George Washington University
Sperry Women's National Championship
Sailing Qualifies for Women's National Championship Finals
5/24/2017 12:00:00 AM | Sailing
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- For the third consecutive season, the GW sailing team has qualified for the Sperry Women's National Championship Finals after placing seventh in the Eastern Semifinal on Wednesday.
Needing a top-nine finish to advance to the finals, the Colonials took care of business after entering the day in fifth place. Once again, weather played a big role as storms moving through the area allowed just 10 races to be completed on Wednesday, after just eight were completed on Tuesday.
"It was tricky conditions," said head coach Billy Martin. "There was a little bit more wind and there were still storms in the area circling around so we didn't get all that many races in. It was just a wet day again. We didn't have the best day on the water but there were a lot of good teams that got eliminated so you just survive and move on."
The Colonials used their depth as Riley Legault, Alexandra Fayer, Sarah Noyes and Sarah Alexander all contributed to a sixth-place finish in B Division, highlight by a second-place finish in the final race of the day. In A Division, Miranda Bakos, Belle Strachan and Emma Mendenhall slipped to 10th place.
"It's good to move on but we need to go back to the drawing board because starting tomorrow for finals the bar will be raised," said Martin. "Everything is going to be a lot harder - not a little harder - a lot harder. It's always the most competitive regatta of the year, by far. Nothing else really compares to a national championship."
Players Mentioned
