April 20, 2008
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The No. 3 Bulldog sailors qualified for the ICSA Women's National Championships by virtue of their fourth-place finish at the New England Women's Championship for the Reed Trophy hosted by Yale in 420's at the McNay Family Sailing Center Saturday and Sunday. The team, which last won nationals in 2004, returns to the event after missing qualifying in 2007.
The 14-team regatta featured a deep fleet of the top women's teams in the New England region. The regatta was won by No. 8 Boston College, which turned in an impressive 118-point performance. Yale scored 155 points over the 14 races in each division, only seven points behind No. 7 Brown, which placed third.
On Saturday, the regatta featured light to moderate winds and a bit of current that caused a number of general recalls. The fleet was tightly compressed on Saturday and most boats had similar boat speed. On Sunday, the wind was much stronger, with puffs of wind up to 18 knots and waves during the end of the day. The conditions allowed some boats to use an edge in boat speed to separate themselves from the fleet.
Turning in a strong performance for the Bulldogs in A Division were junior Jane Macky and sophomore Marla Menninger. Macky and Menninger placed third in A Division with 85 points. The team placed in the topfive boats in seven of the 14 races. The duo capped off the successful regatta with a victory in the last race, one of their two victories over the course of the regatta.
The Bulldogs placed third in B Division with 70 points behind the strong leadership of junior skipper Kate Hagemann. Due to the strong breeze, freshman Elizabeth Brim and sophomore Rebecca Jackson split time crewing for Hagemann. Hagemann, Brim and Jackson placed in the top five boats eight times, including one victory.
Hagemann is looking ahead to the team's bright future over the next month.
"I am really excited that we qualified for nationals from such a tough fleet," Hagemann said.
The Bulldogs now will continue to train and practice for the upcoming national championships that will be hosted in Newport, R.I., in 420's on May 26-28. The venue for nationals is similar to the home sailing waters of the Bulldogs, which features large waves and open water, so the next month of practice will help the team prepare to perform the best at 2008 ICSA Women's National Championships.
Report Filed by Caleb Dorfman '09, Yale Sports Publicity