Sailing is continuing to make history after finishing in third place in the Women’s ACC Final on Saturday, Oct. 14, and Sunday, Oct. 15, in New Haven, Connecticut. Along with a program best in the finals, the team placed third in the David Lee Arnoff Trophy and 13th in the Nevins Trophy.
Junior Bridget Green, who skippered all 12 of the races in Division A of the Women’s ACC Final, led her crew to the top of the leaderboard along with sophomore Sophia Mulvania and junior Amelia Neumann. The crew finished second in three of the races and first in race eight after competing among the top 18 schools in the country.
“We went out there the first day and only got four races in as there were super light winds and rain all day,” Green said. “The first day, we were fourth overall, and we knew that the next day, we really had to focus and get our heads in the game. Sunday came around and we got eight races in, and by the last three races, we were a few points from the podium. We knew that we had to get it together and figure it out. In the last race, we were eight points from first place, but we overcame and finished first.”
In Division B, freshman Winborne Majette skippered eight of the 12 races, while sophomore Sophia Devling skippered the remaining four. Sophomore Sophia Pearce and freshman Kit Harned split time crewing the boat. The squad finished sixth overall in their respective division, with a best race finish of second.
At the David Lee Arnoff Trophy in Geneva, New York, the Red finished third in Division A and fourth in Division B, landing it a third place finish with 174 points. In Division A, senior Lauren Ehnot and freshman Wynne Williams partnered for all 12 races, having a team-best first in the 11th race. In Division B, sophomore Maya Conway and senior Clara Hewson teamed up for races 1-6, while sophomore Maeve Katics and senior Aidan Lane competed in races 7-12.
The team finished up the series of weekend regattas in Kings Point, New York. At Nevins Trophy, senior J.J. Smith and freshman Kate Moran teamed up for the first two races, though Smith and sophomore Boris Bialer partnered for races 3-10. In Division B, freshman Pilar Cundey skippered all 12 races, aided by Bialer, Moran and senior Lucija Ruzevic at crew.
The team is looking forward to the ACC Open Finals after qualifying for the first time in the Coed ACC Semifinals.
“The weekend coming up, it’s the ACC Open Final, which is the first time Cornell will participate in this regatta,” Green said. “I don’t know what to expect because I’ve never raced in this regatta before, but this is probably the regatta I am looking forward to most this season. We have worked so hard to get to this point, so I am really excited to see what the team can do. We are the only all-girls team at this regatta, so it’s cool to show the co-eds [teams] that an all-girls team can be just as good.”
As its season comes to an end, the team has a lot to look forward to, as seniors Lucija Ruzevic and Lauren Enhot were selected to compete in the Singlehanded National Championships in New Orleans, Louisiana on Saturday, Nov. 11 and Sunday, Nov. 12.
Rachel Baez is a Sun contributing writer and can be reached at [email protected].