April 13, 2008
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The No. 2 Bulldogs competed in the Duplin Trophy hosted by Boston College, where the team placed ninth with 118 points. The team finished only 11 points out of fifth place. The team next focuses on qualifying for the ICSA Women's National Championships next weekend.
The event, which was sailed in 420's on the open water of the Boston College venue, featured shifty, moderate winds, and fog on Saturday that caused the cancellation of racing early for the day.
The team struggled at times in the conditions, posting only three top-five finishes over the course of the eight races in each division.
In A Division, sophomore skipper Sarah Lihan and freshman crew Blair Belling placed seventh with 53 points. The team's highlight was a second-place finish in race four.
In B Division, sophomore skipper Rebecca Jackson and junior crew Elizabeth Clark-Polner placed ninth with 65 points. Their best race was a second in the sixth race of the competition.
Jackson felt that the regatta was a good experience for the team and gave an opportunity for improvement.
"I feel that our starting really improved over the course of the weekend," Jackson said. "We didn't have any really good starts on the first day, but had two good starts on the second day. The fog rolling in was interesting, as it caused racing to get cancelled and all the boats had to stay right next to the committee boat as it was impossible to see the windward mark."
The normal A and B Division competitors for the team sailed in Coed competition this weekend, where they placed third at the Moody Trophy intersectional.
The team is back in competition on Saturday and Sunday in the New England Women's Dinghy Championship for the Reed Trophy, which is the qualifying event for the women's national championship. The event will be hosted by Yale at the McNay Family Sailing Center.
Report Filed by Caleb Dorfman '09, Yale Sports Publicity
