September 30, 2007
#14 WC Finishes 12th at Danmark Trophy
Washington Also Sixth at Tom Curtis, Competes at Faye Bennet

CHESTERTOWN, MD -- The 14th-ranked Washington College sailing team finished 12th of 20 teams at the Danmark Trophy, a co-ed intersectional regatta hosted by Coast Guard, this weekend. Washington also finished sixth of 18 at the Tom Curtis Memorial, hosted by Georgetown and had two sailors compete at the Faye Bennet Trophy, the MAISA Women's Singles Championships, hosted by Navy.

At the Danmark Trophy, senior skipper Alex Hood (Newport, RI/Portsmouth Abbey) sailed with senior crew Shrijana Puri (Bethesda, MD/Bethesda-Chevy Chase) and freshman crew Caroline Hill (Tiverton, RI/Bishop Stang, MA) to place 16th in A Division, while sophomore skipper Conner Blouin (Tampa, FL/Jesuit) and freshman crew James Shepherd (Chicago, IL/Lincoln Park) were ninth in B Division.

Third-ranked Boston College won the Danmark Trophy, followed by second-ranked Yale in second place and top-ranked St. Mary's in third. Fifteen of the current top 20 ranked co-ed teams competed at Danmark Trophy. Seventeen races were sailed in each division.

At the Tom Curtis Memorial, junior skipper Derek Packard (Excelsior, MN/Breck) and junior crew Seth Olson (Branford, CT/Branford) were sixth in A Division, while sophomore skipper Patrick Clancy (Scituate, MA/Boston College HS) and sophomore crew Krista Hankins (Bridgeton, NJ/Cumberland Regional) were second in B Division. Clancy and Hankins finished in the top six in all six B Division races, winning the final one.

Fourth-ranked Georgetown won the Tom Curtis Memorial, while seventh-ranked Hobart/WIlliam Smith was third and 18th-ranked Old Dominion was third. Six races were sailed in each division Saturday in northwest winds of 12-15 miles per hour gradually subsiding to 4-7 miles per hour. Only one A Division race was sailed Sunday before the wind died and racing was called.

At the Faye Bennet Trophy, senior Meredith Dodd (Pittsburgh, PA/Upper St. Clair) finished 11th of 20 sailors, while senior Alexandria Starks (Toms River, NJ/Monsignor Donovan) was 16th. Sara Morgan Watters of St. Mary's won the Faye Bennet Trophy.

Next weekend, the Washington College sailing team will compete at the Hobart/William Smith Fall Intersectional and the Navy Fall Women's Intersectional.