Final Team Standings
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The No. 14 Eckerd College women's sailing program saved some of its best for last as the ICSA/Sperry Top-Sider Championship Finals came to a close on Friday afternoon at the Magnuson Hotel Marina Cove.
In the final set, the Tritons defeated the entire field in 18B, effectively vaulting from 14th into 12th as the final regatta of the season came to a close.
It marked “B” division's second win as the Tritons also held off the fleet in 4B during Wednesday's first day of finals competition.
The team celebrated earlier this evening with coaches
Kevin Reali and
Zack Marks at a dinner banquet to conclude the festivities as Gill Coed Nationals and the APS Team Race Championship still await Eckerd and the University of South Florida as co-hosting institutions.
A total of eighteen races were completed over a three-day span as the Tritons hovered consistently ranging anywhere from ninth to 14th. With conditions ideal featuring plenty of wind today, the remaining four races were finished by the late afternoon.
Dartmouth College was the wire-to-wire victor, claiming team championship honors by a considerable margin over runner-up St. Mary's College of Maryland and Cornell University.
“We finished very strong and as one of the least experienced crews on the water, I'm ready to accomplish more with this program,” said Reali. “We will be aggressive in the fall and try out a number of different combinations.”
The future is indeed bright for the Tritons, who graduated just one member competing at semifinals/finals. Senior crew
Emily Mitchell capped off her stellar career sailing with junior
Solvig Sayre in “A” division.
Prior to competing in nationals, Mitchell was selected as the women's sailing program's first Triton Award Winner at the annual Eckerd athletics dinner banquet.
Sayre, sophomore
Melany Johnson, freshman
Jessica Resnick and junior
Colleen McClung, represent a talented group of returners seasoned with finals experience.
McClung and Resnick switched off in “B” division teaming with Johnson following a strategic move by Reali as the winds picked up during the week.
With the coed and women's first season officially in the books as members of the Eckerd athletics department, the Tritons will move ahead with their continued progression next fall.
“We are looking forward to the future in the next few years,” Reali said.
