MT. PLEASANT, S.C. --- The College of Charleston sailing team cruised to a trio of wins against Georgetown, Boston College, and four-time defending champion Yale in the round of four on Sunday to capture its second Walter C. Wood Trophy, which is awarded to the winner of the LaserPerformance College Sailing Team Race National Championship.
 
Originally scheduled to conclude on Monday, the event was shortened to two days due to a forecast of storms and light wind for Monday. The Cougars claimed the championship with a 21-4 record during the event, while Yale finished second with a mark of 19-6. Georgetown and Boston College finished third and fourth, respectively, with identical records of 17-8.
 
"I'm super proud of the team for such an amazing accomplishment," said assistant coach Ward Cromwell. "It is the hardest national championship to win in college sailing. We had two losses that were right at the finish, we made some little mistakes and the other two were blow outs, so that was hard, but we won when it counted and we sailed the boats well."
 
The Cougars posted an overall record of 21-4 during the event, including a dominant 13-2 mark in the round of 16. Following a 5-2 mark in the round of eight, Charleston advanced to the finals even with Yale at 18-4. After defeating Boston College, 1-3-5, in their first race of the finals, the Cougars clinched the title with a 1-2-4 win against bitter rival Georgetown. The Cougars then put the icing on the cake with a 1-2-4 win over four-time defending champion Yale in the final race of the day.
 
"We didn't make many errors and did a good job staying out of trouble," continued Cromwell. "Today we stayed hydrated and each team member had his or her routine to stay fresh and focused. Winning this event is a great accomplishment and winning it twice in 12 years is good, but winning it at home is even better."
 
Stefano Peschiera (Lima, Peru), Jack Cusick (Fairfield, Conn.), and Christophe Killian (Newport Beach, Calif.) served as skippers for the Cougars, with Grace McCarthy (San Diego, Calif.), Chloe Dapp (Newport Beach, Calif.), Annabel Carrington (White Stone, Va.), Caroline Bracken (Bridgewater, Mass.), and Elizabeth Pemberton (Osterville, Mass.) crewing.
 
The Cougars will return to the boats on Tuesday for the first of two semifinal days in the Gil College Sailing National Championship. Peschiera and McCarthy will anchor the Cougars in A-Division, with Cusick and Dapp representing the College in B-Division. Killian and Pemberton will serve as reserves. Carrington, Bracken, Carter Cameron (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.), and Mac Dickson (Alexandria, Va.) may be asked to sail as needed. The top 18 teams from the 36-team semifinals will advance to the finals, scheduled for Thursday and Friday.