ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Navy intercollegiate sailing won both the MAISA South Coed and Women's Fleet Race Championships this past weekend to secure their spots in the 2021 ICSA National Championships later this spring in Annapolis.
The teams in the southern half of the MAISA converged at St. Mary's College this weekend for both the coed and women's fleet race championships with the women's event taking place on Saturday and the coed championship on Sunday.
On Saturday, the event featured six teams competing in a combined division with two boats per school. The regatta started in FJs in light and shifty northwest winds. Many races were called off due to the wind shutting off or shifting wildly early on, but three races were completed before a short break.
Olivia de Olazarra and
Sally Johnson started strong, winning the first three races in dominating fashion.
Following the break, the wind shifted to the north and steadied out, allowing for the completion of five more races in Z420s to close out the event. Navy's lead pair of de Olazarra and Johnson receive a bit more of a challenge in the afternoon, but the duo kept posting strong finishes to hold on to the overall lead in the combined division. The Midshipmen's other boat of
Carlyn Blauvelt and
Elizabeth Linsdell showed some inexperience early on but improved throughout the event. Blauvelt and Linsdell showed their resiliency and posted a string of solid finishes that allowed them to rise from eighth place early on to finish third overall in the final standings and first in the B division.
Madeline Pruzan,
Kimmie Leonard and
Madeline Smith also contributed to Navy's victory on Saturday.
The combined results led Navy to run away from the field to win the conference championship and secure a berth in the ICSA Women's National Championship on May 19 and 20 in Annapolis.
With the event shifting to coed competition on Sunday, the field expanded to seven teams. Once again, the morning saw very shifty and puffy winds and it took some time to get races started. The fleet raced four races in FJs before the break, with the course configurations and location changing numerous times to accommodate the wind changes.
Again, a Navy boat got off to a hot start with
Connor Bayless and
Fiona Lobon winning the first two races fairly easily and remaining in the top two in the final two races during the morning session to take a solid lead into the break. The Midshipmen's second boat of
JC Hermus and Leonard won the last race before the break and the first two of the afternoon session to leave both Navy boats close to each other in the fleet standings and comfortably ahead of the rest of the field heading into the end of the event.
At the conclusion of the eight-race series on Sunday, the Midshipmen's boats wound up tied for first place and the pair of Hermus and Leonard won via the second tiebreaker. Navy's 44 points were half of second-place Georgetown's 88 points for the day.
Sean Linden,
Gray Benson and
Jonah Hatt also contributed to the Midshipmen's victory.
Navy secured its spot in the ICSA Coed National Championship on June 7 and 8 in Annapolis, while also winning the Midshipmen's second conference title of the weekend.
Back in Annapolis, Navy had four sailors competing in the Laser Sunshine Open Regatta, hosted by the Severn Sailing Association. The competition boasted a fleet of 29 Lasers and 14 Laser Radials. Navy had three boats in the Laser Fleet with
Gavin McJones finishing third, followed by
Louis Margay in fifth and
Caden Scheiblauer in the 10th.
Aubin Hattendorf finished fourth overall in the Laser Radial fleet.
Next weekend, the Midshipmen compete in their third and final conference championship of the spring as they travel to Norfolk, Va., for the MAISA South Team Race.
