ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy intercollegiate sailing team closed out its 2021-22 regular season over the weekend by winning the MAISA Fleet Racing Championship for the America Trophy. The victory marked the Mids third MAISA Championship of the Year, having won the match racing championship in the fall and the team race championship earlier this spring. With their victory, the Midshipmen earned an automatic bid to the College Sailing Fleet Racing National Championship that is set to be held May 19-21 in New Orleans.
 
Navy also participated in the Arrigan Memorial Trophy Regatta, which was hosted by Georgetown, finishing second and third in the 18-team field.
 
The MAISA Fleet Racing Championship, hosted by the Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y., featured the top-18 teams in the MAISA regular-season standings. The competition began on Saturday with four races being completed in each division. Navy was a bit inconsistent early on but maintained its position near the top of the leaderboard as the wind became nonexistent through the latter stages of the event on Saturday.
 
Entering Sunday amongst the competition's leaders, the Midshipmen were able to pull ahead early in the day and maintained that lead through the nine completed races to clinch its second-consecutive America Trophy. JC Hermus and Fiona Lobon led the way for Navy over the two-day event, totaling 26 points in the A Division. Olivia de Olazarra, Gray Benson, Kimmie Leonard and Ryan Wahba finished a solid fifth in the B Division.
 
In its second competition of the weekend, Navy fielded two teams in the Arrigan Memorial Regatta. The event featured light winds throughout the two days of racing, leading to a tight battle between the pair of Midshipmen teams and host Georgetown for the top spot.
 
Despite their best efforts, local knowledge prevailed as the Hoyas claimed victory with the Mids finishing second and third, respectively. In the 18-boat combined division, Cooper Walsh and Linnea Forsberg were second overall, while Jack Carminati and Madeline Smith were third. Tanner Kelly and Hunter Anderson posted a seventh-place finish, followed by Caden Scheiblauer and Julia Christie in eighth.
 
UP NEXT
Navy will now turn its attention to preparing for the upcoming ICSA National Championships that will be held in New Orleans later this month. The Midshipmen have qualified for both the team race and fleet race national championship field. The team race nationals will be held May 16-18, followed by the fleet race nationals May 19-22.