The sailing team traversed New England this past weekend, sending crews to three different regattas.
The women visited Brown University for the Dellenbaugh Trophy, where they took eighth of 18 top teams. Skippers Kaylee Schwitzer '15 and Lizzy Hamilton '15 were joined by crews Kim Dempsey '14, Ayaka Okawa '14 and Isabel Low '13. They are now ranked No. 11 in the country, the highest in program history.
The coed team competed at the Boston University Trophy and the Mystic Lake Team Race Invitational. Jeff Goodrich '12, Clare Henry '12, Michael Croteau '15, Emily McNeil '14, and Jackson Bloch '15 finished sixth of 18 teams at the Boston University Trophy, while at Mystic Lake the Polar Bears took seventh of ten teams.
Bowdoin sailing is composed of two subsets—a coed team and a women's team. The coed team, which sports a male skipper and a female crew to meet weight requirements, is working toward the New England binghy championship at Harvard next weekend.
The regatta will take place on the Charles River, which has required the Polar Bears to shift their focus in practice to prepare for a venue with shifty winds. Coach Frank Pizzo said his team is honing those skill sets because "It's not like sailing in the ocean or at our place."
The women's team, on the other hand, is preparing for the championship regatta at Boston College in three weeks. The venue is very different from the Charles, and the women are anticipating steady, open water. Pizzo said the women have emphasized "pure speed to make sure we are ready for a long, windy regatta."
Though the championships are still a few weeks away, the Polar Bears have been practicing since February and racing since March. They even travelled to Miami for extra practice over spring break.
All the preparation bodes well for the Polar Bears, with both teams expected to boast solid performances at the championships. Based on those results, each team may qualify for the national championships in Austin, Tex. in May. The coed team would need a top eight finish while the women would need to crack the top six teams at the New England championships at Boston University.
Though Pizzo said "it's more of a long shot" for the coed team, he thinks the women have a realistic chance, as they finished sixth place of the New England teams.
This weekend, the Polar Bears will split up to try to get more competition preparation for the upcoming championships.