March 2, 2008
Washington Wins Graham Hall Team Race
WC also Fifth at ODU Open

CHESTERTOWN, MD -- The Washington College sailing team finished first of eight schools at the Graham Hall Memorial Team Race, hosted by Navy, this weekend. Washington also finished fifth of 16 schools at the ODU Open, hosted by Old Dominion, this weekend.

Senior skipper Alex Hood (Newport, RI/Portsmouth Abbey) and senior crew Shrijana Puri (Bethesda, MD/Bethesda-Chevy Chase), sophomore skipper Conner Blouin (Tampa, FL/Jesuit) and sophomore crew Krista Hankins (Bridgeton, NJ/Cumberland Regional), and junior skipper Derek Packard (Excelsior, MN/Breck) and junior crew Seth Olson (Branford, CT/Branford) sailed for Washington at the Graham Hall Memorial Team Race. Senior Meredith Dodd (Pittsburgh, PA/Upper St. Clair) was the team's spare.

Washington's 9-1 record trumped 19th-ranked Pennsylvania's record of 8-2 at the regatta. Tenth-ranked Hobart/William Smith and Connecticut College tied for fifth with 5-5 records.

At the ODU Open, junior skipper Nicholas Larmore (Wilmette, IL/New Trier) and freshman crew Caroline Hill (Tiverton, RI/Bishop Stang, MA) were seventh in A Division, while sophomore skipper Patrick Clancy (Scituate, MA/Boston College HS) and sophomore crew Genevieve Smith (Hampstead, MD/North Carroll) finished third in B Division.

Top-ranked St. Mary's won the ODU Open, followed by fourth-ranked Georgetown in second and Old Dominion in third. Saturday's races began in south-southwest winds of 15-25 knots, picking up to 25-36 knots. After a postponement, the breeze moderated to 14-18 knots from the west before dropping to 5-8 knots. Sunday's races sailed in a shifty north-northwest wind of 7-9 knots.

Next weekend, the Washington College sailing team will compete at the Admiral Moore Team Race, hosted by New York Maritime.