St. Mary's College of Maryland, defending its reputation as one of the nation's best sailing programs, finished second behind Harvard yesterday in the abbreviated spring Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association team race competition on Detroit's Lake St. Clair.
Top-ranked St. Mary's, Harvard, Hobart and Southern California advanced to the final four yesterday, but lack of wind prevented the completion of the event at Crescent Sail Yacht Club. Harvard was declared the winner of the three-day event and the Walter C. Wood Trophy based on the results through the round of eight.
Today, the Seahawks will begin defense of the North American dinghy championship they won a year ago in Hawaii. The event, featuring teams from 12 schools, will continue through Tuesday at Bayview Yacht Club in Detroit.
The University of Michigan and the Midwest Collegiate Sailing Association are co-hosts for the annual spring championships. The dinghy and team competition are both co-ed.
On Wednesday, the St. Mary's women's team finished second behind Tufts in a three-day competition at Grosse Point (Mich.) Yacht Club. Tufts finished with 160 points, St. Mary's with 174, and Dartmouth and Old Dominion with 190 and 195, respectively.
The top-ranked St. Mary's dinghy squad, seeking its sixth spring championship and ninth overall, returns almost everyone.
The competition will be tough. Harvard, which ranks No. 3 in the dinghy category, came in a close second to St. Mary's last year. Hawaii finished third and is currently No. 4 in the rankings. Also expected to challenge is No. 2 Tufts and last year's fourth-place finisher, Old Dominion.
"We have a really good chance," junior Danny Pletsch said of the Seahawks' chances of repeating. "Sailing is weird, though. Anyone can win at anytime. But we definitely expect to win."
Pletsch, of Sarasota, Fla., is a two-time honorable mention All-American who played a pivotal role last year. He has been sailing since the age of 10.
In the race format, schools enters one boat each in the A and B divisions, with the lowest combined total determining the winner.
Senior Galen Largay of Woodbury, Conn., will accompany Pletsch in the St. Mary's A division boat.
The B division entry for the Seahawks pairs sophomore Paige Hannon of Ellicott City with senior Caleb Silsby of Boulder, Colo. Silsby, an honorable mention All-American who said he has been sailing "all my life," credits his school and community's overwhelming backing for the sailing program as a major factor in its success.
Since the varsity team's inception in 1970, the program has produced 85 All-Americans, as well as three Olympians. Coach Adam Werblow came to St. Mary's in 1988 and has led the team to eight of its nine championships.
"I was drawn to St. Mary's because of the unbelievable potential I thought the program had," Werblow said. "Years later, after all we have done, I'm every bit as excited about what we can still accomplish."
Since 1993, despite a student body of less than 1,800, St. Mary's has been ranked among the top three teams in the nation by Sailing World magazine.
NOTE: Seniors Jamie Smith of West River and Ali Sharp of Gatlinburg, Tenn., were named to the ICSA/Ronstan Women's All-America team on Wednesday.
