The America Trophy was held this year at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, NY. The Mid-Atlantic district uses this event as their qualifier for the semifinals of the national championship, where the top 8 teams advance. The regatta was held in 420s out of Hobart’s facilities, located right at the north end of Cayuga Lake.

Freshman Jack Swikart skippered the A Division with senior Kelsi Schoenrock crewing, while junior captain Mike Russom skippered B division with fellow junior Christina Johns crewing.

While upstate New York experienced frigid temperatures and even snow during the week leading up to the event, Saturday morning brought sunshine and a cool, pleasant morning. The sailors arrived at the lake to find perfect sailing conditions, but they didn’t last long. The breeze began to shut off after just 3 races, and didn’t return until late in the afternoon, when 3 more races were completed. After Saturday’s racing, the Quakers stood in 9th place, with only a few points separating them from the teams in front of and behind them. Georgetown led the event after day 1.

The weather on Sunday was more cooperative, with clouds, cooler temperatures, and a light southerly breeze to start the day. However, the conditions proved no less challenging than the previous day’s for the sailors, but the race committee still managed to complete 10 races in both divisions. The Quakers managed to keep pace with all the top teams, but at the end of the day ended up in 10th place. This was not enough to qualify them for semi-nationals, but everyone feels they learned from the experience.

The Women’s Team will travel next weekend to Old Dominion University for their semi-nationals qualifier.

Complete scores can be found at: http://scores.collegesailing.org/s12/america/full-scores