WASHINGTON, D.C. -- After scheduled regattas were canceled due to icy conditions each of the previous two weekends, the Washington College sailing team finally opened its spring season this weekend at the John Jackson Team Race, hosted by Georgetown. Washington finished eighth of eight teams with a 1-13 head-to-head race record.
A total of 56 initial races were scheduled at the regatta, two full double round robins. A final four and bottom four round were planned if winds allowed. Fifty races sailed on Saturday on the Potomac River in a light and shift wind. Sunday morning started with a west-northwest wind of 10-12 miles per hour and the first three races sailed without an issue. A 25 mile-per-hour puff rolled through in the 54th race, causing a number of capsizes. Two more races were sailed, but the race committee decided to then end the regatta with the completion of the double round robin.
Washington's lone head-to-head win came in the second round robin against Connecticut College, which finished seventh with a 5-9 record. St. Mary's, ranked second in the latest ICSA Team Race Rankings, won the regatta at 11-3. 15th-ranked Hobart, eighth-ranked Navy, Coast Guard, and MIT all finished 8-6, but were second, third, fourth, and fifth, respectively, due to tie-breakers. Fourth-ranked Georgetown was sixth at 7-7.
Senior skipper Ryan Bailey (Toms River, N.J./Toms River South) and freshman crew Lindsey Arnstein (Huntingtown, Md./Huntingtown), senior skipper Eleanor Conroy (West Dennis, Mass./Tabor Academy) and freshman crew Allison Cochran (Mount Airy, Md./Urbana), and junior skipper Eric Siegel (Kilmarnock, Va./Christchurch School) and freshman crew Griff Rodrigue (Fort Mill, S.C./Charlotte Catholic [N.C.]) sailed for Washington at the regatta.
The Washington College sailing team hosts the Washington College Team Race next weekend on the Chester River.
