September 9, 2007
#14 WC Finishes 8th at Anderson Trophy
Washington Also Competes at Three Other Regattas

CHESTERTOWN, MD -- The 14th-ranked Washington College sailing team finished eighth of 24 schools at the Harry Anderson Trophy, a co-ed intersectional regatta hosted by Yale University, this weekend. Sixteen of the top 20 ranked co-ed teams in the nation competed at the regatta. Washington also competed at three other regattas - the Riley Cup and BYO Radial regattas, hosted by Old Dominion, and the Navy Laser Open.

At the Anderson Trophy, senior skipper Alex Hood (Newport, RI/Portsmouth Abbey) sailed with senior crew Shrijana Puri (Bethesda, MD/Bethesda-Chevy Chase) and junior crew Seth Olson (Branford, CT/Branford) to finish 10th in A Division, while sophomore skipper Conner Blouin (Tampa, FL/Jesuit) and freshman crew James Shepherd (Chicago, IL/Lincoln Park) were 12th in B Division.

All seven schools that finished ahead of Washington at the Anderson Trophy are nationally-ranked. Second-ranked Boston College won the regatta, followed by 15th-ranked Roger Williams in second and third-ranked Yale in third. Washington finished ahead of eight nationally-ranked teams, including fifth-ranked Harvard (12th place), sixth-ranked Navy (19th place), seventh-ranked Stanford (18th place), 10th-ranked MIT (14th-place), and defending ICSA Co-Ed Dinghy National Champions and 11th-ranked College of Charleston (ninth place). Saturday's races at the Anderson Trophy were held in southerly winds of 4-10 knots. Sunday saw another light southerly of 3-8 knots.

Washington finished eighth of 16 teams overall at the Riley Cup. Senior skipper Parker Mitchell (Malibu, CA/Malibu) and sophomore crew Krista Hankins (Bridgeton, NJ/Cumberland Regional) finished eighth in A Division, while sophomore skipper Patrick Clancy (Scituate, MA/Boston College HS) and senior crew Alexandria Starks (Toms River, NJ/Monsignor Donovan) placed fifth in B Division. Eighth-ranked Georgetown won the Riley Cup, followed by top-ranked St. Mary's in second and 17th-ranked Merchant Marine in third.

At Old Dominion's BYO Radial, senior Meredith Dodd (Pittsburgh, PA/Upper St. Clair) finished 13th of 16 sailors.

Saturday at the Riley Cup and BYO Radial saw a very inconsistent breeze with 90 degree shifts throughout the day. Sunday's breeze was out of the east-northeast with gusts from 5-15 knots.

At the Navy Laser Open, senior Chase Hillyer (Summit, NJ/Morristown-Beard) was 15th of 20 sailors, while freshman Jonathan Barrows (Marblehead, MA/Marblehead) finished 16th.

Conditions were light and shifty from the west-southwest for the first set of Saturday races at Navy, but the breeze then moved left to the south and provided great laser sailing in 12-15 knots. Sunday's races were delayed due to light breeze, but the wind then filled in to 5-8 knots from the southwest. The breeze then switched to the southeast and slowly died so that the last race was sailed in four knots.

Next weekend, the Washington College sailing team will compete at the Nevins Trophy, hosted by Merchant Marine, the Ocean County Fall Open, and the New York Maritime Open.