George Washington University Athletics
GW Sailing Reaches National Finals
5/26/2015 12:00:00 AM | Sailing
Needing a top-9 finish at the two-day ICSA / Sperry National Women's Semifinals, the GW sailing team finished in 7th place after Tuesday's racing to qualify for their first-ever entry in the National Finals, which will be contested among the top-18 teams in the country on May 27-28.
Day one of the Semifinals on Monday began at 9:30 am and concluded at 6:00 pm, with winds oscillating between 8-14 knots. GW concluded the first day of racing in 9th place, holding the final qualifying position entering Tuesday's second day of racing.
On Tuesday morning, the two 14-boat Semifinal fleets began the final battle to settle the 18-team Finals fleet, and the skipper/crew tandem of Maria Sinagra and Belle Strachan opened the day in spectacular fashion with a 1st place finish to set the tone for the rest of the day. A 3rd place finish in their second race climbed the Colonials into 8th place overall, before skipper India Johnstone and crew Kia Olsson sailed the team into 7th with their A-Division performance. Winds were between 12-20 knots throughout the day, calling for several substitutions on the deep Colonials roster to account for the conditions.
The Sinagra/Strachan tandem sailed strong throughout the day, as they also secured a 4th place finish in the Semifinals 10th B-Division race. Gabriella Malek joined Johnstone in GW's A-Division boat for several races on Tuesday, highlighted by back-to-back 6th place finishes in A-Division's 11th and 12th races to put a stranglehold on GW's 7th place standing. Senior Megan Murphy crewed Sinagra's B-Division boat in the final races of the day, with 4th place, 7th place and 6th place finishes in B-Division races 11, 12 and 13, respectively, to cap GW's Tuesday total of 78 points - the fifth-best total of day two.
Miranda Bakos played a key role in Monday's racing for the Colonials as the A-Division skipper, while Hannah McNomee and Jennifer Wilson contributed to the Colonials' performance both days.
GW now advances to its first-ever National Finals, with the 18-boat fleet scheduled to commence two days of Finals racing on Wednesday, May 27th at 9:30 am. Dartmouth, College of Charleston, Coast Guard, Georgetown, Rhode Island, Brown, St. Mary's College of Maryland and South Florida also advanced out of GW's Semifinal.
Players Mentioned
