May 1, 2011
LONG BEACH, Calif. - The Old Dominion University coed sailing team qualified for the ICSA / Gill National Championships with a ninth-place finish at the 2011 Eastern Semifinals, which wrapped up Sunday evening.
Thirty-six of the nation's elite sailing programs arrived at the Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier in Long Beach, Calif. for two days of intense racing and only half of the field moved on.
The Monarchs beat out the University of Florida by 17 points and UCLA by 20 points in a battle for the last spot in the national championships, which will be held in Cascade Locks, Oregon May 30-June 1.
Georgetown won the Eastern semifinal, while Harvard, Navy, Charleston, Stanford, Brown, Tufts and Connecticut College also advanced to the national championship round out of the Eastern Semifinal.
Old Dominion received great contributions from sophomore skipper Dillon Paiva and freshman crew Julia Wiesner as the duo finished eighth in B-Division sailing. The Monarchs posted Top 10 finishes in 10 of 12 B-Division races, including a pair of third-place results.
In A-Division sailing, Stephanie Roble, Emily Reich, Miles Martschink and Brady Stagg all contributed to ODU's 10th place finish. The Monarchs had eight Top 10 results, including a fifth-place finish in the fifth race.
-ODU-