April 1, 2007
WC Finishes 4th at OCC Spring Open
Washington Also Ties for 6th at Team Race

CHESTERTOWN, MD -- The Washington College sailing team finished fourth of 17 schools at the Ocean County Spring Open and tied for sixth of 16 schools overall at the Southern New England Team Race, hosted by Coast Guard and Connecticut College, this weekend.

At the OCC Spring Open, sophomore crew Nicholas Larmore (Wilmette, IL/New Trier) and freshman crew Genevieve Smith (Hampstead, MD/North Carroll) were fourth in A Division, while freshman skipper Patrick Clancy (Scituate, MA/Boston College HS) and junior crew Meredith Dodd (Pittsburgh, PA/Upper St. Clair) were third in B Division. Larmore and Smith finished in the top five in eight of 16 A Division races, winning two of their final three. Clancy and Dodd finished in the top four in all but three of the 16 B Division races.

Pennsylvania won the Ocean County Spring Open, followed by second-ranked St. Mary's in second, and 14th-ranked Navy in third. Winds were 8-13 knots from the northeast on both days of racing.

At the Southern New England Team Race, eight teams competed at Coast Guard and eight at Connecticut College on Saturday. Washington finished in the top four of eight teams during Saturday's racing at Coast Guard to compete for the regatta title Sunday at Coast Guard. Washington went 1-6 on Sunday to finish in a three-way tie with Roger Williams and Navy for sixth place. 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 Southern New England Team Race.

Next weekend, the Washington College sailing team will compete at the Captain Prosser Trophy, the MAISA Team Championships, hosted by Old Dominion.