ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy intercollegiate sailing team participated in four events over the weekend, highlighted by
Gavin McJones (Jr., Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) recording a sixth-place finish at the MAISA Men's Singlehanded Championship for the Carl Van Duyne Trophy.
Hosted by the United States Merchant Marine Academy, McJones was one of 18 sailors that had qualified to compete in the race for the Carl Van Duyne Trophy. Sailing for the first time at the Merchant Marine Academy, McJones battled tough conditions on Saturday that led to just 10 of the scheduled 14 races being completed on day one of the competition.
The competition was completed on Sunday, with McJones finishing sixth overall, strengthening his stance to be granted an at-large bid to the Singlehanded National Championship later this season. Bids to the national championship will be announced by MAISA later this season.
The Midshipmen also took part in the first round of the Women's Atlantic Coast Championships hosted by Old Dominion. 17 teams were on hand battling for nine berths at the Women's Atlantic Coast Championship in Boston, Mass. later October 16-17.
Over the course of the two-day event, Navy battled through the 34-race series and came away with an impressive showing in the A Division. The run by the Mids was led by
Olivia de Olazarra (Sr., Miami, Fla.) and
Madeline Smith (So., Nokomis, Fla.) who finished third in the competition.
In the event's B Division,
Evie Blauvelt (Fr., Marietta, Ga.),
Aubin Hattendorf (So., Arlington, Texas) and
Julia Christie (So., Annapolis, Md.) came in 14th place while the team posted an eighth-place overall finish, good enough to advance to earn a bid to the Women's Atlantic Coast Championships.
The third event of the weekend for Navy was the Danmark Trophy Regatta that was hosted by Coast Guard. The competition featured 20 of the top teams in the nation, with the Midshipmen entering the competition as the defending national champions in the discipline.
Conditions proved to be a serious challenge throughout the regatta, with the Midshipmen posting a fifth-place finish overall in the 20-team field.
JC Hermus (Sr., Bellport, N.Y.) and
Kimmie Leonard (Sr., Annapolis, Md.) were seventh in the A Division while
Gray Benson (Sr., Oxford, Md.) and
Fiona Lobon (Sr., Chesnut Hill, Mass.) were fifth in the B Division.
In its final event of the weekend, Navy took part in the Tom Curtis Regatta hosted by Georgetown. The event featured six teams, with each sailing three boats in one combined division.
Jack Carminati (Sr., Youngstown, N.Y.) and
Catherine Aitken (So., Danville, Calif.) got off to a fast start, finishing in the top three in each of the first three races of the event.
The Midshipmen compiled a third-place finish overall with Carminati and Aitken finishing fifth in the combined division while
Cooper Walshe (Fr., New York, N.Y.) and
Maggie Schuler (Fr., League City, Texas) were ninth.
Tanner Kelly (Fr., Westerly, R.I.) and
Robert Ziman (Fr., San Carlos, Calif.) rounded out the participants for the Mids, finishing 12th.
Navy is slated to return to action this weekend as it takes part in the first round of the Coed Atlantic Coast Championships in Providence, R.I. along with the Oyster Bowl Regatta that will take place in St. Mary's City, Md. Each of the events will run from October 9-10.
