October 4, 2009
#16 WC Finishes Fifth at Danmark Trophy
Washington Also Ninth at Finger Lakes Women's Intersectional

CHESTERTOWN, MD -- The 16th-ranked Washington College sailing team finished fifth of 20 teams at the Danmark Trophy, a co-ed intersectional hosted by Coast Guard, this weekend. Washington was also ninth of 12 teams at the Finger Lakes Women's Intersectional, hosted by Cornell.

At the Danmark Trophy, senior skipper Conner Blouin (Tampa, FL/Jesuit) and freshman crew Matt Lawler (Alexandria, VA/Christchurch School) were second in A Division, finishing in the top five in nine of the division's 15 races and winning two. Sophomore skipper Mike Whitford (Chicago, IL/Francis W. Parker School) and junior crew Caroline Hill (Tiverton, RI/Bishop Stang, MA) were 13th in B Division.

Top-ranked Yale won the Danmark Trophy, followed by fifth-ranked Boston College in second, second-ranked Georgetown in third, and fourth-ranked Brown in fourth. Fourteen of the 20 teams ranked in the Sailing World national co-ed rankings competed at the regatta. Saturday's races were sailed in south-southeast winds of 5-12 knots with rain most of the morning. Ten races were sailed in each division on Saturday. Three races were sailed in each division in a 6-8 knot northerly on Sunday morning and two more were sailed in each division in a shifty west-southwest breeze in the afternoon.

At the Finger Lakes Women's Intersectional, sophomore skipper Mildred Conroy (Newton, MA/Tabor Academy) and freshman crew Emily Fetherston (Exeter, RI/Lincoln School) finished eighth in A Division. Freshman skipper Amanda Anastasia (Boston, MA/Boston Latin School) and senior crew Genevieve Smith (Hampstead, MD/North Carroll) were ninth in B Division.

Old Dominion, ranked first in the Sailing World national women's rankings, won the Finger Lakes Women's Intersectional, followed by eighth-ranked Dartmouth in second, and Navy in third. Eight races were sailed in each division on Saturday, the first two rotations in 2-5 mile per hour wind and the remaining in 8-10 mile per hour wind. The remaining four races in each division were sailed on Sunday as the wind filled in from the north as the day went on.

Next weekend, the Washington College sailing team will compete at the Hobart/William Smith Fall Intersectional.