NORFOLK, Va. - Old Dominion open sailing finished third at The Grant, the women’s sailing team placed eighth at the MAISA Women’s Team Race Championship, and the open sailing team finished ninth at the Truxtun Umstead Open Fleet Race this weekend.
"At the three regattas we were competing in, we had a mixed bag of performance," said ODU head coach Mitch Brindley. "At the conference women’s team race championship, we struggled jelling with our teamwork, particularly in the dynamic breeze of the Potomac."
The Grant took place at Old Dominion in Norfolk, Virginia, and day one saw 10-15 knots winds that started in the north but shifted to the east as Saturday went on. Eight races took place on day one of the cup and six races were scheduled for Saturday. Christopher Newport won the regatta with a final score of 83 and ODU finished in third with 119 points and earned qualification for the 2026 America Trophy.
U.S. Merchant Marine Academy came in second with 110 points, Princeton finished behind the Monarchs in fourth with 130 points, SUNY Maritime came in fifth with 131 points, Columbia placed sixth (153), William & Mary finished seventh (224), followed by Maryland in eighth (228), Washington ended the competition in ninth (257), Rutgers came in 10th (259), Virginia placed 11th (274), Hampton finished in 12th (307), and Stevens (330) and Drexel (339) finished 13th and 14th, respectively.
At our home fleet race event, we jumped out to a big early lead with a string of firsts places, but then we got sloppy resulting in several penalties," added Brindley. "While at the inter-conference regatta hosted by Navy, the team had a solid performance throughout it. In particular, sailing A division, Pierce (Brindley) and Maddie (Bivins) had great boat speed, dependable starts, and solid race strategy. They won the day on Sunday resulting in a 3rd in A for the regatta."
ODU competed in the MAISA Women’s Team Race Championship in Alexandria, Virginia and came in eighth over the weekend. ODU skipper Arabella Duer and crew Morgan Auth sailed in boat one followed by skipper Gianna Dewey and crew Mary Petra Humphrey in boat two and lastly skipper Marina Conde and crew Molly Hanson filled boat three.
The Monarchs finished with a 1-7 record, ODU defeated Fordham (1-2-6) but fell to Cornell (3-5-6), Georgetown (4-5-6), George Washington (3-4-6), Hobart & William Smith (3-4-5), Navy (2-3-6), St. Mary’s (Md.) (2-3-6), and Pennsylvania (2-3-6). Cornell went undefeated and won the regatta with a 16-0 record. Georgetown finished second (11-5), St. Mary’s (Md.) (9-7) grabbed third, Navy placed fourth (9-7), George Washington finished fifth (5-8), Pennsylvania came in sixth (3-10), Hobart and William Smith (3-5) and Fordham (0-8) finished seventh and ninth, respectively.
Old Dominion open sailing finished the Truxtun Umstead Open Fleet Race hosted by Navy in Annapolis, Maryland with 243 total points to finish in ninth. Pennsylvania took home first place with 155 points followed by Jacksonville in second with 177 points and San Diego State finished in third with 193 points. Georgetown placed fourth (209), Navy came in fifth (217), Eckerd grabbed sixth (222), Miami placed seventh (226), Boston finished in eighth (235), Fordham came in 10th (248), Tulane placed 11th (250), Northeastern finished in 12th (281), U.S. Coast Guard grabbed 13th (285), Cornell came in 14th (323), St. Mary’s (Md.) finished in 15th (344), and Webb (349), Hobart & William Smith (399), and George Washington (434) came in 16th-18th, respectively.
UP NEXT:
The Monarchs round out the 2026 spring season on Sunday, April 19-20 with the America Trophy hosted by St. Mary’s (Md.) starting at 10 a.m.