ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy intercollegiate sailing team continued its fall season on Saturday and Sunday with road regattas in St. Mary's City, Md., and New London, Conn., highlighted by the Midshipmen taking first place in the women's section of the Oyster Bowl.
 
Competing in the first round of the Open Atlantic Coast Championship series at the Coast Guard Academy, Navy saw both days of the regatta start with lengthy wind delays before light sea breezes allowed the fleet to get some races in. In all, only three races per division were completed on Saturday with five more on Sunday making for an eight-race regatta, as the Mids stayed consistent throughout the event and avoided deep finishes. The team wound up sixth overall with seniors Nathan Smith and Ellie Alex finishing third in the "A" division while the combination of senior Jack Welburn, junior Henry Allgeier, senior Darby Graham and junior Fiona Cullen came in seventh in the "B" division. The solid finish qualified the team for the Atlantic Coast Championship finals, set for Oct. 18-19 in Annapolis.
 
Staying in-state for the Oyster Bowl at St. Mary's College, Navy entered teams in both the co-ed (open) and women's divisions, making for two regattas in one. Also plagued by light wind, the event did eventually allow for quality racing on both days, as Navy had three boats competing in the 15-boat open division and had a pair of boats competing in the 13-boat women's field.
 
In the open field, freshman Liam Christopher and sophomore Gregory Lesmerises-DeGraff were never able to get things going and finished 15th overall, juniors George Carty and Eva Ottenbreit sailed well despite two poor scores in the eight-race series take sixth overall, while the duo of junior Teddy Martin and sophomore Melania Gonzalez led the field through five races but couldn't quite hold on at the end and placed second.
 
For the Oyster Bowl's women's regatta, seniors Kate Zurinskas and Eleanor Niehoff closed in 10th overall, while senior Margo Cicero and freshman Haley Kloepfer started out with ninth but climbed through the fleet over the weekend to win four of the last five races and claim the regatta victory.
 
Navy continues action on Oct. 11-12 with the Nevins Trophy, the Washington College Fall Fleet Race and the Women's Atlantic Coast Championship finals.