2009 ICSA Team Racing Nationals, Hosted by the University of California, Berkeley
THROGS NECK, NY - Earning their first-ever trip to team racing nationals, the Privateers survived a tough set of tie-breakers to advance to the championship round and finished 8th overall at the APS/ICSA Team Racing National Championship. Although team members Morley Flynn and Nicole Kelly were in the Azores with the Training Ship only the day before, Maritime broke through the difficult seeded semifinal to show they belong in the upper-echelon of College Sailing.
Although unpracticed as a team since the TS Empire State departed in mid-May, Maritime refused to be set-back by their lack of time on the water. Earning the 4th seed in the more difficult Round 2 semifinal, Maritime knew that they had to be on their game immediately to advance to the Championships. Undeterred by an early loss to Stanford, Maritime rebounded with wins against South Florida, Wisconsin and Washington, earning them a three-way tie with Stanford and USF for the final two spots.
With the winds gusting into the low-20s, Maritime drew the favorable second race in the three-way sail-off. It appeared that Maritime would send Stanford home with an easy 2-3-4 combination, but a questionable umpire call gave Maritime a penalty on the last beat and gave the race to the Cardinal. This proved to be the last opportunity for any team to break free for the next two rounds, as Maritime, Stanford and USF all left each tiebreaker with one victory and one loss. The tie was finally resolved in the third round, with Maritime narrowly edging the Bulls for the win and guaranteeing the Championship round for Maritime and Stanford.
Carrying an 0-3 semifinal record into the Championship, Maritime knew that they had work to do and started quickly by notching a close win against pre-regatta favorite Georgetown. In the second Championship round, Maritime took a victory from the strong Harvard team, knocking them out of contention for the podium. Overall, Maritime finished 2-12, earning 8th place overall for the Championship.
2009 Maritime Team Racing National Championship Team
Todd Hawkins ’09 - Skipper – Ocean Gate, NJ
Dan Hesse ’09 – Skipper – Bohemia, NY
Morley Flynn ’09 – Skipper – Martville, NY
Dani Gamache ’09 – Crew – Holland, MI
Matthew Brink ’09 – Crew – Babylon, NY
Bill Gallagher ’10 – Crew – Little Compton, RI
Nicole Kelly ’11 – Crew – Buffalo, NY