Georgetown Takes Fifth At MAISA Women’s Regatta

The Georgetown coed sailing team raced in three regattas this past weekend, turning in solid finishes at Loyola, Md., Delaware and a race on the Potomac.

At the Loyola Open, the No. 1 Hoyas dominated the races, winning the A division and taking second place in the B division. Part of the team also traveled to Delaware for the Delaware Spring Open where Georgetown took second place overall. Georgetown also won the District Freshman Championship on the waters of the Potomac.

The Hoyas won the District Freshman Championship regatta, with Thatcher Spring and Chris Harvey taking first in nine races out of 10 in the B division. Tyler Haskell and Emilie Lincoln also contributed to the Hoya victory with four first-place finishes. The Hoyas finished with 37 points overall, 23 points ahead of St. ary’s College. Head Coach Mike Callahan said he was pleased with his freshmen and their performance, which is demonstrative of the young talent on the team and its promise in future years.

The Georgetown women’s sailing team took fifth place at the MAISA Women’s Regatta this past weekend at the New York aritime in New York City. The regatta was postponed for most of the day Saturday because of a lack of wind, but when it continued Sunday, the weather was ripe for sailing with the wind six to 12 knots from the southwest and the temperature climbing to 79 degrees. The Hoya women were among the competition of nine other women’s teams from the region, and had boats racing in the A and B divisions. In the A division the team placed sixth, and in the B division the women came in third. The total score for the Hoyas was 82, a mere point away from fourth-place finisher Hobart.

Normally, losing by a point would be painful. This time it was a travesty. Had Georgetown beaten out Hobart in this competition, they would have qualified to race at the nationals. St. ary’s, ranked third in the nation, won the regatta with a total of 48 points.

In the A division, the squad of sophomore Mimi Elliot, sophomore Shelley Wentworth and senior Baye Emery excelled in their second race, taking first place. However, in the other eight races the Hoyas lagged, finishing with a total of 48 points. The B division sailors for Georgetown were sophomore Elizabeth Sampson, sophomore Emma Trentman and junior Leah Williams. They held consistent in second or third place for most of the nine races, finishing at third in the B division with 34 points. Coach Callahan was especially impressed with Sampson’s performance. “She sailed extremely well this weekend and really fought hard to beat Hobart. She made up a lot of distance for us between Hobart and us, and almost helped us pull it off. I’m really glad she’s just a sophomore, I’m sure she’ll be even better next year.” According to Callahan, Sampson has been the MVP of the women’s team all year long. She is ranked third in her division.

This coming Saturday and Sunday the coed team will travel to King’s Point, N. Y., to compete in the America Trophy competition. There, the top three finishers will qualify for the Fleet National Championships in June. Callahan believes his first-ranked team in the nation will pull off a championship berth. Callahan then looks to settle down for a few weeks in preparation for the competition.