PCCSC News


CHARLESTON COUGARS LEAD AFTER DAY ONE OF THE LASERPERFORMANCE TEAM RACE NATIONALS


MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (May 27, 2017) – Today was the first day of racing for the LaserPerformance College Sailing Team Race National Championship on the Cooper River in Charleston Harbor hosted by the College of Charleston. Sixteen of the best college teams across the nation qualified to compete in this event for the Walter C. Wood Trophy, awarded to the winning team.
 
The first start was around 10 a.m. in about 6 knots of wind from the southwest. The sun was out and temperatures were in the high 80s. The current was slack in the morning, but quickly started going out strong; it made the downwind legs seem really light and slow, which was tough for all of the teams. Luckily the southwesterly filled in and the breeze picked up to about 12 knots with some choppy waters, but great sailing conditions.
 
The format for this event is a series of round robins. In the first round all sixteen teams race each other once. This round determines places 9-14. The top eight teams then advance to a single round robin, which determines places 5-8. The top four remaining teams advance to a “final four” another single round to determine places 1-4.

The competitors made it through a total of 102 races today and there are 18 races to go in the first round. The competitors sailed on a digital N course, which has a windward mark, a windward offset mark rounded to starboard and then down to a leeward mark with another leeward offset rounded to port and finish upwind. The N course allows for long upwind and downwind legs – prime for team racing. The sailors are racing in both collegiate FJs and Z420s.
 
Each team has two or three more races to go in the first round robin, so there is a little room for teams to move on the scoreboard. Every race is important, as the level of team racing is so high among the teams.
 
College of Charleston, the home team, is sitting in first place with a record of 11-2. One loss was to Georgetown University and the other to Boston College. Yale is the defending champion of this regatta having won it the last four years in a row, but before Yale started their winning streak, Charleston won the event in 2012.

“We were sailing the boats really well today,” says Ward Cromwell, head coach for Charleston. “But in the races we lost, we were winning the race against BC with a 2,3,4, and made some errors and lost it and with our race against Georgetown we were over early at the start and were just beat off the starting line.”
 
“The scores are really close and we will have to sail even better tomorrow,” Cromwell says. “We are in a good spot mentally and feel good about tomorrow. We will focus on sailing the boats well and keeping it simple.”
Sailing for Charleston is: Christophe Killian '18, Jack Cusick '17, Stefano Peschiera '18, Elizabeth Pemberton '18, Chloe Dapp '17, Grace McCarthy '18, Caroline Bracken '19 and Annabel Carrington '19.

Yale is in second place, with a record of 10-2. One loss was to Tufts University, who proved to be a real competitor today. The second loss was to Old Dominion University. Yale is a favorite going into this regatta with a strong team and many of the same sailors from previous years’ winning teams, which includes five seniors. However there are more races to go with challenging conditions and tough competition.
 
Sailing for Yale is: Ian Barrows '17, Nicholas Baird '19, Malcolm Lamphere '18, Joseph Kiss '17, Clara Robertson '17, Graceann Nicolosi '20, Chandler Gregoire '17 and Natalya Doris '17
 
Georgetown University is in third place with a record of 10-3, losing to the U.S. Naval Academy and Tufts University.
 
“Today was hard, the conditions and the teams were tough,” says Mike Callahan head coach for Georgetown. “We beat some good teams and lost to some good teams, but we feel good about where we are. We just want to be in the regatta and tomorrow we will focus on staying in the top eight.”

“Tomorrow we will look to be consistent and make a game plan for the current, so that we can stay in the races. Our first race will be against Stanford University, so it will be a tough one,” says Callahan.
 
Sailing for Georgetown is: Roger Dorr '18, Campbell D'Eliscu '19, Sean Segerblom '20, William Logue '20, Haley Shea '19, Meaghan MacRae '18, Rebecca Fung '19 and Albert Kraus '17
 
The first warning for racing tomorrow is at 10 a.m. The race committee will aim to complete the first round robin and move into the next round of racing with the top eight teams.

Day One Results (wins and losses)
1. College of Charleston, 11-2
2. Yale University, 10-2
3. Georgetown University, 10-3
4. Boston College, 9-3
5. Stanford University, 9-4
6. Tufts University, 8-4
7. Hobart and William Smith Colleges, 8-5*
8. U.S. Naval Academy, 8-5**
9. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 8-5 b
10. Eckerd College, 7-7
11. Old Dominion University, 6-6
12. University of Hawaii, 4-9
13. University of Wisconsin, 2-11
14. Northwestern University, 1-11
15. Oregon State University, 1-12
16. Texas A&M University at Galveston, 0-13
*Total points scored when tied teams met (9)
** Total points scored when tied teams met (12)
b Number of races won when tied teams met (0)

For more regatta information visit the event website: http://2017nationals.collegesailing.org/

Live coverage and commentary from Degan Media, powered by U.S. Sailing, will continue through out the national championships streaming from the event website (http://2017nationals.collegesailing.org/) and available on other social media outlets.
 
Contact: Jennifer Mitchell | Toile à Voile for ICSA | media@collegesailing.org | 763-234-8286 m.

Photo Contact: Michael Wiser Photography | wisermc@g.cofc.edu | 301-957-0443 m. | michaelwiserphotography.com
 
The ICSA sponsors and partners through the 2016-2017 season are: LaserPerformance (www.laserperformance.com), title sponsor of “LaserPerformance Men’s and Women’s Singlehanded National Championship”, title sponsor of “LaserPerformance College Sailing Team Race National Championship” and Official Boat Supplier of the ICSA Spring National Championships. Sperry (www.sperry.com), title sponsor of the “Sperry College Sailing Women’s National Championship”. Gill North American (gillna.com), title sponsor of “The Gill College Sailing National Championship”. Quantum Sail Design Group (www.quantumsails.com), official sponsor of the “Quantum Women’s College Sailor of the Year”. Marlow Ropes (www.marlowropes.com), presenting sponsor of the “Marlow Ropes College Sailor of the Year Award” and “Official Rope of College Sailing”. US Sailing (www.ussailing.org), “The Robert H. Hobbs Sportsman of the Year Sponsored by US Sailing”.