Ranked number three in the country, the women's sailing team will head west this weekend to compete in the National Women's Championships in Portland, Ore.
Dartmouth qualified for Nationals last April when the Big Green placed second at the New England Championships. At the New Englands, Dartmouth fell to number one ranked Brown and the Big Green are looking for revenge in Portland.
"Brown's a tough team, but I definitely think we have the capability to win the regatta," Coach Brian Doyle said. "We're pretty excited. We just have to step it up and sail a good regatta."
The 16 team competition begins on Monday and will conclude on Wednesday afternoon. Two divisions, A and B, will be raced in flying juniors, a two-woman type boat.
The Big Green should have a distinct advantage since they are one of the few teams that practice in flying juniors. In addition, the fluky winds that will be prevalent on the river they will be sailing on in Portland can be comparable to the conditions of Lake Mascoma, the practice site for the Big Green.
In the A division, senior and women's captain Heather Melanson will look to lead the Big Green with her experience. She will crew for Casey Hogan '99. In B, Leigh Lucas '98 will skipper with a rotation of different women as crew. Erin Myers '00, Alice Nelson '99, Carrie Gilbert '97 and Amanda Ruscitto '97 will fill out the Big Green roster.
"I think we have a good mix of people going," Doyle said. "We have some great senior leadership combined with a great deal of talent. We are going to have a real good group representing us out there."
In other sailing news, the Big Green selected their new officers for next season last Monday. Wes MacLaggan '98 will replace Jeff Shoreman '97 as team captain, while Lucas will take over for Melanson as the women's captain.
Jeff Bletcher '98 and Hogan will assume the commodore and vice commodore positions, respectively, next fall. They replace Ruscitto and Jimmy Franzone '97.
