George Washington University Athletics
George Washington University
Harry Anderson Trophy
GW Sailing Starts Strong at Four Season-Opening Regattas
9/14/2014 12:00:00 AM | Sailing
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RESULTS: Harry Anderson Jr. Trophy | Laser South Qualifier | Riley Cup | Radial Open
WASHINGTON - GW sailing finished in seventh place, ahead of seven teams in the last Top 20 national rankings, at the Harry Anderson Jr. Trophy to highlight strong Colonials' performances at four regattas on opening weekend.
The weekend also featured a standout showing by sophomore Brendan Shanahan, who placed fifth at the MAISA Laser South Qualifier in Annapolis, Maryland to secure a spot in the MAISA Men's Singlehanded Championship on Oct. 11-12.
At the Anderson Jr. Trophy on Long Island Sound in New Haven, Connecticut, GW amassed 203 points over 12 races to place seventh out of 18 teams.
Dartmouth (141 points) edged defending national champion Yale (158) by 17 points, followed by Brown, Bowdoin, Coast Guard and Roger Williams. All six of those teams, as well as the next seven finishers after the Colonials, were ranked in the last edition of the Sailing World Top 20 rankings in April 2014.
The B Division duo of freshman skipper Kai Friesecke and junior crew Henry Young led the way for GW with six top-five finishes including a victory in Race 8 to place seventh with 89 points. In A Division, freshmen Roger Dorr and Miranda Bakos posted five top-fives with a third in Race 9 to finish in 12th with 114 points.
"The team sailed really well and we were within striking distance of fifth for most of the weekend. Seventh is quite a good result for us at this caliber event," said Head Coach John Pearce.
At the Laser South Qualifer, Shanahan totaled 70 points over nine races, paced by a runner-up finish out of 20 sailors in Race 2, to grab one of the event's six available bids into the MAISA Men's Singlehanded Championship. Classmates Daniel DelBello (95 points) and Colin Kennedy (109 points) placed 13th and 15th, respectively, and will return to Annapolis in two weeks for the Second Chance Qualifier in an attempt to join Shanahan.
Also in Annapolis, freshmen Taylor Brimberg and Kia Olsson became the first GW sailors to compete in a women-only Laser event at the Radial Open, with Brimberg (96 points) coming in 12th and Olsson (101) 14th out of 20 participants. The pair will now sail in the Faye Bennet MAISA Women's Singlehanded Championship in Annapolis on Sept. 27-28.
At the Riley Cup in Norfolk, Virginia, GW's two teams posted 11th- and 13th-place showings out of 17 entries. Georgetown's Hoyas 1 boat won the event with 52 points.
The Buff and Blue team, consisting of the A Division (9th, 69 points) of freshman Sam White and sophomore Kelly Dong and B Division (12th, 82 points) of junior Jay Spector and senior Madeline Taggart, accumulated 151 points over seven races.
The Colonials team of junior Hannah McNomee and senior Meagan Murphy in A Division (13th, 78 points) and sophomores Madison Oleson and Gabriella Marki in B Division (11th, 78 points) totaled 156 points.
GW will compete in just one event on the second weekend at the women-only Mrs. Hurst Bowl hosted by Dartmouth from Sept. 20-21.
Players Mentioned
