March 20, 2002
Washington, D.C.--Georgetown University sailing has been busy lately, competing in six regattas over the past two weekends.
March 2 and 3, the Hoyas hosted nine other teams for the Georgetown Team Race. A Hoya squad comprised of seniors Ken Ward (Tampa, Fla./The Hotchkiss School), Leah Williams (South Dartmouth, Mass./Tabor Academy), Curtis Flood (Richmond, Ky./St. George's School), and Kat Penbethy (Rowayton, Conn./TheTaft School), junior Byron LaMotte (Oxford, Md./The Hotchkiss School), and sophomores Tyler Haskell (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor), Emilie Lincoln (New York, N.Y./The Hewitt School), Thatcher Spring (Nantucket, Mass./Belmont Hill), and Chris Harvey (Rillton, Pa./Greensburg Central Catholic), along with freshman Barbara Hall (Marion, Mass./Tabor Academy), out-raced the entire field to take first place at the tournament. At the conclusion of the two-day event, the Hoyas? record stood at 16 wins and 3 losses, just slightly better than the second-place St. Mary?s College squad (14-5). Of the three races that the Hoyas lost, two were against St. Mary?s and one was against the fourth-place squad from Navy.
That same weekend, a contingent of Hoya sailing traveled to Norfolk, Va. for the Old Dominion Open, which boasted a field of 16 participating schools. St. Mary?s College took first place honors with 133 points. Georgetown?s score of 159 was good enough for fourth place overall. Senior Alex Holton (Larchmont N.Y./Mamoroneck) and junior Shelly Wentworth (Centerville, Mass./Barnstable) competed in the A division for the Hoyas, finishing in seventh place with 99 points. In the B division, Hoya freshmen sailors Steve Streit (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich) and Megan O?Neill (Huntington Beach, Calif./Mater Dei) ended up one point out of first place with a score of 60. The Old Dominion Open is a qualifier event for the American Trophy, for which Georgetown is pre-qualified.
While St. Mary?s College won the Old Dominion open, the tables were turned March 9 and 10 for the St. Mary?s Team Race Intersectional, in which Old Dominion took first place with a record of 15 wins and 4 losses. Although they have won this event both of the past two years, Georgetown sailing came in fifth among the 10 teams present, winning 9 races and losing 10. The Hoyas were represented by Ken Ward, Leah Williams, Curtis Flood, Kat Penberthy, Tyler Haskell, and Barbara Hall. This squad was six and three at the end of the first day of competition, but the wind was taken out of the Hoyas? sails on Sunday when they managed to win only three races while losing seven.
The Navy Spring Women?s Intersectional was also scheduled for March 9 and 10, but competition was cut short, as high winds were sufficient cause for cancellation of Sunday?s races. Based on Saturday?s results, Old Dominion took top honors with 69 points. Georgetown?s 192 points left them in ninth place among the 17 schools represented at the regatta. Georgetown?s A division sailors, juniors Elizabeth Sampson (Larchmont, N.Y./Mamroneck) and Emma Trentman (St. Leonard, Md./The Calverton School), finished in 15th place with 133 points, while sophomore Eliza Ryan (Marblehead Mass./Marblehead) and Emilie Lincoln took 5th place in the B division. Their score of 59 was just 12 points over the B division?s second-place finisher.
That weekend also saw the Hoyas compete in the SUNY Maritime Academy?s Admiral Moore Regatta, which was also blown out on Sunday, leaving Saturday?s results to become final standings. This left Georgetown in fifth place with a score of 88, which was 22 points over the Regatta?s best score of 64, held by the joint team from Hobart and William-Smith Colleges. 56 of the Hoyas? 88 points were earned in A division competition by the sailing duo of Thatcher Spring and freshman Dorothee Bergin (Wellesley, Mass./Wellesley), who finished in ninth place. The other 32 points were attributed to Byron LaMotte and Shelly Wentworth, whose pair took third place in the B division, just 5 points out of first.
Georgetown sailing also competed in the Ice Free Open March 9 and 10. The Hoyas dominated the event, which was hosted by Christopher Newport University, navigating their way to first-place finishes in both the A and B divisions. A duo comprised of freshman Bill Jorch (Northport N.Y./Northport) and sophomore Gabrielle Maguire (Amherst, Mass./Amherst) earned their top honors in the A division with a tally of 26 points. Meanwhile, the sailing pair of sophomores Derek Webster (Irvine, Calif./University High School) and Collen Hehir conquered the field in the B division with their score of 25, giving the Hoyas a total of 51 points. This was a stunning 63 points under the second-place score of 114, held by the squad from George Washington University. Overall, the Hoyas won an impressive total of 23 out of their 32 races.
The Georgetown Coed Sailing Team, ranked number three in the nation, has another two regattas scheduled for this coming weekend. They will be sending teams to both Truxton Umstead, which is held at Navy, and to the Salisbury State Open. The number 12 ranked Georgetown Women?s Sailing Team has one event on the ball for this weekend, when they will directing their sails toward the St. Mary?s Women?s Intersectional.
