ANNAPOLIS, Md. – With inter-conference events set to begin in October, the Navy intercollegiate sailing team wrapped up its September slate of in-conference competition this past weekend.
 
The Intrepid MAISA Match Race Championship was held at the Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y., where the top-8 were selected to compete based off resume. Navy came in as the defending conference match race champion, but the Midshipmen were using an entirely new lineup with all of last year's match racers having graduated. The young team of junior Hunter Anderson, sophomores Tanner Kelly and Maggie Schuler and freshman Nathan Smith had a difficult time on the starting line throughout the event and sailed to a 2-5 record in the round robin, placing the team sixth in the competition.
 
"While the young team fell short of where they were hoping to be this year, I believe they will come back next year hungry and with more experience," said head coach Ian Burman.
 
The second event of the weekend was the Oyster Bowl Regatta, hosted at St. Mary's College in St. Mary's City, Md., and featured both an open field and a women's field. Winds were light and flukey on the first day of competition, with only three women's races and two open races being completed. Sunday proved much better, and the fleet was able to complete nine total races in both fields.
 
On the women's side of the Oyster Bowl, Navy fielded a single two-boat team in the eight-team combined division fleet, as starting line woes led to some inconsistency for Navy's women, but both boats showed real improvement throughout the weekend. The Mids wound up sixth overall, with junior Aubin Hattendorf and freshman Darby Graham finishing ninth while sophomore Izzy Fadullon and senior Elizabeth Linsdell coming in 11th.
 
Navy also fielded a pair of two-boat teams in the Oyster Bowl's nine-team combined open division. With a very deep fleet and tight racing all weekend, the first Navy team was battling near the top of the field all weekend and came off the water third overall, but dropped to fourth after protests. Junior Trenton Shaw and freshman Ellie Alex were fourth in the 18-boat combined division, with their teammates, sophomore Evie Blauvelt and junior Julia Christie, taking ninth place. The second Navy team finished just behind the first team, coming in fifth overall as sophomores Cooper Walshe and Linnea Forsberg placed sixth and freshmen Jack Welburn and Margo Cicero finished in 11th.
 
In addition to the two collegiate events, two Midshipmen competed in the ILCA Crab Claw Regatta, hosted by Severn Sailing Association in Annapolis, as a tune up for the upcoming Carl Van Duyne MAISA Men's Singlehanded Championships. Navy senior Gavin McJones put on an impressive display, winning every race in the 29-boat fleet to claim the top spot overall, while fellow senior Jonah Hatt finished in 19th.
 
Navy opens October with the Carl Van Duyne MAISA Men's Singlehanded Championships (Oct. 1-2) at home in Annapolis, along with the Danmark Trophy (Oct. 1-2) as the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., and the first round of the Women's Atlantic Coast Championships (Oct. 1-2), being hosted by Boston College in Boston, Mass.