Nov. 20, 2003
NORFOLK, VA - Old Dominion University junior sailing team skipper Anna Tunnicliffe (Perrysburg, OH) will attempt to defend her Intercollegiate Sailing Association Women's/Vanguard North American Women's Singlehanded title this weekend, November 22-23, at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, FL. Tunnicliffe was the first Monarch to win the women's singlehanded national title last fall, winning the event at the Houston Yacht Club in Houston, TX with 69 points.
"Anna is clearly still considered the favorite this year," ODU Sailing Head Coach Mitch Brindley said. "The conditions there-flat water, shifty conditions-should favor the New England sailors, but Anna is still the favorite."
Two Harvard sailors, Genny Tulloch and Jenny Philbrick, will pose the most significant threat to Tunnicliffe's bid to retain the Janet Lutz Trophy as the winner of the ICSA Women's Singlehanded Championship. The Crimson are currently the top-ranked sailing program in the country, in both the Co-ed and the Women's polls, and the conditions in St. Petersburg, FL are similar to those common in New England. Other tough competition will include St. Mary's Jenny Gervais, Stanford's Ashley Frusch and Charleston's Sarah Wilkinson.
The ICSA Women's Singlehanded will consist of 16 sailors, each sailing 16 races in brand new Laser Radial boats, provided by Vanguard. Racing begins at noon on Friday and will conclude Sunday afternoon.
Tunnicliffe's win last year marked the ODU sailing program's 13th national title. The ICSA has six national championships each year: the men's and women's singlehanded events, the sloop competition, the team race, the Co-ed dinghy and the women's events.
The Monarchs are also sailing in the SAISA/MAISA regatta in Charleston, SC November 22-23. In A division, Tom Lewin (Williamsville, NY) and Stefanie Dyer (Virginia Beach, VA) will lead the ODU effort. David Tunnicliffe (Perrysburg, OH), Maggie Graham (Hackettstown, NJ) and Wade Schon (Millington, NJ) will man the B division squad. This weekend marks the end of the fall sailing season. The spring season will begin in January.
Two former ODU All-American sailors competed in the Olympic Sailing Trials in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Ward Cromwell (Huntington Beach, CA), a 1998 ODU graduate and a Honorable Mention All-American selection, teamed with Mark Ivey to finish 3rd in the 470 Men's. Brad Funk (Clearwater, FL), a two-time All-American and a 2002 graduate, finished 3rd in the Laser competition.
ICSA/Vanguard Women's Singlehanded Championship Sailors:
MAISA: Anna Tunnicliffe, ODUJenny Gervais, St. Mary'sAlexa Bestoso, NavyMCSA: Lindsay Allan, St. ThomasChristina Falcone, MichiganNEISA: Jennie Philbrick, HarvardGenny Tulloch, HarvardSloan Devlin, HarvardAnne Davidson, BrownJulie Papanek, YaleNWICSA: Haley Siegenthaler, U/WashingtonPCIYRA: Ashley Frush, StanfordKatie Clausen, USCSAISA: Sara Wilkinson, CharlestonJeanne Herman, CharlestonSEISA: Nathalia Mulhern, U/Texas