April 11, 2008

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The No. 2 Bulldogs start their campaign to qualify for the ICSA/Gill Coed Dinghy National Championships by sailing in the New England Dinghy Championships for the 67th Coast Guard Alumni Bowl on Saturday and Sunday at Salve Regina in 420's. The team will also compete at the Moody Trophy hosted by Rhode Island and the Oberg Trophy hosted by Harvard.

The New England Dinghy Championship is the first step for the Elis in qualifying for the national championships that will be hosted at the beginning of June by Salve Regina and Brown in Newport, R.I. The top nine teams from the event will qualify for one of two national semi-final events that will be held at USC and Hobart and William Smith. The two-tiered qualifying process for nationals is new this year, with the New England Dinghy Championships previously qualifying the top four teams directly to the national championships. The new system will give more opportunities for teams from historically strong districts like New England and the Mid Atlantic to qualify for nationals, ensuring stronger competition.

The regatta will be a good test and preparation for the team looking ahead to the national championship. Nationals will be sailed at the same venue and in the same boats as this weekend's event.

The Bulldogs placed fourth at the event last year with a 177-point total over 13 races in both A and B Divisions. The team grabbed the last berth at nationals from the New England region by virtue of its performance, before going on to place third nationally. The team returns the same skippers, sophomore captain Thomas Barrows and senior Zachary Brown, so experience is on the team's side.

Barrows believes that the conditions at Salve Regina could benefit the team as they are similar to what the team practices in at the McNay Family Sailing Center.

"Salve Regina has a whole mix of conditions just like Yale," Barrows said. "It can be windy with large waves while other times it is light and shifty. It will be a good opportunity for us to get back into fleet racing mode without too much pressure."

The event will include all of the top teams in the New England region, including five of the top ten teams in the nation.

The team will also compete at the Moody Trophy intersectional hosted by Rhode Island. The Bulldogs placed 11th last year at the event, with 128 points over seven races in each division. While inclement weather limited the event to just one day last year and the Bulldogs struggled with the inconsistent winds, the forecast for this year's event indicates that the team should have the chance to improve on last year's performance with two days of racing in FJ's.

At the Oberg Trophy hosted by Harvard, the team will battle against both strong competition from around New England and against the shifty winds of the Charles River on Saturday and Sunday. The team placed sixth at the event last year, with 282 points over 18 races in each division.

Report Filed by Caleb Dorfman '09, Yale Sports Publicity