Nov. 2, 2009
NORFOLK, Va. - The Old Dominion sailing team, ranked 19th nationally, claimed a pair of fifth place finishes this past weekend. The Monarchs finished fifth in both an 18-team field at the War Memorial Regatta and in a 17-team field at the Navy's Top Nine Invitational.
At the War Memorial Regatta, hosted by St. Mary's, junior skipper Stephanie Roble led Old Dominion to a fourth-place finish in the A Division. Roble sailed with junior crew Ashley Pellerito and senior crew Michael Komar. The Monarchs grabbed top-five finishes in 12 of the 18 A Division races, including a win in the second to last race on Sunday.
Senior skipper Katrina Williams, freshman crew Shannon Wilkins and sophomore crew Ariana Baker placed seventh in the B Division. The trio had 10 top-five finishes and Williams and Baker claimed victory in the eighth race.
Seventh-ranked host St. Mary's won the War Memorial by 29 points, winning both A and B Divisions. Third-ranked Georgetown, eighth-ranked Navy and 10th-ranked Hobart/William Smith rounded out the top- five.
Saturday's first three races in each division were sailed in less than six knots from the South. Six more races sailed in each division in the afternoon in more than 10 knots from the South. Sunday brought rain and shifty northeasterly breezes for the final nine races in each division.
ODU was also represented by two teams at Navy's Top Nine Invitational. Zack Kelchner and Dillon Paiva were third in the A Division, while Wilson Stout and Collin Kirby finished fifth in the B Division.
In the 17 A Division races, the Monarchs had seven top-five finishes, including a win and three second's. In the B Division, ODU was no worse than sixth in the first 10 races, but was only in the top-five once in the final seven.
Kevin Shockey, Emily Reich, Zach Runci and Arielle Darrow competed on ODU's other squad, finishing ninth overall.
One of Hobart/William Smith's two squads of entrants at the Top Nine Invitational won the regatta. Navy "1" was second, while Navy "2" was third and St. Mary's ended the weekend in fourth.
The first 10 races sailed in each division on Saturday were under cloudy skies with a light breeze and occasional rain. The remaining seven races in each division sailed on Sunday in light winds.
-ODU-