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The Dartmouth
March 29, 2024 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

Sailing squashes the field at ACC championships

The coed sailing team put on an impressive show at the ACC championships, cruising to a wide margin of victory.
The coed sailing team put on an impressive show at the ACC championships, cruising to a wide margin of victory.

Dartmouth stomped the competition at the Championship, winning by a staggering 29-point margin. The Big Green could have waited on the docks while the last race went on and still taken home the victory.

In 'A' division, All-Americans Erik Storck '07 and Killarney Loufek '07 schooled Atlantic Coast and Ivy League foes to win the division by 17 points. The duo finished in the top three in seven of the regatta's nine races en route to victory. Dominating 17 of college sailing's best teams at this championship bolstered Storck's chances of being named College Sailor of the Year, a coveted award no Dartmouth sailor has ever previously received.

In 'B' division, Andrew Loe '06 combined with crews Betsy Bryant '08 and Matthew Cohen '10 to finish second out of 18 teams. Bryant and Loe capped off another terrific weekend by winning their last two races, edging division-winner Georgetown to win the regatta's final race.

"It's a great way to cap off our fall season," Bryant said. "Even though we didn't have any wind to practice with all week, we put it together and showed everyone how talented our team really is."

This Coed Atlantic Coast Championship win is Dartmouth's third in eight years, having also won in 1999 and 2003.

Not to be outdone by their coed counterpart, the women's team also finished the season with solid results at the Women's Atlantic Coast Championship and Single Handed Nationals.

At the ACC regatta, Adele Wilhelm '08 began with Kate Hacker '07 and then teamed with Anne Megargel '09 as the wind strengthened in 'A' division. On Sunday, Rebecca Dellenbaugh '10 took the reins from Wilhelm and paired with Hacker to finish out the regatta. The group ended up eighth the field.

In 'B' division, Kendall Reiley '09 teamed with Stephanie Gagnon '10 to earn a respectable ninth place finish. Overall, Dartmouth's women combined for eighth in the 17-team field.

The previous weekend, Reiley competed in the Women's Single Handed National Championship, where she sailed in Olympic class Laser Radials at Roger Williams University.

Simply qualifying for nationals is no easy task -- only the nation's top 16 collegiate women receive a bid to the event. Those who qualified include United States Sailing Team members and various hopefuls for the 2008 Olympics in China.

After a slow start, Reiley's results improved dramatically throughout the event, proving she has the talent to keep up with the nation's best. Unfortunately for her, the lack of wind on Sunday limited the event to 13 of 18 scheduled races. Reiley finished 12th and received the regatta's Sportsmanship Award by a vote of her peers.

"Receiving the Sportsmanship Award is a great accomplishment," Dartmouth Assistant Coach John Storck III said. "Kendall not only showed that she can compete with the best, but that she can do so while garnering the respect of her competitors."