FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: <mailto:[email protected]> Jan Harley, Media Pro Int'l, 401-849-0220 for ICSA
logo004.jpg COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON COUGARS BRING THEIR "A" GAME TO 2010 ICSA WOMEN'S NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP Madison, Wisc. (May 27, 2010) - After two days with no breeze and no races completed for the semi-final round of the 2010 Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association's Women's National Championship, the conditions on Lake Mendota turned around just in time for day one of the race for the championship crown. Sunshine, temps in the high 70s and the all-essential breeze - ranging from five knots and shifty in the morning, to a peak around nine knots, before it laid off toward the end of the day while becoming more consistent in direction - gave the 18 teams in the hunt for the title ample opportunity for to show their stuff. Bringing their "A" game was College of Charleston who were dominant in A-Division through the efforts of senior skipper Allison Blecher (Fullerton, Calif.) with sophomore crew Alyssa Aitken (Sandwich, Mass.). Their finishes of 1-2-2-1-1-2-1-4-2-6, for a low score of 22, kept The Cougars on top of the standings throughout the day. "They are really fast and didn't make any major mistakes," said Ward Cromwell, Head Coach at College of Charleston. "In the last race they thought they were over early and came back and it turned out that they were not over early. In the next to last race, they were middle of the pack, but had really outstanding downwind boatspeed and battled back through the fleet. " Seniors Shannon Heausler (Tampa, Fla.) and Rebecca Bestoso (Erie, Pa.) sailed B-Division for Charleston and contributed finishes of 6-2-3-2-3-2 -9-10 for a total 37 points. "They sailed great," said Cromwell. "They got really tired and were probably dehydrated toward the end of the day, but they're still leading B-Division by four points." With the scores from A- and B- combined, the Cougars lead the scoreboard with 59 points for a 35-point cushion over second-placed Boston College. "There was full hiking for a few races today, but nobody was putting a windy crew in," said Cromwell who explained that he will have the same sailors on the water through the end of the championship unless the breeze gets over 13 knots. Asked what conditions are expected for the final day of the championship he responded: "I've stopped looking at the weather reports." Boston College, winner of this title in 2008, is currently ranked number one in the nation in women's sailing according to Sailing World's College Rankings as of May 13. The Eagles hold the number two spot in the overall standings with 94 points, 50 from A-Division skipper Anne Haeger (Lake Forest, Ill.) and Emily Massa (Barrington, R.I.), both sophomores, and 44 points from B-Division skipper Emily Maxwell (Stonington, Conn.) and Elizabeth Dudley (Queenstown, Md.), both juniors. Standing third overall are the ladies from Tufts University with 117 points. The A-Division team of Catherine Swanson (Charleston, S.C.) and Sara Carnahan (Crosslake, Minn.), both juniors, won the final race of the day and have 75 points heading into tomorrow's racing. B-Division skipper Margaret Tautz (Littleton, Colo.) and crew Jennifer Watkins (Edina, Minn.), both seniors, have 42 points after winning two of the eight races sailed by B-Division. The championship title will be determined tomorrow, Friday, May 28, when racing resumes from the regatta base at Memorial Union Terrace. Results, Twitter updates and live video coverage are available at: <http://2010nationals.collegesailing.org/> 2010nationals.collegesailing.org ICSA is the governing authority for sailing competition at colleges and universities throughout the United States and in some parts of Canada. To learn more please visit: www.collegesailing.org <http://www.collegesailing.org/> . ICSA is sponsored by Gill, Annapolis Performance Sailing, Marlow Ropes, Quantum Sails, LaserPerformance and US SAILING: www.gillna.com <http://www.gillna.com/> , www.apsltd.com <http://www.apsltd.com/> , www.marlowropes.com, www.quantumsails.com <http://www.quantumsails.com/> , http://www.laserperformance.com/ and www.ussailing.org -end- (Complete list of Teams competing:) May 27-28, 2010 - ICSA Women's National Championship Boston College (Chestnut Hill, Mass.) Brown University (Providence, R.I.) College of Charleston (Charleston, S.C.) Connecticut College (New London, Conn.) Eckerd College (St. Petersburg, Fla.) Georgetown University (Washington, D.C.) Harvard University (Cambridge, Mass.) Old Dominion University (Norfolk, Va.) St. Mary's College (St. Mary's City, Md.) Stanford University (Palo Alto, Calif.) Texas A & M Galveston (Galveston, Texas) Tufts University (Medford, Mass.) University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, Mich.) University of Southern California (Los Angeles, Calif.) University of Texas (Austin, Texas) University of Washington (Seattle, Wash.) University of Wisconsin (Madison, Wisc.) William Smith College (Geneva, N.Y.)
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