October 26, 2008
WC 2nd at MAISA Fall Open, 6th at KP Dinghy
Whitford & Smith Win A Division at MAISA Fall Open

CHESTERTOWN, MD -- The Washington College sailing team finished second of 12 schools at the MAISA Fall Open, hosted by Old Dominion, and sixth of 16 schools at the Kings Point Dinghy Open, hosted by Merchant Marine, this weekend.

At the MAISA Fall Open, freshman skipper Michael Whitford (Chicago, IL/Francis W. Parker School) and junior crew Genevieve Smith (Hampstead, MD/North Carroll) won A Division, marking the first career first-place divisional finish for Whitford and the second for Smith. Whitford and Smith finished in the top five in all 12 A Division races, winning two and finishing second in six others. Sophomore skipper Guy Tawney (Baltimore, MD/St. Paul's School) and junior crew John MacLellan (Catonsville, MD/Catonsville) overcame a slow start to finish fourth in B Division after winning the last four races in the division.

Ninth-ranked Navy won the MAISA Fall Open, while 16th-ranked Old Dominion's "Blue" team was third. Eight A Division and six B Division races were sailed on Saturday, which was a cloudy day with some rain. Wind was 20-30 miles per hour with gusts around 40 mph coming out of the southeast. Saturday's winds later calmed to 10-15 mph. The remaining races were sailed on Sunday in winds starting out northeast at 10-12 mph which died while shifting west.

At the Kings Point Dinghy Open, senior skipper Derek Packard (Excelsior, MN/Breck) and sophomore crew James Shepherd (Chicago, IL/Lincoln Park) were second in A Division, while freshman skipper Mildred Conroy (Newton, MA/Tabor Academy) and freshman crew Lauren Marks (Baltimore, MD/Friends School) were ninth in B Division. Packard and Shepherd finished in the top five in eight of the 10 A Division races, winning three of them.

Fifteenth-ranked Hobart/William Smith won the Kings Point Dinghy Open, while second-ranked St. Mary's (MD) was second and 12th-ranked Vermont was third. Saturday's winds were out of the south at 20 knots, gusting to 30. Sunday's wind was out of the northwest at 12 knots dying around noon and later shifting west around eight knots.

Next weekend, the Washington College sailing team will compete at the War Memorial, the MAISA Fall Co-Ed Dinghy Championships, hosted by Cornell.