No. 9/11 St. Mary's Sailing Opens up 2012-13 Season with a Bang
St. Mary's City, Md. – The nationally-ranked St. Mary's College of Maryland sailing team opened the 2012-13 campaign this past weekend, faring well at the Laser South and Radial Open at the U.S. Naval Academy, the Harry Anderson Trophy at Yale University, and the Riley Cup at Old Dominion University.
Weather conditions were favorable at USNA until a Saturday afternoon storm brought in winds at 40+ knots, capsizing most of the fleet and delaying events until Sunday. In an 18-team field for the Radial Open, senior Mayumi Roller (St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands) captured a first-place finish while sophomore Catherine Shanahan (Tierra Verde, Fla.) took second. Senior Kayla McComb (Newport Beach, Calif.) also notched a top 10 finish with her eighth-place finish. All three sailors now advance to the Faye Bennet Trophy, the Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association Conference singlehanded championships, at the U.S. Naval Academy on September 22-23.
In the Laser South, junior John Wallace (St. Petersburg, Fla.) tied for second with Georgetown University's first-year Greg Martinez. The second-place finish earned Wallace a berth in the Carl Van Duyne, the MAISA singlehanded championships, at the U.S. Naval Academy on October 6-7.
In other action this weekend, the Seahawks finished sixth at the Harry Anderson Trophy hosted by Yale University. Saturday's sailing was characterized by massive waves and many capsizes while Sunday was less breezy with two races being completed in each division before the breeze died for the day. Junior Fletcher Sims (Annapolis, Md.), sophomore Thad Bench (Chestertown, Md.) and junior Kelley Merryman (Severna Park, Md.) finished fifth in the A Division while junior Ian Liberty (Colts Neck, N.J.), sophomore Tommy Galster (Wickford, R.I.) and senior Ainsley Thomson (Princeton, N.J.) finished seventh in the B Division.
The Seahawks also claimed seventh at the Riley Cup hosted by Old Dominion. The Riley Cup was blessed with perfect sailing weather. Sophomores Nick Clemence (Pewaukee, Wis.) and Rachel Ryan (Ellicott City, Md.) competed in the A division while first-year Marissa Golison (Long Beach, Calif.) and senior Nina-Mercedes Rabin (Branford, Conn.) competed in the B Division with both boats placing seventh.
St. Mary's will be back in action this weekend, September 15-16, at the Nevins Trophy at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, the Hatch Brown Trophy at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Central #1 at the Toms River Yacht Club (Toms River, N.J.).
