ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy intercollegiate sailing team hit the road this weekend to compete in a trio of team race events, sending Midshipmen to the Aaron Szambecki Team Race in Norfolk, Va., the Admiral Moore Team Race in the Bronx, N.Y., and the Georgetown Women's Team Race in Washington, D.C.
In the final weekend of MAISA's open team-race league, the Mids headed to the Aaron Szambecki Team Race, hosted by Old Dominion. League standings are determined by finishing position against other teams in conference across the four weekends, as Navy came into the weekend with a two-point lead over Georgetown for first. The regatta saw a wide range of conditions and featured a deep nation-wide field, creating a challenging event, but the Mids proved up to the task and won the 10-team event by a three-race margin with a 15-2 overall record. The win allowed Navy to claim the regular-season league title and qualify for the conference championship as the #1 seed, hosting the Prosser Trophy in two weeks in Annapolis. Sailing for the Mids were skippers
Tanner Kelly,
Nathan Smith,
Jack Welburn and
Henry Allgeier with crews consisting of
Ryan Wahba,
Ellie Alex,
Darby Graham,
Fiona Cullen and
Spencer Dominguez.
With SUNY Maritime hosting the eight-team Admiral Moore Team Race, the regatta drew teams from up and down the east coast and was sailed in puffy, shifty winds and strong current. Navy started off strong and stayed hot through the weekend, finishing first overall with a 13-1 record, as the Mids' team was made up of skippers
George Carty,
Owen MacWilliams,
Umi Noritake and
Kyle Reinecke with crews of
Eva Ottenbreit,
Gregory Lesmerises-DeGraff and
Molly Jethwa.
Navy was also in action at the Georgetown Women's Team Race, with that regatta seeing increasing winds on Saturday and decreasing winds on Sunday, making it extremely variable throughout the event. The Mids had a hard time adjusting to the wind and wound up seventh overall with a 3-11 record. Navy's squad consisted of skippers
Evie Blauvelt,
Ava Farley and
Kate Zurinskas and a crew of
Maggie Schuler,
Margo Cicero,
Darby Dryden,
Josie Sherry,
Melania Gonzalez and
Sarah McNelly.
Navy returns to the water March 29-30, hosting the MAISA Women's Fleet Race and sending squads to the Hampton Team Race and the Marchiando Team Race.
