October 21, 2007
#16 WC Third at MAISA Sloop Championships
Washington Also Finishes Second at MAISA Fall Open

ANNAPOLIS, MD -- The 16th-ranked Washington College sailing team came as close as it has ever been to qualifying for a national championship regatta this weekend, finishing tied with 12th-ranked host Navy in total points at the MAISA Sloop Championships. Navy took second place and the second of MAISA's two berths in the ICSA National Sloop Championships based on a tie-breaker, while Washington wound up with a third-place finish among the 10 schools at the regatta. Washington also finished second of 18 schools at Navy's MAISA Fall Open this weekend.

Senior skipper Alex Hood (Newport, RI/Portsmouth Abbey), senior crew Meredith Dodd (Pittsburgh, PA/Upper St. Clair), and freshman crew James Shepherd (Chicago, IL/Lincoln Park) sailed for Washington at the MAISA Sloops. Washington led Navy by four points heading into the final race, but the Midshipmen finished second in the race with WC finishing sixth, thus giving each team 39 points. As per ICSA rules, Navy won the tie-breaker since the Midshipmen had finished ahead of Washington in six of the 10 races in the regatta.

Third-ranked St. Mary's won the MAISA Sloop Championships with 33 total points, joining Navy in earning a berth to the ICSA National Sloop Championships. Seven of the regatta's 10 races were sailed on Saturday in a west-northwest breeze of 10-18 knots. The final three races were sailed on Sunday in a 4-10 knot southerly.

At the MAISA Fall Open, junior skipper Nicholas Larmore (Wilmette, IL/New Trier) and sophomore crew Genevieve Smith (Hampstead, MD/North Carroll) were fourth in A Division, while junior skipper Derek Packard (Excelsior, MN/Breck) and junior crew Seth Olson (Branford, CT/Branford) won B Division. Packard and Olson finished in the top five in all eight B Division races, winning two of them. They won their division by a full eight points.

St. Mary's was second in the MAISA Fall Open, while Navy was third. Saturday's races were sailed in puffy conditions with breeze from the west-northwest at 10-20 knots. Sunday's races were completed in a light southerly.

Next weekend, the Washington College sailing team will compete at the War Memorial, the MAISA Fall Co-Ed Dinghy Championships, hosted by New York Maritime.