The Georgetown sailing teams competed in two different regattas March 23 and 24, earning a fifth place finish in both. In the Admiral Moore team race, hosted by SUNY Maritime College, the Hoyas coed team earned a record of 6-4, putting them in fifth out of a field of eight. In the Seahawk women’s team race hosted by St. Mary’s, the Hoyas were second to last, with a record of 6-9.

The low finish does little harm to the women’s team, which previously secured a spot in the Big East conference championships — a battle for the Prosser Trophy — this coming weekend. Head Coach Michael Callahan decided to rest his top sailors over the weekend and give the younger, less experienced athletes a chance to sail against other top teams.

“We didn’t win all our races, but we won a lot, and it was such a positive experience,” Callahan said in an interview with The Hoya. “It was a much better experience than I expected so everyone was psyched coming out of that one.”

The fifth place finish by the coed team is also not reflective of a full-strength performance by the Hoyas, as the top team was given the weekend off so the second team raced in their stead. Like the women’s team, Georgetown’s coed team had already qualified for the conference championship. Callahan saw need for improvement with this team’s performance early on.

“They did fine,” Callahan said. “At first they were a little bit off the pace, lost a few races, but then after that they got together and did much better.”

Three Georgetown skippers will lead boats in this weekend’s conference championship. Callahan picked senior Andy Reiter to be one of these skippers. He is the only one of the three without experience sailing in a high-pressured conference championship and will be crucial to the team’s success, according to Callahan.

“If he does well at the regatta, I think the team will do well,” Callahan said.

Reiter’s rise to skipper in the conference championship sets an example for his younger brother, freshman Jack Reiter, who has made a positive impact on the team after joining as Georgetown’s top high school recruit.

While the focus in practice this week will be on the Prosser Trophy, the sailing team as a whole is building for the future with strong recruits and tough training for its second teams.