Second for Boston College

Boston College follow their Women's win with a Team Racing win at the ICSA Championships

Proving they are a force to be reckoned with, the Boston College Sailing Team has won their second National Championship title in less than a week on the waters of Narragansett Bay.

On May 28, the Lady Eagles won Boston College’s first-ever sailing title when they claimed the 2008 ICSA Women’s National Championship after three days of racing saw them triumph over 17 other colleges who had also qualified to take a shot at the championship crown. After a day off, action on-the-water resumed with the battle for the ICSA/APS Team Race National Championship testing the 14 colleges vying for that title.

Faced with a dying northerly, racing on day one of the ICSA/APS Team Race National Championship did not get underway until early afternoon when a southerly filled in to allow the completion of 42 races in five to ten knots of breeze. Divided and racing in two groups, the top four from each then advanced to the Championship Round: Harvard University (5-1), St. Mary's College (5-1), College of Charleston (5-1), and Brown University (3-3) from group one; and Boston College (5-1), Stanford University (5-1), Georgetown University (5-1) and the U.S. Naval Academy (3-3) from group two. The eight advancing teams also carry that part of their win-loss record from amongst themselves forward, which served to place a greater emphasis on performance in the opening round.

The remaining six schools - Notre Dame University, University of Texas, University of South Florida, University of Southern California, University of Washington and the University of Wisconsin - sailed a single round-robin Consolation Round which was completed on day two, with South Florida finishing on top (5-0).

Passing thunderstorms briefly delayed the start of the double round robin for the “elite eight” on day two of the event. In the first of two Championship Rounds, the elite eight took their first shot at each other with St. Mary’s, Harvard and Boston College working to distance themselves from the rest of the field as Brown and Navy fought to stay in the tournament. By late morning fog began to filter onto the race course, eventually engulfing it and compounding the intensity of the competition. Racing was called for the day at 4:30pm due to the thickening fog, leaving the second Championship Round leading to the “final four” to be completed on the final day of racing.

Setting the stage for the finale today, the morning haze dissipated and the breeze piped up. The end of the second Championship Round saw Harvard University, Stanford University, St. Mary’s College, and Navy eliminated as Boston College (11-3), Georgetown (9-5), Brown (8-6) and College of Charleston (8-6) advanced to the final four.

“We did not loose a race on day two, but were carrying a loss from the first day of the championship,” explained BC Head Coach Greg Wilkinson of the six to one record that had the Eagles holding the series lead coming into the final day of the championship. “The racing was extremely close, but we got off to a good start today with wins in several early races before a hiccup mid-day when we lost two. Into the “final four” we had a relatively good lead, got a few wins and that sealed [the championship win]. This was definitely, without a doubt, a team effort. It feels amazing.”

On-the-water for Boston College skippers were: Brian Kamilar, Reed Johnson, Adam Roberts, and crews: Andrew Schneider, Julie Howe, Carrie Amarante, Brianna Provancha, Alden Reid, and Evan Cooke.

Results:

1-Boston College (14-3)
2-Georgetown (11-6)
3-College of Charleston (9-8)
4-Brown University (8-9)