Seahawks compete in New England Dinghy championships

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Sailing at the New England Dinghy Championships, which serves as the qualifier for the national championship regatta, Salve Regina fell short as it battled with 17 other teams at Yale University.

A combined seven sailors raced for Salve Regina as it competed in the nation's most competitive district for a trip to Maryland where the semi finals will take place at St. Mary's College of Maryland. Sophomores JP Silvestri and Angelina Todaro started the competition off well with a couple of top finishes; one of which was taken away due to extremely unstable wind conditions. The duo continued to battle throughout the weekend but struggled to continue its early momentum.

Subbing in mid Saturday, sophomore Shannon Killian looked to provide a competitive edge for Salve Regina. Sailing in A division, senior co-captain Bob Lippincott and junior Baillie Lawless had a tough time finding consistency. While they were able to put up top finishes, more deep places made the weekend a tough comeback.

Coming in for the last set of the weekend, senior co-captain Chris Jensen and sophomore Hayden Maguire faced the similar shifty conditions and struggled to keep up with the top boats. 
"We had moments of brilliance out there," commented coach John Ingalls. "And we had some really tough races. We'll keep this is mind as we prepare for next year. Of the seven of our sailors here, five will be coming back to sail again next year.  We will keep sailing over the summer and be better at next year's qualifier."

While this year did not end the way the Seahawks wanted, they are excited about what is ahead. With top New England and national regattas coming to Newport next year, Salve will look to qualifying for multiple national events.  With home water being such an advantage (evident by Yale's commanding 63 point victory this weekend), Salve Regina will use it as they compete against the nation's best.