Navy Intercollegiate Sailing Opens Season With Pair of Runner-Up Finishes
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Navy intercollegiate sailing opened the 2026-27 season with an impressive weekend, earning two runner-up finishes while competing in three regattas in Annapolis and Norfolk, Virginia.
The Midshipmen hosted both the ILCA South and Navy Women’s Fall Regatta in Annapolis while sending two entries to Old Dominion’s Riley Cup in Norfolk. Navy freshman Cole Fanchi nearly captured the ILCA South championship in his collegiate debut, finishing only one point behind Georgetown’s Peter Barnard, while Navy also sailed its way to second place at the Navy Women’s Fall Regatta.
Navy added fourth- and fifth-place finishes at the Riley Cup, giving the Midshipmen strong results across all three events. The weekend provided Navy with an encouraging beginning after the program ended last season fourth at the ICSA Open Fleet Race National Championship.
Fanchi Nearly Wins ILCA South in Collegiate Debut
Fanchi immediately made his presence felt in one of the weekend’s biggest competitions.
The ILCA South featured 18 sailors competing for nine qualifying positions in the MAISA Open Singlehanded Championship and an opportunity to race for the Carl Van Duyne Trophy. Navy entered five sailors in a field the program described as one of the event’s deepest in years, with many of last season’s leading competitors returning and several highly regarded freshmen joining them.
Fanchi did considerably more than simply contend for a qualifying position. The freshman battled defending MAISA champion Barnard throughout the event, with the two exchanging the lead as the regatta progressed.
The championship ultimately came down to an unusual conclusion.
Fanchi crossed the finish line well ahead of Barnard during the final race, but Barnard experienced a boat breakdown and received average points. That scoring adjustment allowed the Georgetown sailor to edge Fanchi by one point for the overall championship.
It was a difficult way for Fanchi to miss out on the victory, but finishing second in such a competitive field represented an outstanding collegiate debut. More importantly, the result comfortably moved Fanchi into the next stage of MAISA singlehanded competition.
Dominguez Gives Navy Two of Top Three
Fanchi was not Navy’s only sailor near the top of the ILCA South standings.
Senior Spencer Dominguez finished third overall, meaning Navy placed two sailors among the top three in the 18-sailor competition. Dominguez earned a victory early in the regatta and remained consistent throughout the first day, putting himself in a strong position to qualify.
His third-place finish secured another Navy berth in the Carl Van Duyne Trophy competition.
The rest of Navy’s ILCA South group found itself caught in an extremely congested portion of the standings. Only 17 points separated sixth place from 13th, leaving relatively little margin for error as sailors fought for the remaining qualifying positions.
Sophomore Robbie Richards finished 11th, senior Teddy Martin took 12th and junior Umi Noritake placed 13th. All three narrowly missed the top-nine cutoff required to advance.
Although Navy would have liked to move additional sailors through, getting Fanchi and Dominguez into the top three gave the Midshipmen a strong showing in the first major singlehanded test of the fall.
Navy Women Rally Into Second Place
Navy’s second runner-up result came at the Navy Women’s Fall Regatta.
The competition was held on the same course as the ILCA South, creating unusually long races and frequent changes at the front of the fleet. Eight teams competed in the combined division.
Navy’s top entry improved as the weekend progressed.
Freshman Kaya Hancock and junior Melania Gonzalez finished ninth in their division, while freshman Madeleine Garrett and junior Molly Jethwa delivered a third-place divisional result. Their combined work helped Navy climb the standings Sunday and ultimately finish second overall.
The performance was especially encouraging because two freshmen played significant roles. Hancock and Garrett received immediate opportunities during the opening weekend of their collegiate careers, and Garrett’s pairing with Jethwa produced a top-three divisional finish.
Navy also entered another team that remained close behind.
Seniors Josie Sherry and Mary Dwyer finished seventh in their division, while freshman Danielle Lynch-Smith teamed with senior Eva Ottenbreit for a fifth-place result. Their combined performance placed Navy’s second entry fourth overall.
That meant Navy placed two teams among the top four at its home women’s regatta.
The official Navy schedule lists the program’s two entries as second and fourth, giving the Midshipmen considerable depth during their first women’s competition of the new season.
Navy Shows Depth With Young Sailors
One of the most encouraging themes of Navy’s weekend was the number of freshmen who contributed immediately.
Fanchi nearly won the ILCA South. Hancock and Garrett helped Navy finish second at the women’s regatta. Lynch-Smith contributed to the fourth-place Navy entry.
The trend continued when the Midshipmen traveled to Norfolk.
Navy sent two entries to the Riley Cup hosted by Old Dominion, and several more freshmen were immediately placed into meaningful competition.
Weather complicated the event. Storms Saturday and light winds Sunday prevented organizers from completing a full slate of races, limiting the 18-team field to only five races per division.
With fewer races available, every finish became even more important because teams had less opportunity to recover from a poor result.
Navy handled those conditions well enough to place both entries near the front.
Midshipmen Take Fourth and Fifth at Riley Cup
Navy’s top Riley Cup entry finished fourth overall.
Junior Sean Trudell and sophomore Noelle Sizemore led that group by winning the A Division. Freshmen Jules Buczkowski and Lydia Sayner-Oubre handled the B Division and finished eighth.
Winning a division was one of the strongest individual results Navy produced during its entire opening weekend. Trudell and Sizemore gave the Midshipmen a dependable performance at the front while Buczkowski and Sayner-Oubre gained their first collegiate experience.
Navy’s second entry finished immediately behind its teammates in fifth place.
Sophomore Leo Robillard and freshman Ella Seymour turned in an excellent performance, finishing third in the A Division. Freshmen Henry Scalise and Jia Qi Zhan took seventh in the B Division.
The fourth- and fifth-place finishes were particularly notable considering Navy’s youth.
Five freshmen — Buczkowski, Sayner-Oubre, Seymour, Scalise and Zhan — were involved in Navy’s Riley Cup lineups. Instead of limiting the opening weekend to veterans, the Midshipmen immediately tested their newcomers in an 18-team event away from Annapolis.
Navy Coming Off Strong 2025-26 Campaign
The opening weekend continues the momentum Navy established during the previous season.
Navy reached the ICSA Open Fleet Race National Championship last spring and finished second in the eastern semifinal to advance to the championship round. The Midshipmen then placed fourth nationally in the finals in St. Petersburg, Florida.
That national championship run showed the level at which Navy can compete.
The 2026-27 roster now begins the process of building another team capable of reaching that stage. Opening the season with two second-place finishes, two additional top-five team results and two sailors among the top three of the ILCA South gives Navy plenty to build on.
The early returns from the freshman class are also significant. Fall sailing provides coaches an opportunity to determine which newcomers can handle collegiate competition, and several Navy freshmen immediately delivered strong results.
Fanchi’s second-place finish stands above the rest, but Garrett’s third-place divisional performance, Seymour’s third-place A Division result at the Riley Cup and the opportunities given to several other freshmen demonstrate the depth Navy is beginning to develop.
Another Huge Weekend Coming in Annapolis
Navy will remain busy when competition resumes Sept. 19-20.
The Midshipmen are scheduled to host three more regattas in Annapolis: the Chesapeake Invitational, Chesapeake Open and Faye Bennet MAISA Women’s Singlehanded Championship.
That will give Navy another opportunity to evaluate its roster while also moving into championship competition.
The Faye Bennet event is particularly significant because it serves as the MAISA women’s singlehanded championship. Meanwhile, the Chesapeake Invitational and Chesapeake Open will give the Midshipmen another large weekend of fleet racing on their home waters.
Navy enjoyed considerable success at those events last season. The Midshipmen won both the Chesapeake Invitational and Chesapeake Open during the 2025 fall schedule.
Repeating those results will require another strong weekend, but Navy’s season opener offered plenty of evidence that the Midshipmen again possess considerable depth.
MSB Take
There are strong opening weekends, and then there are weekends that provide a program with a glimpse of what its future could look like. Navy got a little of both.
The headline result is Fanchi finishing one point away from winning the ILCA South as a freshman. Losing the championship through an average-points adjustment following Barnard’s equipment problem is a tough ending, especially after Fanchi crossed the line well ahead in the final race, but it should not overshadow what he accomplished. He went head-to-head with the defending MAISA champion throughout his first collegiate regatta and nearly won the event.
Dominguez finishing third makes the ILCA result even stronger. Navy did not simply have one sailor near the top — it had two of the first three.
The women’s performance might be equally encouraging from a team perspective. Navy placed entries second and fourth overall, with freshmen already contributing alongside experienced upperclassmen. Garrett and Jethwa finishing third in their division was an important part of Navy’s runner-up performance.
Then there was the Riley Cup, where Navy finished fourth and fifth despite putting numerous freshmen into the lineup. Trudell and Sizemore winning the A Division gave Navy another major individual result, while Robillard and Seymour’s third-place divisional finish helped demonstrate the depth of the second entry.
Navy finished fourth nationally in open fleet racing last season. One September weekend does not tell us whether this group can duplicate or surpass that result, but the first competition of 2026-27 offered several positive signs.
Most importantly, Navy did not rely exclusively on its veterans to produce them.
The Midshipmen are already getting meaningful contributions from their freshman class, and that could become increasingly important as Navy moves deeper into the fall championship schedule.
Next weekend brings three more regattas in Annapolis and another opportunity to see just how quickly this Navy team can develop.
