After dominating teams throughout the season, the Dartmouth women's sailing team just barely secured its berth to the national semi-finals. The Big Green finished in seventh place the last place that still qualified for nationals at the New England Women's Championship, which took place at Brown University this weekend.
"It was very, very close," coach John Pearce said. "We had a few unforced errors and the rough currents and unfavorable wind didn't help either, but we made it to national semi-finals, which we also did last year, so now just have to compete as hard as we can."
The women's team finished 10 points ahead of the eighth-place Coast Guard Academy. Becca Dellenbaugh '10, Rachel Moncton '12 and Madilyn Gamble '13 continued their strong season together by taking seventh place in the A division. Chandler Salisbury '13 and Stephanie Gagnon '10 finished sixth in the B division.
"We went in pretty confident," Moncton said. "We had some tough wind and tough breaks, but we stayed calm and sailed the way we know we could and found success like that."
"We found ourselves around seventh place all weekend, and even dipped down into eighth place at one point," Pearce said. "Coast Guard and Rhode Island University were our main competition for that last qualifying spot, but the girls really turned it on in the end to capture seventh place."
Brown won the New England Women's Championships, while Harvard University and Boston College finished in second and third, respectively. The other teams that qualified for Nationals were Connecticut College, Tufts University and Yale University.
Last week, following their win in the A division at the Wick/Shrew Regatta, Dellenbaugh and Moncton were named Sailors of the Week by both the U.S. Sailing Association and the New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association.
Moncton and Gamble were also named to the 2010 All-New England Women's First Team Crews. Dellenbaugh was additionally named to the 2010 All New England Women's First Team Skippers.
"Awards are great, but I'm just really happy we were able to qualify for nationals," Moncton said. "However, the accolades do reflect how consistently we've sailed and how much we have improved over the season."
Pearce agreed that awards demonstrate the hard work the team has put in all season.
"They've been sailing great all season, so it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone to see their successes being recognized," Pearce said. "Becca has had quite the season, and being nominated for New England Women's Sailor of the Year just further proves her devotion to the team and sport."
The women's team will now have just less than a month to prepare for the national semifinals, which will take place at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
The coed team was also in action this past weekend, sailing at the Admiral's Cup, which took place at King's Point, N.Y. The team finished in seventh out of a field of 18.
"It was a good way to bounce back after barely missing qualifying for nationals the weekend before," Pearce said. "We got to sail against teams from the Mid-Atlantic, which are outside our conference. We were pretty solid all around."
Sam Williams '12, Peter Hughes '11 and Sarah Freihofer '10 finished sixth in the A division. Matt Cohen '10 and Ali Hiller '11 came in at ninth place in the B division, while Bo McClatchy '13, who was sailing a single-person boat called a "Laser," finished 8th in the C division.
"It was one of our best regattas all year, and we beat some really good teams," Williams said. "Some of the team from the Mid-Atlantic that we beat had qualified for nationals, so it's nice to see that even though we missed out on nationals, it's because our division is so competitive."
Hobart and William Smith College won the Admiral's Cup, and the College of Charleston and Tufts finished second and third, respectively.
The team also placed 13th at the Thompson Trophy, which took place at Coast Guard Academy. Ed Jude Glackin '11 and Matt Habig '13 finished 14th in the A division , while Bernie Roesler '12 and Rocky Merchant '12 came in eighth place in the B division.
