This past weekend, the Georgetown sailing team participated in three different regattas along the East Coast. The Hoyas took part in the ICSA Men’s Singlehanded National Championship in St. Petersburg, Fla., the MAISA Women’s Fall Championship at Old Dominion and the MAISA Match Race Championship in Kings Point, N.Y.

The greatest victory for Georgetown among the three regattas came from the sails of senior Charlie Buckingham, who fought off tough competition to capture the 2010 ICSA Singlehanded National Championship.

For the first 15 races of the 18-race regatta, Buckingham closely trailed behind Roger Williams’ senior Cy Thompson. Thanks to first-place finishes in the 15th and 16th races, though, Buckingham forced himself into a tie with Thompson for first place.

In the 17th race, Buckingham took charge and turned in a third-place finish, eight spots ahead of Thompson, to give himself plenty of breathing room for the 18th and final race in which Buckingham finished 15th. His final score of 69 was good enough to propel Buckingham to a first-place finish and a national championship. Thompson finished in second place with a final score of 73.

Along with Buckingham, sophomore and fellow Newport Beach, Calif., local Chris Barnard also competed in this regatta. Barnard suffered a tough first day in St. Petersburg but put the rough start behind him and climbed the leader board to a 10th-place finish.

Buckingham was not the only Hoya to come out on top this past weekend. The Georgetown women came in first place at Old Dominion, securing both the Fall Conference Championship and a berth in the Women’s Atlantic Coast Championship at Eckerd College this coming weekend.

Georgetown’s A division team, comprised of juniors Sydney Bolger and Rebecca Evans, finished in an impressive second place with a score of 32 behind the boat from Hobart and William Smith Colleges.

Junior Lauren Burke and sophomore Victoria Lynch competed for the Hoyas in the B division. Lynch sailed in the first two races and was then replaced by freshman Nancy Hagood for the final nine races. The Blue and Gray won the B division with a final score of 24, including five first-place finishes.

After combining the scores from the A and B divisions, the Hoyas finished with a composite score of 56, including eight total first-place finishes and 16 finishes in the top three. The stellar outings from the boats in both divisions led Georgetown to a first-place finish and the fall championship ahead of second-place finisher Hobart and William Smith and third-place finisher University of Pennsylvania.

The final race the Blue and Gray sailed was the MAISA Match Race Championship in Kings Point, N.Y. Senior Scott Furnary, juniors Andrew Mason and Lincoln Heilner and freshman Amanda Taselaar all competed for the Hoyas, who came in fourth place behind St. Mary’s, Kings Point and Navy.

This weekend, the Hoyas look to close out their fall competition in winning fashion, similar to last week’s success. Georgetown will sail in the Coed Atlantic Coast Championship in Annapolis, Md., hosted by Navy, in addition to the Women’s Atlantic Coast Championship in St. Petersburg, Fla.