Photo by: Robert Migliaccio
Sailing Looking For Next Championship Moment
May 19, 2019 | Sailing, #ForBoston Files
With one championship already, three more potentially await for the Eagles this week.
Sailing is one of college athletics' most grueling, yet underrated, sports. Teams train for six different disciplines in a season that spans both the fall and spring. The "offseason" constitutes a gap in winter, but programs, especially in the northern parts of the country, are bound by weather and favorable conditions.
It creates one of the most competitive atmospheres in any sport. A team capable of winning a championship in any one discipline is celebrated among its peers, and a team sailing to glory in multiple areas rightfully earning an elite status. Doing that consistently makes an entire program a gold standard that, like anywhere else and in any other sport, is virtually unmatched.
Enter Boston College.
When the Eagles hit the water in Newport, Rhode Island this week, they will do so as that gold standard. The program earned its 20th national championship in the fall - all since 2008 - and now hoist the proverbial sails with a chance to remind the rest of the country everyone else is shooting to be what BC already represents.
"We've won one (national championship) and have three more opportunities to go," head coach Greg Wilkinson said. "We've been strong in women's competition all year. Our trajectory has been pretty good as a team. It's been a great year."
Strong performances aren't anything new to the Boston College sailing experience, but every team sets itself apart by its uniqueness and approach. The women's program enters this week ranked fifth in the nation but is coming off of an exceptionally strong performance in the NEISA Women's Championship.
The Division B boat of Isabella Loosbrock and Emma Perry finished second behind top-ranked Brown, and a strong showing by the Division A boat of Sophia Reineke and Tara Ferraris helped rocket BC into the nationals. Loosbrock and Perry won both Races 4 and 5 to match, at that point, the Bears, then posted two second place finishes with six more in the top five.
Reinke and Ferraris, meanwhile, won the second race of the regatta, then rallied to finished second in Race 8 before winning Race 11. It combined to provide a team score of 186 for BC, which cleared Yale for fourth with the performance but finished 12 points shy of third-place Dartmouth.
"Finishing second was a peak performance for us and qualified the team for the national championships," Wilkinson said. "It came at the right time since it helped get us to (this week). That was really good for us, but we have to just see how it plays out this week.
The Coed team won its second consecutive Match Racing championship in the fall and exploded out of the gate at the conference regatta. It finished with eight different top five finishes through both divisions' first five races, then rallied down the stretch with three consecutive seconds to post a strong fifth place finish.
"A lot of good teams compete for these titles," Wilkinson said. "The champions are distinguished, though, because of something unique that happened on their team during the year. A lot of people say it's cliche, but it's not a cliche at all. A team that comes together in a way that allows them to push each other hard - but that does it in a collaborative way - is the team that will win. That's what we strive for, and we talk about it a lot. It's part of our culture, and we work hard on it throughout the year."
That will buoy the Eagles through the adversity they will almost assuredly face on the water. The team will face up to 11 consecutive days of competition that stretches from Wednesday through Memorial Day Weekend. The added pressure of finals and, for the seniors, graduation only ratchets things up for a team defined by its ability to compete under any circumstances.
"The physical toll is unexpected when (the sailors) experience it at this event," Wilkinson said. "The only people that will experience 11 straight days are the women who will be at the women's national title. That is a grind that you don't really see anywhere else in sailing. So there's been plenty of messaging about it. We're coming off the end of the school year, so it's really all about taking care of ourselves. We tapered through the end of the week and the weekend, but there's a lot to take care of as best as we can."
Still, BC is exuding its own brand of confidence as it heads to the Ocean State. It has a familiarity with the conditions of New England waters, along with an understanding of the competition. The Eagles are ranked alongside conference rivals like Brown, MIT and Yale, and they sailed local conditions similar to Newport during the season. It will make for an exciting week of competition where the team can elevate its expectations and hope to take the next step in its storied recent history.
"We're going to be relatively familiar with the competition," Wilkinson said. "It's really all about who peaks, though, in each event. We've had a good track record, but we'll see if we can do it again this year."
2019 NATIONAL SAILING CHAMPIONSHIPS
NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND
HOSTED BY BROWN UNIVERSITY
RESULTS
Women's National Championship
First Round (top half of our event, top 9, advance to finals) - May 21-22
Finals - May 23-24
Team Race National Championship
May 25-27
Three rounds, with half the field eliminated at the end of each round - round of 16, round of 8, final four.Â
The rounds are run consecutively, so the round of 8 will begin at the end of the first day, or partway through the second day.
Coed National Championship
First Round (top half of our event, top 9, advance to finals) - May 28-29
Finals - May 30-31
It creates one of the most competitive atmospheres in any sport. A team capable of winning a championship in any one discipline is celebrated among its peers, and a team sailing to glory in multiple areas rightfully earning an elite status. Doing that consistently makes an entire program a gold standard that, like anywhere else and in any other sport, is virtually unmatched.
Enter Boston College.
When the Eagles hit the water in Newport, Rhode Island this week, they will do so as that gold standard. The program earned its 20th national championship in the fall - all since 2008 - and now hoist the proverbial sails with a chance to remind the rest of the country everyone else is shooting to be what BC already represents.
"We've won one (national championship) and have three more opportunities to go," head coach Greg Wilkinson said. "We've been strong in women's competition all year. Our trajectory has been pretty good as a team. It's been a great year."
Strong performances aren't anything new to the Boston College sailing experience, but every team sets itself apart by its uniqueness and approach. The women's program enters this week ranked fifth in the nation but is coming off of an exceptionally strong performance in the NEISA Women's Championship.
The Division B boat of Isabella Loosbrock and Emma Perry finished second behind top-ranked Brown, and a strong showing by the Division A boat of Sophia Reineke and Tara Ferraris helped rocket BC into the nationals. Loosbrock and Perry won both Races 4 and 5 to match, at that point, the Bears, then posted two second place finishes with six more in the top five.
Reinke and Ferraris, meanwhile, won the second race of the regatta, then rallied to finished second in Race 8 before winning Race 11. It combined to provide a team score of 186 for BC, which cleared Yale for fourth with the performance but finished 12 points shy of third-place Dartmouth.
"Finishing second was a peak performance for us and qualified the team for the national championships," Wilkinson said. "It came at the right time since it helped get us to (this week). That was really good for us, but we have to just see how it plays out this week.
The Coed team won its second consecutive Match Racing championship in the fall and exploded out of the gate at the conference regatta. It finished with eight different top five finishes through both divisions' first five races, then rallied down the stretch with three consecutive seconds to post a strong fifth place finish.
"A lot of good teams compete for these titles," Wilkinson said. "The champions are distinguished, though, because of something unique that happened on their team during the year. A lot of people say it's cliche, but it's not a cliche at all. A team that comes together in a way that allows them to push each other hard - but that does it in a collaborative way - is the team that will win. That's what we strive for, and we talk about it a lot. It's part of our culture, and we work hard on it throughout the year."
That will buoy the Eagles through the adversity they will almost assuredly face on the water. The team will face up to 11 consecutive days of competition that stretches from Wednesday through Memorial Day Weekend. The added pressure of finals and, for the seniors, graduation only ratchets things up for a team defined by its ability to compete under any circumstances.
"The physical toll is unexpected when (the sailors) experience it at this event," Wilkinson said. "The only people that will experience 11 straight days are the women who will be at the women's national title. That is a grind that you don't really see anywhere else in sailing. So there's been plenty of messaging about it. We're coming off the end of the school year, so it's really all about taking care of ourselves. We tapered through the end of the week and the weekend, but there's a lot to take care of as best as we can."
Still, BC is exuding its own brand of confidence as it heads to the Ocean State. It has a familiarity with the conditions of New England waters, along with an understanding of the competition. The Eagles are ranked alongside conference rivals like Brown, MIT and Yale, and they sailed local conditions similar to Newport during the season. It will make for an exciting week of competition where the team can elevate its expectations and hope to take the next step in its storied recent history.
"We're going to be relatively familiar with the competition," Wilkinson said. "It's really all about who peaks, though, in each event. We've had a good track record, but we'll see if we can do it again this year."
2019 NATIONAL SAILING CHAMPIONSHIPS
NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND
HOSTED BY BROWN UNIVERSITY
RESULTS
Women's National Championship
First Round (top half of our event, top 9, advance to finals) - May 21-22
Finals - May 23-24
Team Race National Championship
May 25-27
Three rounds, with half the field eliminated at the end of each round - round of 16, round of 8, final four.Â
The rounds are run consecutively, so the round of 8 will begin at the end of the first day, or partway through the second day.
Coed National Championship
First Round (top half of our event, top 9, advance to finals) - May 28-29
Finals - May 30-31
Players Mentioned
Crew
/ Sailing
Skipper
/ Sailing
Crew
/ Sailing
Skipper
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