April 22, 2007
#19 WC 6th at MAISA Women's,
11th at Thompson Trophy

CHESTERTOWN, MD -- The 19th-ranked Washington College sailing team finished 11th of 17 teams at the Thompson Trophy, hosted by Coast Guard, and sixth of nine teams at the MAISA Spring Women's Championships, hosted by Cornell, this weekend.

At the MAISA Spring Women's Championships, junior Meredith Dodd (Pittsburgh, PA/Upper St. Clair) and freshman crew Genevieve Smith (Hampstead, MD/North Carroll) were seventh in A Division, while junior skipper Meredith Bluefeld (King of Prussia, PA/Upper Upper Merion) and junior crew Tonie Domino (Crownsville, MD/Old Mill) finished sixth in B Division.

The top five finishing schools at the MAISA Spring Women's Championships earned berths to the ICSA Women's National Championships. Top-ranked St. Mary's finished first, seventh-ranked Georgetown was second, eighth-ranked Navy was third, Hobart/William Smith was fourth, and 11th-ranked Old Dominion was fifth. Saturday's racing at the MAISA Spring Women's Championships began under clear skies with a north breeze at 6-8 knots which held throughout the day. Sunday was sunny and calm with occasional shifty puffs at 2-5 knots from the north and southwest.

At the Thompson Trophy, junior skipper Alex Hood (Newport, RI/Portsmouth Abbey) sailed with junior crew Shrijana Puri (Bethesda, MD/Bethesda-Chevy Chase) to finish seventh in A Division. Freshman skipper Conner Blouin (Tampa, FL/Jesuit) and freshman crew Krista Hankins (Bridgeton, NJ/Cumberland Regional) were 13th in B Division.

Seventh-ranked Dartmouth won the Thompson Trophy, followed by fifth-ranked Boston College in second and third-ranked Yale in third. Fifteen of the 18 teams at the Thompson Trophy are ranked in the latest Sailing World Co-Ed Top 20.

Saturday's races at the Thompson Trophy were postponed until 12:15 when a sea breeze filled which shifted 45 degrees all morning from the southeast to the southwest. Soon after 2:00 p.m., the northerly came in and pushed the southerly out. The northerly continued to shift to the west making conditions very difficult and trying. Only one race was started and abandoned on Sunday morning in a dying northerly before a break for lunch. Racing resumed at 11:35 a.m. in a nice southerly. The wind ranged from 5-8 knots all weekend.

Next weekend, the Washington College sailing team will compete at the America Trophy, hosted by Merchant Marine. The America Trophy is the MAISA Co-Ed Spring Championships.