DORCESTER - The Tufts Women's Sailing team failed to qualify for the Intercollegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) dinghy national championship by placing 14th at the New England Championship on Saturday and Sunday. The top eight move on to Nationals.
The regatta, held out of the Savin Hill Yacht Club, featured 15 races in two divisions. The Jumbos accumulated finishes totaling to 172 in A division and 163 in B's for a 335 total. They were one behind 13th place Roger Williams (334) and five in front of 15th place Boston University (340).
The Jumbos placed 15th in A's. Sophomore MaryClaire Kiernan skippered the first through 10th races and junior Kate Shaner took over for the 11th through 15th. Three crews competed with senior Caitlin Durand handling races one through three, junior Amanda Sommi taking over for the fourth through 10th and sophomore Julia Fuller finishing up the 11th through 15th. McKiernan and Sommi's sixth in the ninth race was the best showing.
The B team was senior skipper Kate Levinson with senior crew Emily Lynn, who placed fourth in the fifth race for their best finish. They were 13th in the division overall.
Ten races were completed in each division in very shifty conditions on Saturday. Wind ranged from 3-10 knots and was generally NW with long, big oscillations. The forecast called for dying NW'ly becoming E/SE late in the day Sunday. Luckily, the NW cooperated and died before launching, allowing four races to be run in each division in a consistent ESE breeze that seemed to be slowly building. Later in the day, the breeze died completely during the final race, causing it to be abandoned.
New England champion and host Boston College, Coast Guard, Yale, Brown, Vermont, Dartmouth, Bowdoin and Rhode Island move on to to the ICSA national regatta.
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