ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Highlighted by a pair of runner-up finishes, the Navy intercollegiate sailing team opened the 2026-27 season this weekend with a trio of regattas, hosting the ILCA South and the Navy Women's Fall Regatta in Annapolis while sending a contingent to the Riley Cup in Norfolk, Va.
 
At the home ILCA South, 18 sailors competed for spots in the MAISA Open Singlehanded Championship and a chance at the Carl Van Duyne Trophy. With most of last year's top finishers returning and a number of top freshmen in attendance to make it one of the deepest ILCA South fields in years, Navy had five sailors in the fleet looking to finish in the top nine and advance to the next round.
 
Freshman Cole Fanchi traded leads with defending MAISA champion Peter Barnard of Georgetown throughout the event. Despite Fanchi crossing the line well ahead in the final race, Barnard was awarded average points due to a boat breakdown, edging out Fanchi by a single point to secure the regatta victory for the Hoyas. Finishing right behind them in the final standings, senior Spencer Dominguez used an early victory and remained consistent throughout the first day, placing third and easily securing his spot at the Carl Van Duyne Trophy as well. In a tight middle-of-the-pack battle, where just 17 points separated sixth from 13th place, junior Umi Noritake finished 13th, senior Teddy Martin placed 12th and sophomore Robbie Richards took 11th, all narrowly missing the cut to advance.
 
The Navy Women's Fall Regatta was held on the same course as the ILCA South, creating unusually long races and numerous lead changes for the eight-team combined division. Navy's top-finishing team came on strong on Sunday to move up to finish second, as freshman Kaya Hancock and junior Melania Gonzalez finished ninth in their division while freshman Madeleine Garrett and junior Molly Jethwa came in third. Navy's other entry wound up fourth overall, with seniors Josie Sherry and Mary Dwyer taking seventh in the combined division and freshman Danielle Lynch-Smith and senior Eva Ottenbreit partnering to place fifth.
 
At Old Dominion's Riley Cup, storms Saturday and light winds Sunday restricted the 18-team field to just five races per division. Navy's two entries finished back-to-back in fourth and fifth place, as the fourth-place finish was anchored by an A-division victory from junior Sean Trudell and sophomore Noelle Sizemore, with freshmen Jules Buczkowski and Lydia Sayner-Oubre finishing eighth in the B-division. Navy's fifth-place team saw sophomore Leo Robillard and freshman Ella Seymour take third in the A-division, while freshmen Henry Scalise and freshman Jia Qi Zhan claimed seventh in the B-division.
 
Navy continues the season on Sept. 19-20 when it hosts three regattas: the Chesapeake Invitational, the Chesapeake Open and the Faye Bennet MAISA Women's Singlehanded Championship.