CHARLESTON, S.C. - The No. 2-ranked College of Charleston sailing team closed out the 2011-12 season with a fourth-place finish at the three-day ICSA/Gill Coed Dinghy National Championship hosted by the University of Texas Sailing Team and the Austin Yacht Club on Lake Travis in Austin, Texas.
It marked the Cougars' highest finish since winning the 18-team coed regatta in 2007. They previously placed seventh in 2011 and ninth in 2010. CofC turned in 207 points behind first-place Georgetown (137), second-place Roger Williams (169) and third-place Yale (171).
The Cougars were led to a ninth-place finish with 115 points in A-Division by senior skipper Sam Stokes (Norfolk, Va.) in races 1-4, junior All-American skipper Mac Mace (Newport Beach, Calif.) in races 5-13 and senior All-American crew Perry Emsiek (Corona del Mar, Calif.) followed by a fourth-place finish with 92 points in B-Division by junior skipper Ben Spector (Santa Clarita, Calif.) and senior All-America crew Alyssa Aitken (Sandwich, Mass.).
Additionally, CofC was honored for the fifth time in program history as the winner of the Leonard M. Fowle Trophy, awarded annually to the best overall collegiate team in the nation based on a compilation of results throughout the season from the ICSA Women's Singlehanded, Men's Singlehanded, Match Racing, Women's Dinghy, Team Racing and Coed Dinghy National Championships.
"Winning the Fowle Trophy is such a thrill for our tremendous team and coaches," CofC Director of Sailing Greg Fisher said. "(Head Coach) Ward (Cromwell) and (Assistant Coach) Mitch (Hall) did a superb job leading the team right up to the last day of nationals. These results are indicative of the depth our program has developed and what we have to look forward to in the future. But perhaps one of the most impressive attributes of our program, and how these results were achieved, is how strong our team spirit truly is. It was a long 10-day event. All of our team members were there for each other every step of the way in this journey and we could not be prouder of their achievements."
The Cougars turned in a successful and competitive year culminating with being crowned the 2012 ICSA/APS Team Race National Champions on June 5 - the first team race title in school history. They previously were the Fowle Trophy recipients in 1986, 1988, 1998 and 2007.
ICSA/GILL COED DINGHY NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
June 6-8, 2012
Lake Travis
in Austin, Texas
Final Overall Results
1. Georgetown University, 137
2. Roger Williams University, 169
3. Yale University, 171
4. College of Charleston, 207
5. Harvard University, 213
6. Hobart and William Smith Colleges, 231
7. Boston College, 231
8. Stanford University, 246
9. Tufts University, 252
10. University of Wisconsin-Madison, 255
11. University of South Florida, 263
12. Boston University, 264
13. University of Miami, 267
14. Dartmouth College, 277
15. Brown University, 284
16. U.S. Naval Academy, 306
17. Old Dominion University, 318
18. SUNY Maritime College, 358
