ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy intercollegiate sailing team returned to action over the weekend for three events, highlighted by a first-place finish at the Hanbury Trophy Regatta. The Midshipmen turned in a dominant performance at the competition, finishing 40 points ahead of the next closest team.
 
Navy also competed in the Connecticut Valley Dinghy Championship for the Veitor Trophy, finishing second in the 20-team field, while also tallying a fourth-place finish at the Aaron Szambecki Team Race.
 
Based on their results over the first four weeks of the season, the Mids have qualified for the MAISA Team Racing Championship for the Prosser Trophy which will be hosted in Annapolis on April 9-10.
 
The Midshipmen opened the weekend at the aforementioned Hanbury Trophy Regatta, hosted by Christopher Newport in Newport News, Va. The event was a nine-team fleet race regatta, with each school fielding two boats in one combined division. Navy started off hot in the event, placing both of its boats in the top-five finishers in each of the first three races to jump out to an early lead heading into Sunday.
 
Navy continued to dominate the competition on Sunday, holding its lead throughout the day to secure a 40-point win. Tanner Kelly and Faith Southwick finished third in the combined division, while Cooper Walshe and Maggie Schuler finished just three points behind in fourth place. The victory marked the Midshipmen's fifth win of the season after only four competition weekends.
 
In its second event, Navy took part in the Connecticut Valley Dinghy Championship for the Vietor Trophy. The event featured 20 teams from around the country and some very challenging racing. Following a slow start, the Midshipmen rebounded to post 15 top-three finishes out of the 28 completed races. However, the late run by the Mids was not enough to overcome host Coast Guard, leaving Navy in second place overall.
 
Caden Schiblauer and Julia Christie finished second in the A Division, while Trenton Shaw and Catherine Aitken were second in the B Division.
 
In the final competition of the weekend, Navy took part in the Aaron Szambecki Team Race that was hosted by Old Dominion, which featured 10 elite teams from across the country. After windy conditions limited racing on Saturday, the Midshipmen returned to action on Sunday for the completion of the round robins for the top six and bottom four teams.
 
Despite uncharacteristic struggles in the first round, the Mids were able bounce back and clinch a spot in the top-six round as the No. 6 seed. Navy forced a three-way tie for third after the first round of racing, but ended in fourth place following tiebreak procedures with a 7-6 overall record.
 
Sailing for the Midshipmen were skippers JC Hermus, Gray Benson, Olivia de Olazarra and Gavin McJones, with crews Kimmie Leonard, Fiona Lobon, Jonah Hatt, Colin MacGillivray and Ryan Wahba.
 
UP NEXT
Navy is slated to return to action April 2-3 as it takes part in the MAISA Women's Team Race Championship, hosted by Georgetown.