On Nov. 5 and 6, juniors Lucija Ruzevic and Lauren Ehnot wrapped up the fall season at this year’s Singlehanded Nationals. Facing off against 19 of the country’s top sailors, the duo earned two top-10 finishes for the Red.
Ruzevic secured the sixth place title after claiming 12 top-10 finishes. She finished with 98 points, narrowly missing the fifth place position by a 4 point differential.
“It was really awesome to see all the hard work that we’ve put in throughout the whole semester and this summer. Getting myself in the top ten was really cool,” said Ruzevic.
Ehnot trailed just a few points behind Ruzevic, scoring 102 points to land in seventh place. Over the course of the competition, Ehnot earned eight top-ten finishes, including three top-two wins.
“Coming off of last year where I qualified and I got really sick and couldn’t compeat, it meant a lot for me to be there and compete this time,” said Ehnot. “So finishing seventh after this being my first real attendance in the singlehanded nationals felt really good.”
This year’s competition was also Ruzevic’s second run with nationals, after securing the fifth place title last season. Ruzevic was accompanied by junior Lillian Myers, who earned the third place finish and is currently taking the year off to train for the Olympics.
In addition to a lengthy history with nationals, Ruzevic and Ehnot also have a personal relationship that extends back to their high school years.
“Lucija is from Texas and I’m from New Jersey but we sailed in the same big national championships together before Cornell,” Ehnot said. “There was one regatta our sophomore year in high school where we were housed with the same host family and that’s where we really got to know each other and bond.”
The pair used their relationship to push each other throughout this weekend’s competition.
“It was definitely amazing to have Lauren there,” Ruzevic said. “She’s a great training partner so she definitely helped me do better than I would have by myself.”
Both Ruzevic and Ehnot primarily sailed singlehanded in high school and had to make the transition to doublehanded when they were introduced to collegiate sailing.
“This weekend was really refreshing because it brought me back to my roots,” Ruzevic said.
Pushing off of this season’s successes, the pair is already looking ahead to next year’s singlehanded nationals.
“Next year, the goal is definitely to win,” Ruzevic said. “Lauren and I both got close and have the ability to win if we clean up a few of those small mistakes.
Having wrapped up the fall season, the team will continue to train during their winter offseason.
“We’ve got a lot of great momentum right now from the fall,” Ehnot said. “Going into the offseason, it’s just going to drive us to work even harder to get us ready for the spring.”
The Red will hit the water again in the spring.