April 29, 2011
LONG BEACH, Calif. - The Old Dominion University coed sailing team is set to compete in the 2011 ICSA Coed National Semifinals at the Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier in Long Beach, Calif. April 30-May 1.
The top 36 college sailing teams in the country will split into two 18-team fleets and compete in the eastern and western semifinals Saturday and Sunday.
Old Dominion earned its spot in the highly talented field by finishing fifth in the America Trophy Regatta, which served as the MAISA district championship. Nine squads from each semifinal will advance to the ICSA/Gill National Championship that will run May 30-June 1 in Cascade Locks, Oregon.
"We tend to sail our best when it counts," said Old Dominion head sailing coach Mitch Brindley. "We're certainly a team that has the talent to qualify, but we'll have to be focused and attentive to the details to do that. The teams we need to beat, we've beat before, so that gives us a lot of confidence that we can go head-to-head against them this weekend."
The Monarchs will have a great deal of experience in their A-Division boat as senior All-American Stephanie Roble will skipper a crew that includes juniors Miles Martschink and Emily Reich. Brindley thinks that having these veterans leading the way will help keep everyone focused and patient.
ODU's young talent will have to step up in B-Division racing as sophomore Dillon Paiva will skipper a crew that consists of a pair of freshmen, Julia Wiesner and Brady Stagg.
One advantage the Monarchs will have is that both Roble and Paiva have competed in Long Beach in the past so Brindley believes that they will be extremely comfortable out on the water.
While divided into two fleets - East and West - the arrangement has no regard for geography. Boston College is in the Western group, while Stanford and UCLA earned spots in the Eastern group.
Racing is scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m. Saturday and 10:15 a.m. Sunday, conditions permitting.
For up to the minute results and information, follow the regatta online by CLICKING HERE.
-ODU-