WC Also 18th at Stu Nelson Women's

CHESTERTOWN, MD -- The Washington College sailing team finished second of 19 teams at the Kings Point Dinghy Open, hosted by Merchant Marine, and 18th of 18 teams at the Stu Nelson Women's, hosted by Connecticut College, this weekend.

At the Kings Point Dinghy Open, Washington finished fourth in A Division and second in B Division. In A Division, senior skipper Mike Whitford (Chicago, IL/Francis W. Parker School) and freshman crew TJ Heist (Ocean City, NJ/Ocean City) sailed the first three races, while sophomore skipper Sam Fitzgerald (Fairfield, CT/Greens Farms Academy) and junior crew Matt Lawler (Alexandria, VA/Christchurch School) sailed the final five. Whitford and Heist won the third A Division race, while Fitzgerald and Lawler won the fifth.

Freshman skipper Dan Ricker (Fair Haven, NJ/Rumson-Fair Haven Regional) and sophomore crew PJ Miller (Lawrenceville, NJ/Notre Dame) represented Washington in B Division and won the final five races in the division.

Every one of the eight races completed in each division at the Kings Point Dinghy Open sailed on Saturday in west winds of 5-12 knots. No races were completed on Sunday due to lack of wind. Thirteenth-ranked Dartmouth won the regatta.  Washington finished ahead of three schools currently ranked in the Sailing World Co-Ed National Top 20: second-ranked Hobart/William Smith (third place), 16th-ranked Navy (fourth), and 17th-ranked New York Maritime (sixth).

The Stu Nelson Women's was also limited to Saturday racing only. Four races were completed in A Division and two in B Division that day in light winds from the southwest up to five knots.  Since no additional races were able to sail on Sunday due to lack of wind, only the first two A Division and the two B Division races counted in the final scores. Senior skipper Mildred Conroy (Newton, MA/Tabor Academy) and freshman crew Blair Towers (Goochland, VA/St. Anne's-Belfield) were 15th in A Division. Freshman skipper Mackenzie Needham (Shelter Island, NY/Shelter Island) and sophomore crew Erin McAuliffe (Germantown, MD/Good Counsel) finished 17th in B Division. Yale, the top-ranked team in the Sailing World Women's National Top 15, won the regatta, followed by Eckerd in second and third-ranked Connecticut College in third. 

Next weekend, the Washington College sailing team will compete at the War Memorial, the MAISA Fall Co-Ed Dinghy Championships, hosted by Navy.