George Washington University
ICSA Singlehanded National Championship
Shanahan, Legault Finish 10th at ICSA Singlehanded Nationals
11/7/2016 12:00:00 AM | Sailing
GALVESTON, Texas -- Senior Brendan Shanahan and sophomore Riley Legault of the GW sailing team recorded 10th-place finishes at the Intercollegiate Sailing Association Singlehanded National Championship last weekend.
For Shanahan, it marked the third consecutive top-10 national finish after he took ninth-place as a sophomore and junior. Legault, who finished sixth during her freshman season, captured her second straight top-10 finish.
Hosted by Texas A&M University at Galveston, the championship featured a talented field on both the men's and women's sides. Three sailors that competed in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in August raced in the men's competition, while a number of 2020 Olympic prospects were in both fleets.
"For Brendan, just qualifying and representing the conference for three years in a row and to finish top-10 three straight years is really good," said head coach Billy Martin. "Qualifying is no walk in the park because MAISA is considered one of the best, if not the best conference in the country. It really shows how hard he's been working and how he has a good team around him to prepare him at practice.
"Riley is only a sophomore and she has two years to improve on that finish and hopefully work her way up to a podium finish. The future looks really bright for her."
Both Shanahan and Legault finished strong at the event after breezy and shifty wind conditions for the 10 races that were completed on day one. Shanahan took fourth, third and sixth in his final three races on Sunday, while Legault was eighth, seventh and first in her last three.
"Both Brendan and Riley stepped up big time and finished really strong on Sunday," said Martin. "Their average finish went from about ninth to roughly sixth from day one to day two, which is a pretty substantial improvement."
Shanahan and Legault will now shift their attention back to doublehanded racing, with the men headed to MIT for the Atlantic Coast Championships this coming weekend, and Legault going to College of Charleston for the women's ACCs.
Players Mentioned
