Coed sailing captures Hood Trophy

Last weekend, the coed sailing team raced at home capturing the Hood Trophy for the third consecutive year, while the women's team took fourth in the President's Trophy at Boston University.

The Hood Trophy included 10 races per division. Seniors Pete Levesque and Caroline Hall sailed in division A and accumulated a total of 38 points, which put the team in first place. Levesque finished first in five of the ten division A races.

Division B consisted of juniors AJ Crane and Kristin Tysell, senior Rob Pascal, and sophomore Rory Giffen. The team finished with a total score of 90, which put them in front of second place Boston College (97) and College of Charleston (134).

The women's team at the President's Trophy finished fourth overall (41), while Harvard took first, Brown second and Dartmouth third. Squad A consisted of seniors Clare Dooley and Taylor Fallon. In the four races, they finished first once and placed in the top three twice. The team placed third along with Harvard in division A (17).

In group B, sophomores Lindsay Shanholt and Katie Shuman finished second once and placed in the top five twice, en route to tying Bowdoin (24) for fifth place. Overall Tufts finished with 41 points, 11 behind first-place Harvard.

Tufts made an unusual roster move over the weekend, as women's skipper AJ Crane was placed in the coed Hood's Trophy, leaving the women's team without its skipper for the President's Trophy.

Looking at both teams, Legler thought that seniors Pete Levesque and Caroline Hall were the most dangerous duo. "Pete Levesque should be the College Sailor of the Year," Legler said.

On the Sept. 17 polls, had the coed team ranked third, the same spot it was in last spring. Harvard stayed at number one, and Dartmouth came up from fifth to second. The Tufts women ranked fourth, up one spot from last spring. Old Dominion changed spots with St. Mary's and is now first. Brown is steady at third.

Harvard has struggled in recent weeks, but cannot be counted out. "They're sort of lying low," Legler said. "They have not surfaced yet but they will."

The two main skippers for Harvard, who are both All-Americans, have not competed in many significant events yet. Harvard's roster is subject to many changes as the team tries to get a feel for its new talent. With its significant depth, Harvard can afford these changes.

In terms of surprise teams, Legler sees Hobart making a move to the front of the pack, as the Mid-Atlantic may be creeping up on New England teams. Georgetown is one of the dangerous Atlantic teams that could come out in the second half of the season.

In discussions of disappointing teams, Old Dominion's name has come up. "They have run a little dry of talent," Legler said.

Old Dominion is typically ranked much higher than their current spot in 19th place.

Next week the Women's team races at the New England Women's Single handed Championship at MIT, while the Coed team travels to the Coast Guard Academic to do battle for the Danmark Trophy.