Sailing places ninth at the Intercollegiate Sailing Association championships
Tufts sailing placed fifth in B division and ninth overall at the 2015 Intercollegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) Dinghy Championships held on Narragansett Bay Wednesday and Thursday.
With 18 races in two divisions, Tufts compiled finishes totaling 160 in B’s and 179 in A’s for a 339 total. The Jumbos edged Old Dominion, which totaled 340 for 10th place. Stanford was 11th, five back of Tufts at 344. Yale won the 2015 national championship in dominating fashion with 104-82-186 scores. Second-place Coast Guard scored 255.
Two pairs of boat-mates helped the Jumbos to the fifth-place performance in B’s. Senior skipper Dan Nickerson paired with senior crew Jamie Maffeo in races one through nine. Senior skipper Duncan Swain worked with first-year crew Emily Shanley-Roberts for the 10th through 18th races. Though the Jumbos did not win a race in B’s, they were in the top 10 for 12 starts. They were the runner-up in the 16th race and third in the first.
The A division Tufts tandem was senior skipper Alec Ruiz-Ramon with senior crew Sam Madden. They were 12th in the division, losing a head-to-head tie-breaker against Roger Williams. The Jumbo dinghy was the runner-up in the second and sixth starts while posting thirds in the third, fifth and 17th races.
The ninth-place team finish was the second straight in the national top 10 for head coach Ken Legler’s Tufts co-ed team at the dinghy nationals. The Jumbos were fifth last year. Tufts has won five dinghy national titles overall (2001, 1997, 1980-81, 1976).
Last month, the Tufts sailing team finished eighth out of 16 teams at the 2015 Intercollegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) team racing championship held May 26 to 28 on Narragansett Bay.
Tufts Sports Information Director Paul Sweeney can be reached at paul.sweeney@tufts.edu.