The Hoya sailing team did something they have not done in eight years – they failed to qualify for the ICSA team race national championship.
In pursuit of the Prosser Cup, the squad posted a mark of 8-9 at last weekend’s MAISA team race championship, Georgetown’s conference championship, finishing fourth out of eight schools. The top three finishers – St. Mary’s (15-2), Hobart and William Smith (13-4) and Navy (10-7) – qualified for the national championship regatta in May.
Snowshowers postponed the races until 1 p.m. on Saturday, and unpredictable winds on Sunday led several times among the field to capsize. Georgetown Head Coach Mike Callahan said that strong winds were unlike any the team had seen on the Potomac in practice this year, but ultimately there were three teams better than the Hoyas in the regatta.
Georgetown finished the first round robin tied for fifth place with a mark of three wins and four losses. Adjusting for the second round robin portion, the Hoyas posted a 5-2 mark and moved into fourth place and the final four of the regatta.
“We had a chance to move up going into the final round, but we lost some close races,” Callahan said.
Georgetown went 0-3 in the final four and finished fourth overall, marking the first time since 1999 that the Hoyas failed to qualify for the ICSA team race finals. The Hoyas won the national championship in the event last year.
Georgetown will gear up for the qualifying regattas in the women and coed disciplines with five different regattas this weekend.
The top coed team will compete at the Admiral’s Cup at the erchant Marine Academy, and the second coed team will race for the oody Trophy at the University of Rhode Island. Callahan is looking for a top-five or -10 finish in these two regattas.
The women’s squad will be at the Dellenbaugh Intersectional at Brown University – their final race before the national qualifying regatta on April 21 and 22.
Georgetown will send a mixed women and coed team to Cornell University for the North No. 2 race, and it will play host to the Arrigan Memorial Regatta for coed boats.
Callahan said the weekend will be tough for the sailing team because of the five different locations and the fact that his roster is smaller than it has been in recent years.