Dartmouth sailing took seventh place overall at the New England Championships this past weekend in Branford, Conn.
In the two-day Regatta, the team of Whitney Connor '95 and Carey Clifford '95 tied for third in the A Division fleet race. The dinghy racers in the B division didn't fare as well, finishing seventh out of the 15 teams competing.
"We struggled in the B division and tried to pull it out but just couldn't get the right combination going," Coach Brian Doyle said. "The A division was very solid all-around."
With moderately breezy conditions both days, the B Division started with Brandon Prior '95 and Hannah Fouts '94 in the first eight races. Captain's Kristin Doyle '94 and Vanessa MacDonald '94 teamed up for the next three and Prior and MacDonald finished out the last five.
"It was a real team effort this weekend," Fouts said. "We had six people sailing and nine people down there ready to go in if needed. There was definitely a lot of team support."
In the New England Championship this weekend which was a coed event, the female duo of Connor and Clifford performed exceptionally well in the A Division.
"Most Varsity Skippers are men. The fact that Whitney [Connor] did so well testifies to her ability as a racer," Ben Schwartz '94 said.
"The sailing conditions were great this weekend but New England is probably the most competitive region in the country," Fouts said. "Any of the top eight schools could have qualified for Nationals,"
While the coed varsity team did not qualify for the National Championships this year, the women's sailing team is keeping the hope alive for Dartmouth. With a big win at the New England Championship's April 23 and 24, the Dartmouth women are favored to win the National Championships at the end of May.
Coming in ranked 15th in the nation, the women competed against 13 other schools before claiming their title and their chance to race Nationals May 26 to 28 in New Haven, Conn. Racing in the A Division were Connor and Clifford and B Division racers were Doyle and MacDonald.
The season has been a challenging one for the Big Green Sailing team. Losing a key racer and being unable to practice due to the ice on Lake Mascoma have been major obstacles for the 45-member team. The racers spent a week of Spring Break in Charleston, S.C. but have had little opportunity for practice on the water until the Lake thawed last week.
"The season's been going fairly well. Charleston really helped us but at the Regatta's we've been hurt by lack of practice. Other teams have had a chance to practice every day," Schwartz said.
Besides the women sweeping the New England Championships, the team had a good showing at the Kennedy Cup the same weekend. Racing in 44-foot boats, the team took eighth out of 10 teams under Skipper Chris Mairs '94. The race was particularly challenging for a team that has had little chance to practice on the "Big Boats."
This weekend the team will travel to Enfield, N.H. to compete in team racing, an event that pits three Dartmouth boats against three boats of another team.
"Team racing takes a lot more strategizing and team work than fleet racing," Coach Doyle said.
