ITHACA, N.Y. – The Navy intercollegiate sailing team captured the Prosser Trophy and won its second-straight MAISA Open Team Race Championship this weekend in Ithaca, N.Y., securing an automatic berth to this ICSA Team Race National Championship later this month.
 
Hosted at Cornell University in New York's Finger Lakes region, the championship event had the top eight teams from the conference competing for the automatic bid to the team-racing national championship. Despite Navy winning the regatta last year, the Midshipmen entered this year's Prosser Trophy as the No. 2 seed following strong performances from Georgetown to start this spring.
 
The regatta started with a wind delay under cloudy skies but, as Saturday progressed, the sky cleared and the wind filled from the south, resulting in flat and shifty 8-to-12-knot racing. Navy survived a few early scares through the first six races of the round, utilizing speed, boat handling and team-racing skill to win each matchup. This set up a showdown with Georgetown in the final race of the opening round. The Mids gained the upper hand on a tight first beat, rounding the top marks in a dominating 1-2-3 combination for what appeared to be an easy victory.
 
However, after the race, it was discovered that a Georgetown boat had hit an underwater log and damaged its rudder just after the first mark. As the outcome of the race had not been decided when the breakdown occurred, Georgetown was awarded a re-sail, and as the wind faded at the end of the day, the two teams battled tightly until a late left shift allowed Georgetown to cross the line ahead with a 2-3-4 combination.
 
In the second round, a morning front brought cooling temperatures to Sunday's racing, along with gusty, shifty winds ranging from 7 to more than 20 knots. Both teams remained undefeated until their final race, setting up another pivotal match. Navy gained the advantage off the line and never looked back, winning the second meeting with a 1-2-5 finish.
 
After two rounds, the Mids and Hoyas were tied for first place with 13-1 records. A scheduled top-six round was abandoned due to time constraints, forcing a one-race sail-off between Navy and Georgetown to break the tie. In the winner-take-all race, Navy executed a great start and stayed ahead the entire way, winning comfortably with a 1-2-4 finish that clinched the Mids' berth at the Open Team Race National Championship on April 23-25 in New Orleans, La.
 
Navy's skippers at the regatta were seniors Nathan Smith and Jack Welburn and junior Henry Allgeier, while they were supported by crews including seniors Ellie Alex and Darby Graham, juniors Fiona Cullen and Spencer Dominguez, and sophomore Gregory Lesmerises-DeGraff.
 
Navy returns to action this upcoming weekend with the MAISA Women's Team Race Championship in Washington, D.C., the Thompson Trophy Open Team Race in New London, Conn., and the Truxtun Umsted Open Fleet Race at home in Annapolis.