ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Navy intercollegiate sailing team closed out its fall season over the weekend by recording a second-place finish at the ICSA Match Race Championship hosted at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club in St. Petersburg, Fla. by South Florida.

The second-place mark by the Midshipmen is their best finish in the event since winning the ICSA Match Race Championship title during the 2011 season. Competing for Navy in the runner-up finish was the crew of Gray Benson (Sr., Oxford, Md.), Jack Carminati (Sr., Youngstown, N.Y.), JC Hermus (Sr., Bellport, N.Y.) and Kimmie Leonard (Sr., Annapolis, Md.).

A field of 10 teams was selected to compete in the competition through winning their respective conference championships along with at-large bids being granted to deserving teams. With its victory at the MAISA Match Race Championship earlier this season, Navy clinched an automatic bid to the national event.

The Midshipmen began the weekend by losing their first race to Yale, but bounced back following the defeat by winning each of their next five races to earn a 5-1 record and a share of the lead heading into Sunday.

As racing on Sunday began, Navy remained atop the leader board by winning its final three races of the round robin stage to improve its record to 8-1 along with sitting in a tie for first in the team standings. With a tie for first place and wind conditions beginning to fade, the Mids settled in for a best-of-three series against Yale to decide a champion.

In the first race, Yale found a narrow victory by passing the Midshipmen in the final leg of the race to take a 1-0 lead in the series. However, Navy rebounded in the second race, earning a victory despite picking up a pre-start penalty and starting slightly behind the Bulldogs to setup a deciding third and final race for the Match Race Championship.

In the final race of the championship, Navy got out to an early lead but were ultimately overtaken by Yale who extended away following the first leg and cruised to a comfortable victory.

The ICSA Match Race Championships concluded the fall season for the Midshipmen, who will return to action for a full slate of competition in the spring.