A long weekend of racing revealed that Georgetown sailing still lacks depth.
This Saturday and Sunday, the Hoyas had one of their busiest weekends yet, with five difficult regattas across the country that ended with a mixture of both promising performances and unfortunate outcomes.
The most important event for the Hoyas in terms of national standings was the Hoyt Trophy at Brown University, in which they placed ninth of 18 teams.
According to Head Coach Mike Callahan (SFS ’97), “It was a very close event.” Junior Chris Behm and sophomore Carly Chamberlain came in fifth in the `A’ division, trailing only 10 points behind the winning St. Mary’s team. Callahan was pleased with their performance in the Regatta.
At the same event, the `B’ division sailors struggled. “[Junior] Zack Kavanaugh and [freshman] Calia Johnson had about four really rough races on Sunday,” Callahan said. The `B’-team sailors could not keep pace and finished 11th, dragging down the team’s overall finish.
At the Kings Point Invitational, to which the Merchant Marine Academy played host, Georgetown finished sixth of 17 teams. Sophomores Nik Holtan and Andrea Bailey headed the regatta in the `A’ division, in which they placed sixth. “It showed that they were close to being in the top and that they can get there” Callahan said.
Two women, junior Blaire Herron and sophomore Sprague Brodie, competed in the `B’ division in the coed event. “The reason they sailed the regatta was that the women’s Atlantic Championships will be [at the Marine Academy],” Callahan said. The event allowed the athletes to familiarize themselves with the course for the fall championships, which will take place Nov. 11-12.
Overcoming some difficulty with strong winds on Saturday, the pair finished in third place overall. “It was very impressive out of Blaire,” Callahan said.
The team also competed in the MAISA Fall Open at Old Dominion University this weekend. Seniors Langdon Mitchell and Theresa Salerno finished in second for the `A’ division. “We were really excited about their result,” Callahan said. In what is becoming a popular refrain for the season, the `B’ division did not fair as well, bringing the Hoyas overall place to fourth of 12 teams.
The MAISA Sloop Championship at the U.S. Naval Academy presented another challenge for the Georgetown sailors. The team does not practice on the three-person, 19-foot boats. Senior J.B. Turney was the skipper for the squad and his crew members were seniors Dan Esdorn and Seamus Kraft. They placed seventh out of 10 teams.
“It was pretty clear that we didn’t have a lot of practice,” Callahan said, “so for us it was kind of `go out there and do our best.'” Georgetown’s aim in the regatta was more for experience than for a top finish, facing teams experienced in sloop racing.
Georgetown sent two co-ed teams to the Webb Trophy at Christopher Newport University on Saturday and Sunday. The Hoyas finished third overall, with a notable performance by `B’ division sailors freshman Hugh McBride and senior Allison Davis. Davis is an Opinion Editor and member of the Editorial Board of THE HOYA. The duo placed second, and “had a very good regatta,” Callahan said.
The `A’ division pair, junior Matt Bergin and senior Taylor Whitten, was not as successful as McBride and Davis were at the Webb Trophy.
“They just had some bad races and made bad decisions,” Callahan said. The two finished seventh out of eight teams.
“When you look at the weekend overall, we didn’t do as well as we had hoped,” Callahan said. “It’s just a sign of the lack of depth that we have.” In previous years, Georgetown won four out of this weekend’s five regattas, while the team only snatched third and fourth place finishes at best this season.
The women’s team is now ranked second in the Sailing World College rankings, which is an improvement from sixth earlier this fall.
“We just have a few more weekends coming up,” Callahan said. “We’re hoping to finish the season well.” Next weekend, Georgetown will compete in the War emorial regatta at the Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y.