The playoffs are the time to bring it or go home. Provided we define "it" as stylish, aggressive and efficient racing, that's exactly what the Dartmouth sailing team accomplished over the weekend at the New England Women's Championship at Brown University.
The two-day event greeted the lady sailors with warm, pleasant conditions as a welcome change from the dismal drizzle of recent weeks. The powerful pair of Thalia Pascalides '03 and Clementine James '05 fired things up in the A division raced a total of 14 races, finishing fifth out of 18 teams represented.
A magnificent third place effort in the B division by Lauren Padilla '05 with Allison Swindell '04 and Amory Loring '04 sharing crew duties led to a fifth place standing overall for the squad.
As it turns out, the final standing was the least important result of the race, however, as Dartmouth's performance qualified the sailors for the ICSA National Women's Championships, to be hosted by the University of Michigan at the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club in the first week of June.
Honors for the team translated into individual awards as Pascalides '03 and James '05 were named to the preciously short list of all-NEISA skippers. In addition, teammates Padilla '05 and Swindell '04 made for an equally elite list of all-NEISA crews.
Just down the way at the US Coast Guard Academy, the co-ed team was representing in The Thompson Trophy. With dazzling performances only slightly more dominating than they were beautiful, Scott Hogan '04 and Liz Hyon '05 finished third in 18 races the A division.
Freshman phenom Andrew Loe '06 and Elisabeth Kreter '05 sizzled to win the B division, placing Dartmouth second overall. Race official Michael Horn remarked that, "Dartmouth outdistanced the rest of the field," as evidenced by the staggering point differential between second and third positions in the race.
In other action, the 36th Staake Trophy Team Racing Tournament at Tufts University presented the sailors with an opening round robin, followed by a final four style championship.
Sailors Scott Linthicum '04 with Lindsay Reardon '03, Todd Whitehead '06 with Anna Weinberg '05 and Garrett Holmes '05 with Debbie Sperling '06 raced wonderfully in the early going.
The teams struggled later, however, and ended up fourth out of six teams, dropping a close tie to Harvard for third due to the point spread from the first race. Holmes clarified a budding mystery after the race stating, "Although I'm a skipper for the team, they call me 'The Captain.' There can be some confusion."
Finally, Dartmouth solidified its hold on the Metro Series for the term, winning both A and B divisions in the latest round of the series at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Greg Hammond '04 with Christina Duncan '06 and Erik Johnson '06 with Rachel Holmes '04 took home the victory.
This first-place finish in addition to a quadruple of seconds puts Dartmouth in the No. 1 spot for the whole Series.
The women sailors already look forward to the Big Dance of Sailing in the summer, and coming off great victories this weekend, the co-ed and freshman teams are continuing to pick up speed, like a solitary snowball hurtling out of control down a snowy slope. It's only a matter of time before the Dartmouth men and women of the sea are national champs.
