Navy Sailing Takes Third and Fifth at St. Mary’s Open
Navy Sailing Takes Third and Fifth at St. Mary’s Open
By Brian Hradsky
The Navy Midshipmen intercollegiate sailing team battled difficult weather conditions and came away with a pair of top-five finishes at the St. Mary’s Open over the weekend in St. Mary’s City, Maryland. Navy entered two teams in the 16-team field, finishing third and fifth overall while continuing a strong start to the fall portion of its schedule.
Rain and wind created challenging conditions throughout the weekend. Navy also hosted the Navy Fall Scrimmage in Annapolis, where nine teams competed with four boats apiece. Despite steady rain and winds ranging from 10 to 25 knots, the scrimmage completed 28 races over two days and gave the Midshipmen valuable work ahead of several important October regattas.
Navy puts two teams in top five
At the St. Mary’s Open, one of Navy’s teams immediately established itself as a contender. The Midshipmen held the overall lead after four races before losing some consistency later in the competition and eventually finishing fifth.
Freshmen Cole Fanchi, Gian Piovanetti and Jia Qi Zhan represented that Navy entry in the A Division and finished fifth in their division. Fellow freshmen Henry Scalise and Lydia Sayner-Oubre competed in the B Division and finished seventh.
While that group started quickly, Navy’s other entry used consistency to work its way to a third-place overall finish. Sophomore Robbie Richards and freshman Scarlet Hanson placed seventh in the A Division. Freshman Jules Buczkowski and sophomore Haley Kloepfer delivered one of Navy’s strongest performances of the weekend by finishing second in the B Division.
The results gave Navy two of the top five positions in a 16-team field. Georgetown took the top two overall positions, with Navy following in third. Fordham finished fourth before Navy’s second entry rounded out the top five.
Young Midshipmen gain experience
One of the most encouraging parts of the weekend for Navy was the amount of production coming from underclassmen. Seven of the nine Navy sailors identified in the St. Mary’s Open lineup were freshmen, with Richards and Kloepfer the only sophomores.
That youth makes Navy’s two top-five finishes particularly noteworthy as the Midshipmen move deeper into the fall season. Buczkowski and Kloepfer’s second-place B Division finish helped propel their team onto the overall podium, while Navy’s other group demonstrated its potential by taking the early overall lead.
The weekend also followed another strong showing for Navy. One week earlier, the Midshipmen won both the Chesapeake Invitational and Chesapeake Open in Annapolis. Navy also had Danielle Lynch-Smith finish seventh at the MAISA Women’s Singlehanded Championship for the Faye Bennet Trophy.
Weather changes Navy’s weekend
The conditions affected more than the racing itself. The MAISA Match Race Championship for the Intrepid Trophy was postponed because of the forecast for high winds. The championship has been rescheduled for Monday, Oct. 12.
Navy still made productive use of the weekend between the St. Mary’s Open and its home scrimmage. Getting 28 races completed in Annapolis despite winds reaching 25 knots and steady rain gave the Midshipmen additional experience in demanding conditions.
What is next
Navy will return to competition Oct. 3-4 with teams spread across three events. The Midshipmen will host the Carl Van Duyne MAISA Men’s Singlehandeds in Annapolis while also competing at the Danmark Trophy in New London, Connecticut, and the Jesuit Open in New York City.
The schedule gives Navy another opportunity to build on an impressive stretch that has included two regatta victories followed by third- and fifth-place finishes at St. Mary’s.
MSB Take
Navy sailing continues to show impressive depth early in the fall season. Putting two teams inside the top five of a 16-team field is a strong result on its own, but doing it with a lineup dominated by freshmen makes the weekend even more encouraging.
The Midshipmen did not dominate every division, but they did not need to. Buczkowski and Kloepfer’s second-place B Division performance was particularly important to Navy’s third-place overall result, while the other Navy entry showed its ceiling by leading the entire competition through four races.
Combined with Navy’s victories at the Chesapeake Invitational and Chesapeake Open the previous weekend, the Midshipmen are putting together a strong early-season run. The next challenge will be maintaining that consistency as the schedule gets tougher in October.
