Sperry Top-Sider Women's Finals

The National Championships got underway just after 2 p.m. The storm had passed and racing began under sunny skies in 5-7 knots of wind from the east-southeast. Over the next two sets of races the wind began to die to eventually nothing after the first race in B-division. The sailors were sent in to cool down from the hot Texas sun and wait for more wind to fill in.

The wind came in from the north at about 5-7 knots around 5 p.m. The conditions continued to be shifty with the wind cycling up and down between 5 and 10 knots. At times the pin end was heavily favored due to left shifts, which made it important for the sailors to find a hole at that end to be in the top of the fleet off of the line.

Four races were completed in A-division and two races were completed in B-division today in the final series for the Sperry Top-Sider/ICSA Women’s National Championship.

Racing got underway around 10 a.m. in 5-6 knots of breeze from the northeast. Temperatures were in the high seventies to start the day. B-division hit the water first for races 3B and 4B. The sailors race on a windward/leeward course four times around, a W4, which has a downwind finish.

Racing was postponed after race 3B due to a lack of wind. The sailors were eventually sent in to shore to wait for the breeze and take shelter from the sun and heat. It became a waiting game and the competitors did not head back out on the water until around 3 p.m. after a four-hour postponement.

Race 4B had a general recall, but the second start was all clear. The wind filled in to about 7-10 knots from the southeast. Conditions continued to be shifty, but the breeze stayed steady and Boston College won the race with a nice lead over the University of Michigan, Yale University and Georgetown University.

Light winds prevailed the rest of the day, 6-10 knots from a southeasterly direction and the temperature was in the high 80s. Staying in velocity and in phase on the racecourse was the name of the game as shifts continued to roll down the course, much like they did during yesterday’s racing.

Two races were completed in A-division and four races were completed in B-division today, which means there are many more races to get through tomorrow.

The competitors arrived to nice breeze and partly cloudy skies, a pleasant change from the last three days of racing where wind was a scarcity at times. Winds were coming from the south-southeast at around 12-14 knots at the start of the day and as racing got underway around 9 a.m. CDT, the winds fluctuated between 8-12 knots.

The race committee was able to run seven races today in both A and B-divisions completing the championship with 13 races total in A and B over the three days of the regatta.

While there was more wind today, gusts up to 14-16 knots from a southeasterly direction, the same shifts "long persistent shifts" like the previous days, moved across the course. The shifts could last for a whole upwind or downwind leg and if the sailors were not in phase with them they could gain or lose places quickly depending on which side of the course they were on.

Winning the Women’s Championship title and the Gerald C. Miller Trophy for Boston College was Anne Haeger ’12, Laura McKenna ’13 and Kelly Roy ’13 in A-division and Briana Provancha ’12 and Beth Barnard ’15 in B-division.

Yale took second place winning the New England Women’s Trophy thanks to sailors Marlena Fauer ’14 and Eugenia Custo Greig ’14 in A-division and Morgan Kiss ‘15 with Urska Kosir ’15 and Emily Billing ’13 with Amanda Salvesen ’14 in B-division.

In third, four points behind Yale, winning the Ann Campbell Trophy, was the University of Rhode Island Amy Hawkins ’12 and Kaitlyn Norton ’15 in A-division and Chanel Miller ’14 and Margaret Craig ’13 in B-division.

The two trophies for the winners of each division have been awarded since 1974. Sydney Bolger ’12 and Rebecca Evans ’12 won the Madeleine Trophy, awarded to the low-point A- division team and Morgan Kiss ‘15 with Urska Kosir ’15 and Emily Billing ’13 with Amanda Salvesen ’14 won the Judy Lawson Trophy, awarded to the low-point B-division team.

The following chart shows the relative rank of the teams as of the race indicated. Note that the races are ordered by number, then division, which may not represent the order in which the races were actually sailed.

The first place team as of a given race will always be at the top of the chart. The spacing from one team to the next shows relative gains/losses made from one race to the next. You may hover over the data points to display the total score as of that race.