NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Navy intercollegiate sailing team closed out its 2021-22 season and a near two-week stretch of competition on Thursday by placing seventh in the 18-team field of the Intercollegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) Women's Fleet Race National Championship that was held on Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans.
 
With their seventh-place finish, the Mids conclude their three-race slate of national championships having finished among the top-10 teams in each of the competitions.
 
"I was really proud of the way the team came out and competed this week," said head coach Ian Burman. "A lot of players were fairly inexperienced at the highest level of collegiate competition and still came out here and put forth some of their best sailing of the year.
 
"Olivia de Olazarra did a fantastic job as a leader this week. She helped her less experienced teammates get acclimated to the venue and the competition while battling the incredible fatigue of competing in three championships back-to-back-to-back for 11-straight days."
 
The event opened with the semifinal stage on Monday, where the initial 36 teams were split into two 18-team preliminary regattas. The top half of each field at the end of racing on Tuesday would advance on to the finals that were held on Wednesday and Thursday.
 
The Midshipmen opened racing in the competition's Eastern Semifinal by posting just one double-digit finish to head into day two among the top-three teams in the division. Day two featured windier conditions, but Navy kept on cruising to maintain its top-three position to advance to the finals.
 
Olivia de Olazarra, Carlyn Blauvelt, Madeline Smith and Elizabeth Linsdell finished third in the A Division, while Evie Blauvelt, Julia Christie and Maggie Schuler were also third in the B Division.
 
The finals started out with windy conditions on Wednesday, however, only three races were completed before thunderstorms forced a lengthy postponement. Racing eventually resumed late in the afternoon, with a total of only four races being completed in each division. Navy ended the storm-shortened third day with solid results to remain in the hunt heading into Thursday.
 
A strong wind allowed for more strong sailing to take place from the Midshipmen through one set before the win died. After another long delay, a light and variable wind allowed for an additional five races to be completed in each of the two divisions.
 
At the conclusion of racing, Navy wound up seventh overall after de Olazarra, Smith and Linsdell finished eighth in the A Division and Evie Blauvelt, Christie and Schuler were ninth in the B Division. A pending protest could move the Midshipmen up to sixth in the final results.