Sailing qualifies for two national events

Tufts qualified for two National events on the water last weekend, with six sailors combining to ensure Jumbo representation on the national level next month.

Sophomore sailor Zander Kirkland qualified on Sunday for one of four New England representatives in next month's North American Single-handed Championships at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida.

The Bermuda native placed fourth in the two-day New England Single-handed Championship at Dartmouth, pulling in behind Harvard freshman Clay Johnson (47 points) and sophomore Vince Porter (74) as well as Brown senior Chris Ashley (91). Kirkland racked up 99 points on two wins and ten more top-five finishes from 18 races.

"Zander did very well," senior co-ed captain Joel Hanneman said. "He wanted to finish top three or win, but he was really consistent in every aspect of the race, very fast upwind and downwind. He just played the wind well."

It is the second time Kirkland has qualified for the National's, having done so as a freshman last year, when he placed second behind the Crimson's Clay Bischoff in the New England qualifier. Kirkland went on to finish fourth in the national event at Rice University.

"It was a very, very competitive event," coach Ken Legler said. "Last year the New England Single-handed qualifiers finished second, third and fourth in the National's, and we expect that our qualifiers will finish right up there again, so it's almost a preview of the National's."

Hanneman, Tufts' second representative at the New England's, finished eighth with 165 points, placing fourth or higher in four of 18 races. However Hanneman felt he never found a groove to force his way into contention.

"I was pretty disappointed in the way I sailed," Hanneman said. "The conditions were pretty challenging and the competition was really good. But regardless I don't think I sailed as well as I could have. The first day I wasn't qualifying but was close to stay in a position to come back...but things just didn't go that well on the second day either."

Hanneman was placed fifth after the first day, out of qualification but within range of the top four spots, which gain National entry. However Sunday proved more challenging, with shifting conditions making it difficult to read the course.

"They both sailed very well," Legler said. "Joel missed some wind shifts, but it was pretty shifty. It's tough. You're hiked out flat out and your head's only a few inches above the water and you're trying to read the water a couple tenths of a mile up ahead to where the wind's going to land. It's tough to do."

Tufts also placed fourth out of 18 teams in the Stu Nelson Regatta at Connecticut College, a qualifying event for the women's Atlantic Coast Championships at Old Dominion in Virginia in mid-November. Tufts finished behind Old Dominion, Harvard and Dartmouth to earn a spot in the National's.

Senior women's captain AJ Crane, along with classmate Kristen Tysell and freshman Gretchen Curtis, who alternated as crew during the two-day event, sailed to five top-five finishes in 15 races in the A division. In the B division, juniors Lindsay Shanholt and crew Kate Singleton placed third with 96 points on the strength of two wins and two seconds.

"In the A division we struggled a little bit because we're lighter than the other teams, but on the first day B division did really well and that pushed us ahead a little," Crane said. "We're happy we qualified."

The qualification allows the Jumbos more breathing room at this weekend's Victorian Urn at Harvard, which would have been their last chance to qualify for the ACC's had they not done so at Connecticut College.

In other competition, Tufts sailed sixth in the two-day Hoyt Trophy at Brown. Sophomore skipper Dave Siegal and senior crew Katie Shuman placed seventh in the A division with 125 points, while in the B division, sophomore Jeff Cruise and senior Ariel Fromer also finished seventh, with 119 points, helping Tufts edge out Yale by a single point for sixth overall.

"It was a major intersectional, and they did well," Legler said. "But we got beat."

On Sunday, sophomore Greg Kastan and freshmen Emma Creighton, Emma Randall and Liz Phelps won an invite hosted by Brandeis at BU, finishing 26 points ahead of Mass Maritime. The Wellehan Trophy at Southern Maine saw freshmen Jimmy Praley and Michaela Brady-Lederer and juniors Kara Kelly and Sarah Affel finish second to BU by 20 points.

In Saturday action, Tufts beat BU by six points to claim victory in the George Warren Smith Trophy at Brandeis. Junior Sebastian Reeve and sophomore Katie Mims finished in the top seven out of 23 in six of seven races, while their B division counterparts, seniors Garin Pace and Hatsy Hoder, won two of seven races.

"It was a pretty decent win, there were 23 teams," Legler said. "It's not a major event, but it's still nice to win a trophy event with 23 teams."

Senior Ryan Benson, sophomores Zoe Bolesta and Michael Hodess and junior Liz Haddad combined to win nine of 18 races in two divisions to win the Metro Series 7, beating host Mass Maritime and UVM.

Tufts will try to gain additional national qualifications this weekend in both the MIT Schell Trophy and the Freshmen New England's. The two events are the final chance to add boats to the Atlantic Coast Freshmen Championships at Mass Maritime and the coed Atlantic Coast Championships at New York Maritime. But Tufts will also look to win the two events this weekend to show it is not just concerned with qualifications, but also overall performance.

"It will be easy to qualify for the Freshman Atlantic Coast, but the trick will be to win the Freshman New England's," Legler said. "Again, it will be easy to qualify for the coed Atlantic Coast, but the hard part will be to win the Schell. We'll have great competition from Harvard and Dartmouth as usual."