April 25, 2008

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The No. 5 Bulldog sailors have a big weekend ahead of them as a spot in the ICSA/Gill Coed Dinghy National Championships is on the line. The Bulldogs will be competing at the 18-team National Dinghy Semifinals hosted by USC in Long Beach, Calif., in FJ's on Saturday and Sunday, from which the top nine teams qualify for nationals. The Bulldogs will also compete at the BU Trophy and at Southern Series Seven.

The National Dinghy Semifinal is a central component of the new qualifying system for the Coed Dinghy Nationals. From each of the two national Semifinal events, the top nine teams will qualify for the ICSA/Gill Coed Dinghy National Championships held in Newport, R.I., June 2-4. The other national semifinal event will be held concurrently at Hobart in 420's. The Bulldogs qualified for the event by virtue of their fourth-place finish at the New England Dinghy Championships.

The competition at the event will be very tough, with nine of the top 20 ranked teams in attendance, including three of the top five teams in the nation. Last year, the Bulldogs only had to qualify for nationals through their performance at the New England Dinghy Championships. The Elis went on to place third at nationals in 2007. Sophomore captain Thomas Barrows and senior Zachary Brown are both returning All-American skippers while their crews, senior Abigail Coplin and junior Grace Becton, are both returning All-American crews. Sophomores Marla Menninger and Michael Hession may also crew for the Bulldogs depending on the conditions.

The other teams at the semifinal event will be Brown, Charleston, Georgetown, Hawaii, Kings Point, Minnesota, MIT, Notre Dame, Northwestern, NY Maritime, Old Dominion, Roger Williams, South Florida, Texas A&M-Galveston, USC and Western Washington.

The team will also compete at the BU Trophy hosted by Boston University in FJ's on Saturday and Sunday. The regatta, which will host teams from around New England, will be sailed on the historically puffy and shifty Charles River. The Bulldogs have struggled at the event in the past, with their highest finish in recent years being a sixth in 2004. In 2007, the team placed 13th out of 20 teams. This year the team will send skippers sophomore Sarah Lihan and Caleb Dorfman and crews freshmen Blair Belling and Tatyana Camejo. Lihan has experience at the BU Trophy, having sailed to a 12th-place finish in B Division in 2007.

The Bulldogs will also send a squad to the Southern Series Seven event hosted by Salve Regina in 420's on Saturday and Sunday. The Bulldogs will hope to get used to the sailing conditions at Salve Regina, as the Southern Series event will be sailed at the same location and in the same boats as all three national championship events.

Report Filed by Caleb Dorfman '09, Yale Sports Publicity