CASCADE LOCKS, Ore. - The No. 3-ranked College of Charleston sailing team closed out the 2010-11 season with a seventh-place finish at the ICSA/Gill Dinghy National Championship held on the Columbia River Gorge as well as having four of its own named to the ICSA All-America Team.

The Cougars were among the top 18 schools in the country who qualified for nationals out of district competition. No. 4-ranked Boston College won the Henry A. Morse Memorial Trophy with 161 points followed by No. 9 Hobart & William Smith College (188), No. 7 Harvard (190), No. 2 Georgetown (203), No. 6 St. Mary's College of Maryland (210), No. 1 Roger Williams University (221), CofC (227), No. 11 Yale (254), No. 8 Navy (257) and No. 17 Miami (280) to round out the top 10 finishers in the field.

"It was a good showing for us," CofC Head Coach Ward Cromwell said. "We had a chance on the last day in fleet racing, but came up short and had some tough races in the B-Division. We struggled a little in the end. Finishing seventh in the co-ed is something to proud of and clearly shows we are still one of the best teams in the country. I was particularly proud of our performance at team racing and making it to the Final Four. Finishing in third, at that level, is certainly a tribute to the efforts we put in all year."

Senior Jackson Benvenutti (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) skippered the Cougars to a seventh-place finish in the A-Division with crew Alyssa Aitken (Sandwich, Mass.) and Sam Stokes (Norfolk, Va.). They totaled 119 points with five top 5 finishes in 14 races in the event.

Sophomore skipper Mac Mace (Newport Beach, Calif.) led the B-Division to a fourth-place finish with crew Perry Emsiek (Corona del Mar, Calif.), Jeff Aschieris (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Alyssa Aitken. They recorded 108 points sailing all but four of the 14 races in the top 10.

Individually, Benvenutti, Mace, Aitken and Emsiek earned a spot on the ICSA All-America Team which is selected by a committee of coaches who represent the seven conferences. Mace was one of only two sophomores among the 11 skippers to receive All-America honors.

The foursome continue the strong CofC tradition of being represented on the All-America list with their names to be added to the ICSA Hall of Fame display located in the Robert Crown Sailing Center at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

"We are certainly proud of them, but being named an All-American is a tribute to our entire team," Cromwell said. "Jackson definitely deserved to be up there with the best sailors in the country and for Mac, to receive such an honor as a sophomore, speaks volumes for the youth of our program.

"A lot of schools are graduating some quality sailors this year. We will regroup in the fall and we look forward to working with the kids we have coming in and more so with those who are returning - which is most of our team. We have a great group of sailors and it's been a wonderful experience coaching, teaching and traveling with them this season."

2011 ICSA ALL AMERICA TEAM

ALL-AMERICAN SKIPPERS (listed in alphabetical order)

Alec Anderson, Sophomore, Roger Williams

Jackson Benvenutti, Senior, College of Charleston

Charlie Buckingham, Senior, Georgetown

Taylor Canfield, Senior, Boston College    

Mac Mace, Sophomore, College of Charleston

Michael Menninger, Senior, St. Mary's College of Maryland

Alan Palmer, Senior, Harvard

Tyler Sinks, Senior, Boston College

Fred Strammer, Senior, Brown

Cy Thompson, Senior, Roger Williams

David Thompson, Senior, Hobart

ALL-AMERICAN CREWS (listed alphabetical order)

Alyssa Aitken, Junior, College of Charleston

Blair Belling, Senior, Yale

Quincy Bock, Senior, Harvard

Elizabeth Brim, Senior, Yale

Hannah Burroughs, Senior, Stanford

Perry Emsiek, Junior, College of Charleston

Rebecca Evans, Junior, Georgetown

Sally Evans, Senior, Brown

Madeline Jackson, Senior, St. Mary's College of Maryland

Christopher Klevan, Junior, Hobart

Frances Kupersmith, Senior, St. Mary's College of Maryland

Saverio Maldari, Junior, U.S. Naval Academy

Emily Massa, Junior, Boston College

Emily Migliaccio, Senior, Boston College

Ashley Philips, Senior, Georgetown

Meredith Powlison, Senior, St. Mary's College of Maryland

Emily Reich, Junior, Old Dominion

Kelly Stannard, Junior, Roger Willliams

Lucy Wallace, Senior, Boston College

Meghan Wareham, Senior, Harvard