Sept. 16, 2009
Washington, D.C. - The No. 2-ranked Georgetown University coed sailing team began its 2009-10 season with three regattas last weekend. They competed in the Navy Laser Open, the Harry Anderson Regatta at Yale, and the Riley Cup at Old Dominion.
The Navy Laser Open is the first qualifier for the conference championship. Reigning College Sailor of the Year, junior Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor), picked up right where he finished last spring with a first place overall finish, qualifying for the conference championship. In his first college regatta, freshman Chris Barnard (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor) finished third overall, also qualifying for the conference championship. Rounding out the Hoya field was freshman Michael Schalka (Seatttle, Wash./Dartmoor) who sailed a solid regatta but narrowly missed qualifying for the conference championship.
The Harry Anderson Regatta is the first collegiate intersectional of the season. Georgetown finished fourth overall with Yale taking first place. In the A division, senior Marco Teixidor (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/St. John's School) and junior Ashley Phillips (Charleston, S.C./Ashley Hall) led after the first day, and ended the regatta finishing fourth with 87 points. In the B division, junior Scott Furnary (Rye, N.Y./Rye Country Day) and senior All-American Alexandra Taylor (Hobe Sound, Fla./The Benjamin School) finished second with 94 points.
The Hoyas sent a very young group to the Riley Cup to compete against MAISA conference members. The team finished seventh overall. Sophomore Andrew Mason (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar) and freshman Hilary Kenyon (Wayzata, Minn./The Blake School) finished sixth in the A division with 59 points. Freshmen Dan Eichler (Providence, R.I./Moses Brown) and Leslie Cowen (Dover, Mass./Tabor Academy) finished fifth with 56 points in the B division.
This weekend the Hoyas will be competing in three events including the Nevins Trophy and Merchant Marine Academy and the Hatch Brown Trophy at MIT. The seventh-ranked Georgetown women's sailing team will begin competition this weekend at the Hurst Regatta at Dartmouth.
