WASHINGTON – After the first two days of racing in the Sperry College Sailing Women's Semifinal Championship, the Georgetown women's sailing team finished third in the Eastern fleet in order to advance to the finals. The top 18 teams, nine in each fleet, were finalized on Wednesday evening after starting the racing on Monday in Newport, Rhode Island. The finals will begin on Thursday at 10 a.m. and will conclude on Friday.
 
The first day of racing was in nice sunny conditions with cool winds from the west/northwest averaging around 10-20 knots throughout the day. After the first day, Boston College led the Eastern fleet 17 points ahead of host Brown University in second place followed by Georgetown in third with 85 points.
 
On Wednesday, the teams raced through a blustery northerly breeze in the morning, which died out mid-afternoon and eventually shifted to a steady southerly breeze around 10-15 knots. The sailors were able to complete five races on windward-leeward courses. A short break around 2 p.m. to let the breeze fill in delayed racing a little bit, so the last races ended at the time limit today of 5 p.m.
 
Overall, the Hoyas remained steady on both days and sat in third place throughout the entirety of the semifinals. However, on Wednesday as the pace in Division A shifted, the GU squad battled in the final few races with Harvard and George Washington to claim the third spot in the Eastern fleet. The Blue & Gray came out on top and finished one point ahead of the Crimson and four ahead of the Colonials.
 
The Hoyas placed third in the A Division with a total of 74 points, two ahead of GW, and was led by Haddon Hughes (Houston, Texas / Episcopal), Morgan Sailer (Annapolis, Md. / St. George's), Annabelle Ayer (Marblehead, Mass. / Middlesex), Macey McCann (Houston, Texas / Episcopal) and Celine Bennett (San Anselmo, Calif. / Marin Academy). The Blue & Gray finished among the top five in eight of its 13 races.
 
In Division B, Georgetown placed fourth overall with 88 points, two ahead of George Washington. Gwynie Dunlevy (San Francisco, Calif. / Convent of the Sacred Heart), Carly Broussard (Newport, R.I. / Kentucky Country Day), Riley Kloc (Barrington, R.I. / Barrington), Hannah Hess (Inverness, Ill. / Loyola Academy), Marley Mais (Newport Beach, Calif. / Newport Harbor) and Olivia van den Born (Greenwich, Conn. / Choate Rosemary Hall) competed in Division B and placed third in the last two races on Wednesday, which allowed the Hoyas to keep its third place finish.
 
All scores will be wiped clean on Thursday morning and racing intensifies as the top 18 teams compete for the national championship title and the Gerald C. Miller Trophy. Racing is set to being at 10 a.m. in Newport Harbor.
 
Results in Eastern fleet (top 5 of 18): 1. Brown (99 points); 2. Boston College (106); 3. Georgetown (162 points); 4. Harvard (163 points); 5. George Washington (166 points)
 
Georgetown Lineup:
Division A (3rd of 18; 74 points): Haddon Hughes (1-12), Morgan Sailer (13) with Annabelle Ayer (1-6), Macey McCann (7-12) and Celine Bennett (13)
Division B (4th of 18; 88 points): Gwynie Dunlevy (1-6; 9-12), Carly Broussard (7-8), Riley Kloc (13) with Hannah Hess (1-6; 9-12), Marley Mais (7-8) and Olivia van den Born (13)