WASHINGTON – The Georgetown sailing teams continued their strong start to the season by winning the MAISA Conference Championship in match racing this past season. Match racing, similar to America's Cup sailing, features one boat on one team versus one on another. 

The Hoyas fielded a strong team led by junior Jeffrey Petersen who is already a United States and World Youth Match Racing Champion. Petersen was joined in the boat by Spencer Kriegstein, Kelly Bates and Enzo Menditto. The regatta was very close and, due to the inclement weather over the weekend with Tropical Storm Ophelia in the area, the overall championship came down to the last race. 

The Blue & Gray breezed through the qualifying round winning all their races. They were matched up in the semifinals against Hobart and William Smith. The Hobart team was fast, but the Hoyas were able to prevail with a 2-0 record. 

The finals pitted GU against host Navy. The Midshipmen put together a talented team and were using Navy 26's which were designed specifically for the Naval Academy giving the Mids a slight home-field advantage. Nevertheless, the Hoyas came to play and went up 1-0 by decisively winning the first of the three-race series. 

Race two was neck-and-neck, but the Hoyas lost, setting up the winner take all final race. Georgetown dominated from the start and went on to win in convincing fashion taking home the MAISA Conference Championship. The win qualifies the Blue & Gray for the 2023 ICSA Match Racing National Championship which will be held November 3-5 at the College of Charleston. 

The other three regattas originally scheduled for the weekend were canceled due to the tropical storm.