Seahawks Take Fourth at ICSA/Gill National Championship

Courtesy of Jan Harley, Media Pro Int'l
Contact: Jan Harley, Media Pro Int'l, 401-849-0220 for ICSA

Madison, Wisc. - Light air again foiled the sailing plans of the 18 schools that had trained and competed all year to be able to challenge for the 2010 ICSA/Gill National Championship taking place on Lake Mendota from June 1-3. 

The championship is the focal point of the college sailing year, and its coveted title has been won by 19 schools over the last 42 years:  University of Southern California, San Diego State University, Tulane University, Harvard University, Yale University, Tufts University, University of Rhode Island, UCLA, United States Merchant Marine Academy - Kings Point, Boston University, College of Charleston, UC Irvine, Old Dominion University, U.S Naval Academy, Dartmouth University, St. Mary's College of Maryland, University of Hawaii, Hobart & William Smith Colleges and Georgetown University.  

Today a first-time winner of the title - Boston College - joins that fraternity having taken and held the lead position through the first two days of the championship.  The title also earns  BC another rarer entry in the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association's history books: as the sixth school to win all three spring championships (ICSA Women's Nationals, ICSA/APS Team Race Nationals, and the ICSA/Gill National Championship) along with Navy, Old Dominion, Tufts, St. Mary's and Harvard.

"The conditions made it a tiny bit anticlimactic, but it feels good," said Greg Wilkinson, Boston College head coach, about the title win.  "We arrived at the lake this morning and, as it has been for the last week, it was glass.  We talked as a team and reminded each other that we would be sailing . . . we tried to convince ourselves that we would be sailing.  I'm proud to be in that group of schools that have won all three championships.  My phone hasn't stopped buzzing with calls from Boston College staff.  BC is proud of the sailing team and it's unfortunate that school is not in session now so that we can celebrate.  We'll probably do something on campus in the fall to celebrate."

On the water for Boston College in A-Division was junior skipper Tyler Sinks (San Diego, Calif.) who sailed with crew Lucy Wallace (Middletown, R.I.) and Briana Provancha (San Diego, Calif.), both juniors, and first-year Laura McKenna (Palo Alto, Calif.).  In B-Division, junior skipper Taylor Canfield (St. Thomas, USVI) sailed all nine races with senior crew Sandra Williams (Chicago, Ill.) to win that division.  BC's final score of 127 points reflects 88 points from A-Division plus 39 from B-Division.

No doubt the wait onshore was painful for the teams in second through fifth place coming into the final day.  With only a 16-point spread between first and fifth place, had even one race been sailed, the outcome could have been vastly different.  

"All were very close and everyone wanted to sail," said Mitch Brindley, President of ICSA.  "In one race they could have made some significant steps.  And that was very frustrating."

Harvard University heads home with second-place in the overall standings.  With a final score of 132 points, only five points stood between them and the title.  Tied on 142 points, Brown University and St. Mary's College of Maryland, the defending champion, finish third and fourth overall.  Georgetown University, winners of A-Division, is fifth with 143 points.

Sailing in A-Division for the Seahawks was junior skipper Michael Menninger (Newport Harbor, Calif.) with crew Kelly Wilbur '10 (Ipswich, Mass.) and junior Brooke Thomson (Newport Harbor, Calif.), finishing fourth in the division with 78 points.  St. Mary's placed fifth in B-Division with 64 points as skipper Jesse Kirkland '10 (Warwick, Bermuda) sailed all nine races with junior crew Maddie Jackson (Bainbridge Island, Wash.).

The Format: At the ICSA/Gill National Championship, each of the 18 schools entered - after qualifying via one of two semifinal events held in early May - fields with a separate A and B division team.  Weather permitting, each division sails 20- to 30-minute fleet races in rotation and a team's final score is determined by the combined results of its sailors in both divisions.  The championship was hosted by the University of Wisconsin, utilizing their fleet of 420s, from the regatta base at Memorial Union Terrace.  For results and additional information on the championships, visit: http://2010nationals.collegesailing.org/.

Catch the Replay: Noted sailing commentator Gary Jobson (Annapolis, Md.) will produce a program on the ICSA/Gill National Championship for ESPNU that will air Friday, July 9 at 8:00 p.m. EDT.

ICSA is the governing authority for sailing competition at colleges and universities throughout the United States and in some parts of Canada.  To learn more please visit:  www.collegesailing.org.  ICSA is sponsored by Gill, Annapolis Performance Sailing, Marlow Ropes, Quantum Sails, LaserPerformance and US SAILING: www.gillna.com, www.apsltd.com, www.bainbridgeint.com, www.quantumsails.com, www.laserperformance.com/main/ and www.ussailing.org.

ICSA/Gill National Championship
(Final Standings After Two Days of Racing: School, Hometown, A + B = Total Points) 

1. Boston College (Chestnut Hill, Mass.), 88 + 39 = 127
2. Harvard University (Cambridge, Mass.), 74 + 58 = 132
3. Brown University (Providence, R.I.), 82 + 60 + 142
4. St. Mary's College (St. Mary's City, Md.), 78 + 64 = 142
5. Georgetown University (Washington, D.C.), 53 + 90 + 143
6. Yale University (New Haven, Conn.), 79 + 76 = 155
7. U.S. Naval Academy (Annapolis, Md.), 91 + 72 = 163
8. University of Vermont (Burlington, Vt.), 65 + 106 = 171
9. College of Charleston (Charleston, S.C.), 112 + 63 + 175
10. Tufts University (Medford, Mass.), 83 + 99 = 182
11. Hobart & William Smith Colleges (Geneva, N.Y.), 123 + 65 = 188
12. Salve Regina University (Newport, R.I.), 107 + 86 = 193
13. Roger Williams University (Bristol, R.I.), 96 + 98 = 194
14. Old Dominion University (Norfolk, Va.), 119 + 95 = 214
15. University of South Florida (St. Petersburg, Fla.), 98 + 127 = 225
16. U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Kings Point, N.Y.), 115 + 110 = 225
17. SUNY Maritime College (Throggs Neck, N.Y.), 118 + 115 = 233
18. Stanford University (Palo Alto, Calif.), 119 + 118 = 237