7/25/2002

Georgetown University Sailing made an impressive showing at this year?s USTRA Championships held June 22-23 in Boston, MA. Recent graduates Ken Ward (?02), Leah Williams (?02), and Kat Penberthy (?02), sailed with junior Tyler Haskell (?04) to win the USTRA title. The fifth place team boasted four former Hoyas, John Camera (?01), Dana Scalere (?01), Kate Hewson (?01), and current assistant coach Ryan Costello (?01) on its roster.

The best-of-five quarterfinal race against the between the elder Hoyas and the fourth seed was one of the most dramatic of the event. The race was almost a rematch of the 2001 ICSA-Ronstan Racing Championships where Georgetown defeated Harvard in Boston. Former collegiate rivals found themselves once again battling it out on the Charles as both teams expertly handled their boats in very light wind. The final race began, after several delays, with the match tied 2-2. The two teams were neck and neck halfway up the final beat when the wind vanished entirely. Neither team held a clear advantage so the race committee and umpires decided to abandon the race, and let the tie stand. 

The younger Hoyas began their championship run by finishing first in Saturday?s series of round robins. The team faced the second seed in a best of three-race final Sunday afternoon. The number two seed jumped out to an early lead in the first race before losing the advantage when the team?s first boat rounded the first mark in the wrong direction. This opened the door for the Hoyas to seize a 1-2-5 lead, which they held to win. Down 1-0 and needing a win to stay alive, the eventual runners-up stacked two boats at the pin to agree with the prestart wind in the second race. This strategy proved to be yet another costly error, as the wind shifted seconds before the start.  Two of the Georgetown boats were able to jump off the windward end of the line and extend their 1-2 lead throughout the race and win the championship 2-0.