ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy intercollegiate sailing team continued its season this past weekend by going on the road for a pair of team race regattas, winning the Aaron Szambecki Team Race and taking seventh at the Seahawk Women's Team Race.
 
Hosted by Old Dominion in Norfolk, Va., the Aaron Szambecki Team Race served as the Mids' final regular season regatta of the MAISA Team Race circuit and featured a deep field of nine teams from around the country. The start of racing was delayed on the first day due to heavy wind and rain, but eventually got underway once the rain cleared up in the afternoon and it wound up being a good day of racing.
 
Navy got off to a hot start by winning its first six races of the event, but the conditions changed and the team had a number of tough opponents in a row that led to a three-race losing streak. The Midshipmen were able to recover and win their last two of the day to wind up 8-3, as four teams were tied for the lead with three losses each. When teams arrived for racing on Sunday, it was cold and very windy, keeping the fleet ashore all morning until the wind dropped a bit. The Mids thrived in the heavy conditions and closed out the day's racing with a perfect 4-0 record, leaving the team tied for first with Georgetown at 12-3.
 
The sail-off tiebreaker proved to be a thrilling back-and-forth contest, as Georgetown held a narrow lead at the first marks which they looked to have secured into a solid winning combination at the leeward marks, before a foul sent one Georgetown boat spinning and put Navy into a winning combination heading up the last beat. Both teams grappled for control and it looked like Georgetown was about to break away, but freshman Henry Allgeier and junior Tanner Kelly pinned a Georgetown boat out to the left, preventing them from getting to the finish. Seeing that victory was nearly secured, sophomore Nathan Smith and junior Ryan Wahba sailed through the group towards the right and called "Sail Clean" to their teammates. The pinned Georgetown boat made a desperate move trying to draw a foul on sophomore Jack Welburn and senior Hunter Anderson, but the Mids kept their cool and sailed clean, with Georgetown picking up another foul and Navy crossing the line with a 2-3-4 to win the race and the regatta. Crews in senior Maddy Smith and sophomores Ellie Alex and Darby Graham also raced, but were not in for the sail-off. Marking the third weekend out of four that Navy scored maximum league points, the team finished the regular season second in the standings and qualified for the Prosser Trophy, the MAISA Team Racing Championship, in two weeks back at Old Dominion. 
 
Steady rain and variable wind made for a tough first day of sailing at the Seahawk Women's Team Race in St. Mary's City, Md., as Navy had an up-and-down first round but came out 4-5 and had to improve in the second round. Unfortunately, the conditions became more challenging and a tough second round saw the Midshipmen wind up with a 6-12 final record and finish seventh overall out of 10 teams. Sailing for Navy as skippers were senior Aubin Hattendorf, junior Evie Blauvelt and sophomore Ava Farley with crews featuring seniors Catherine Aitken and Julia Christie, juniors Linnea Forsberg and Maggie Schuler and freshman Josie Sherry.
 
Navy returns to the water March 29-30 with the MAISA Women's Fleet Race in Geneva, N.Y.