April 18, 2008

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The No. 3 Bulldogs are set to begin on the road to the ICSA Women's National Championship this Saturday and Sunday by competing in the Women's New England Championships for the Reed Trophy. The team will be sailing in its home waters at the McNay Family Sailing Center in Branford, Conn.

The New England Championships is a critical regatta for the Bulldogs as it is the sole qualifying event to the ICSA Women's National Championships on May 26-28 in Newport, R.I. The top five teams from the New England Championships will qualify for the national championships, a task that should be achievable based on the team's previous success this season.

Still, the regatta will feature some tough competition among the 14 competing teams. Nine of the top 15 teams in the nation are from the New England region and all of them will be in attendance this weekend. Still, the Bulldogs are the only team at the event ranked in the top five nationally, so they have a good chance to shine this weekend and sailing at home in its own 420's will not hurt.

So far this season, the women have shown that they are the team to beat. Last weekend, the women's team of juniors Jane Macky and captain Kate Hagemann, sophomore Marla Menninger and freshman Elizabeth Brim placed third in coed competition at the Moody Trophy, losing second on a tie breaker. Macky and Menninger have already been successful at home this season, helping lead the coed sailors to a win at the Owen and Mosbacher-Knapp Trophies, resulting in winning the Ivy League Championship.

The squad that will be competing this weekend last competed in women's competition on Apr. 5 and 6 at the President's Trophy. The Bulldogs won the event by five points over No. 5 Georgetown.

The Bulldogs will seek to improve on their performance last year at the New England Championships. Taking place in shifty conditions at Connecticut College, the Bulldogs placed eighth, missing qualifying for nationals by only three points. Menninger crewed for the entirety of the event while Macky skippered for two of the races.

Action will begin on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. at the McNay Family Sailing Center.

Report Filed by Caleb Dorfman '09, Yale Sports Publicity