipper Alex Hood (Newport, RI/Portsmouth Abbey) and junior crew Shrijana Puri (Bethesda, MD/Bethesda-Chevy Chase), junior skipper Parker Mitchell (Malibu, CA/Malibu) and sophomore crew Derek Packard (Excelsior, MN/Breck), and freshman skipper Conner Blouin (Tampa, FL/Jesuit) and junior skipper Meredith Bluefeld (King of Prussia, PA/Upper Merion) sailed for Washington at the Prosser Trophy. Junior Meredith Dodd (Pittsburgh, PA/Upper St. Clair) served as the team's spare.

Snow showers greeted the sailors on Saturday along with a northwest wind of 24-30 knots with two to three-foot chop. Racing was postponed until 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Racing began in the afternoon in a breeze that was 10-25 knots out of the northwest. Sunday's weather saw a wind mostly from the west at 12 knots, but some major variations in velocity and strength led to some capsizes.

Next weekend, the Washington College sailing team will compete at the UMBC Open and the Admiral's Cup, hosted by Merchant Marine.