September 13, 2009
#17 Washington 5th at Anderson Trophy
Blouin and Lawler Finish 5th in A Division

NEW HAVEN, CT -- The 17th-ranked Washington College sailing team finished fifth of 20 teams at the prestigious Anderson Trophy, a co-ed intersectional regatta hosted by Yale University, this weekend. Fourteen of the 20 schools competing at the regatta appeared in the Sailing World Preseason Top 20 and four others received votes in the poll, but were not ranked.

Senior skipper Conner Blouin (Tampa, FL/Jesuit) and freshman crew Matt Lawler (Alexandria, VA/Christchurch School) placed fifth A Division for Washington. They finished in the top five in six of the 12 A Division races, winning the second race. Sophomore skipper Mike Whitford (Chicago, IL/Francis W. Parker School) and junior crew Caroline Hill (Tiverton, RI/Bishop Stang, MA) placed 11th in B Division. Whitford and Hill were in the top five in five of the 12 B Division races, including a second-place finish in the eighth race.

Third-ranked Yale won the regatta, followed by 18th-ranked Vermont in second, 13th-ranked Brown in third, and second-ranked Georgetown in fourth. The Washington sailors finished better than seven teams ranked ahead of them - top-ranked St. Mary's (seventh place), fifth-ranked Charleston (eighth), sixth-ranked Roger Williams (sixth), seventh-ranked Harvard (ninth), 11th-ranked Tufts (15th), 16th-ranked Connecticut College (16th), and 15th-ranked Boston University (17th).

Saturday's races sailed in a northeast wind of 4-9 knots. Sunday saw north and northwest winds of 4-10 knots.

Next weekend, the Washington College sailing team will compete at the Ocean County College Fall Open.