March 22, 2008
NEW LONDON, Conn. - No. 2 Yale resumed sailing in New England at the Emily Wick Trophy hosted by the Coast Guard Academy on Saturday. The Bulldogs entered three boats in the 18-boat event, making the event unique because Yale boats ended up competing against each other.
The event featured extremely shifty winds of three to 15 knots that made for bizarre lead changes. The cold temperatures in the high 30's and unpredictable conditions tested the competitors, who were at times able to achieve success in the event.
The Yale effort was highlighted by freshman Molly Lucas and senior Hilary Shapiro's fourth-place finish with 55 points. Lucas and Shapiro sailed their first college regatta together at the Wick, but Lucas did not let her inexperience at college sailing slow her down. The pair improved as the event went on, finishing with strong finishes of 4, 3 and 1.
The Yale boat of sophomore Sarah Lihan and freshman Blair Belling finished with a ninth-place finish with 66 points. Lihan and Belling's effort was highlighted by a second-place finish in race six.
Yale's third boat at the regatta was crewed by sophomore skipper Rebecca Jackson and junior crew Elizabeth Clark-Polner. They finished in 13th place with 90 points.
Lihan viewed the regatta as a sign of good things to come for the team.
"I think that it's going to be a great season this year as we have five good women skippers," Lihan said. "We had really good mark roundings and the regatta was good training for the rest of the season."
The Bulldogs will be able to build on their success this coming weekend in intersectional competition during the 22nd Women's Brad Dellenbaugh Trophy hosted by Brown University.