ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Old Dominion sailing competed in three events over the weekend, all three events were held in Annapolis, Maryland and hosted by Navy. The Monarchs placed fourth at the Chesapeake Invitational, sixth at the Chesapeake Open, and had three boats out on the water in the Faye Bennet MAISA Women's Singles.
“The Monarchs filled the fleet across three different regattas, all hosted by Navy,” said ODU head coach Mitch Brindley. “The Chesapeake Invitational and Chesapeake Open were intended as growth opportunities for the Monarchs, and it was great to get 15 of our sailors into highly competitive races this weekend.”
“Annapolis Harbor is infamous for its light, shifty breeze, compounded by heavy motorboat chop from all the powerboat traffic. Some of the wakes can bring you to a stop, and it is hard not to get frustrated. But the conditions are the same for the entire fleet, and learning to handle them better is something we need to continue working on.”
ODU finished fourth out of six berths at the Chesapeake Invitational, host Navy earned first place with 104 points. St. Mary’s (Md.) placed second (153), Georgetown took third (169), the Monarchs finished in fourth (255), and George Washington (290) and Christopher Newport (398) finished in fifth and sixth, respectively.
The Silver and Blue competed against eight schools in the Chesapeake Open and finished in sixth. Navy earned another first placed finish with a final score of 53. St. Mary’s (Md.) placed second with a score of 72, Georgetown finished in third (79), and Pennsylvania took fourth (96). Princeton (142) finished ahead of the Monarchs in fifth place, ODU earned a final score of 145, and Fordham placed seventh (198). Penn State and George Washington finished eighth (198) and ninth (210), respectively. The Nittany Lions and the Rams had to go to a head-to-head tiebreaker to break their tie and Fordham came out on top.
The Monarchs fielded three boats at the Faye Bennet MAISA Women's Singles and had all place within the top-10. ODU’s boat manned by Esther Ireland earned the Monarchs’ top boat with a fifth place finish and a final score of 78. Arabella Duer and Gianna Dewey manned ODU’s second and third boats and finished eighth and ninth, respectively.
“My focus was on Gianna [Dewey], Bella [Duer], and Esther [Ireland] as they competed for the conference women’s singlehanded championship in the ILCA 6 class,” said Brindley. “All three had great moments, as well as periods of struggle and challenge. Our straight-line upwind speed was very good, but our success rate on the starting line was not where it needed to be, frequently forcing us to bail out early in the beat in search of clear air.”
“Gianna and Bella struggled at times with the constantly changing strategic conditions, but both worked through their frustration and put together some great races late in the regatta, which I was very happy to see.”
“Esther was remarkable in her ability to recover from poor starts and still sail strong, strategic beats. During a crowded leeward-gate rounding in Race 10, she made a hard turn to give another boat room, which led to an error and ultimately a capsize. Her 14th place finish in that race dropped her from third overall, but she responded well and ultimately finished fifth overall. I am confident that her fifth-place finish will make her a strong candidate for an at-large berth from the College Sailing Championship Selection Committee.”
Cornell took home first place with a final score of 27. Queens earned an outright second placed finish (59), but Georgetown (62) and Fordham (62) had to go to a head-to-head tiebreaker to determine third and fourth place. The Hoyas edged the Rams and took third while Fordham finished in fourth. Hobart and William Smith (93) placed sixth and Navy (108) earned seventh. St. Mary’s (Md.) ended the weekend in 10th (129) and Navy had its final two boats place 11th (136) and 12th (147), respectively. Queens (150), Georgetown (151), Hobart and William Smith’s (159) second boats earned 13th, 14th, and 15th, respectively. Fordham (178) and St. Mary’s (247) placed 16th and 18th, respectively, and Washington’s only boat in the competition placed 17th with a final score of 217.
UP NEXT:
Old Dominion has one event this coming weekend and competes in the SMC Open hosted by St. Mary’s (Md.) in St. Mary’s, Maryland. The open takes place on Saturday, Sept. 26-27 and the event will last all day.