Oct. 15, 2008
Annapolis, Md.- The women's team made their first trip to the east coast this year over the weekend, traveling to Annapolis, MD to compete in a deep field of eighteen teams at the Navy Fall Women's Intersectional. The women's team enters this competition with success in their home district, having won both the singlehanded PCC's and the more recent Bryson Women's regatta hosted by Stanford. Traveling to Navy having sailed both in lasers and the more common doublehanded boats would prove to be an advantage. The Navy event hosts three divisions, two in FJs and 420s, and one in the Laser radial.
Stanford brought a mix of experience and young talent to its first women's intersectional of the year. Seniors Taylor Grimes and Catherine Cu were joined by sophomore Hannah Burroughs and freshmen Carolyn Prioleau and Grace Porter. In A division, the newly minted team of Grimes and Porter finished 6th in the short 5-race regatta. The pair showed improvement during the event but did not have enough races to truly capitalize on their better starts. In B division, Burroughs and Cu finished 8th. They also improved every race, finishing with a fifth in the final race of the event. Burroughs, who spent much of her freshmen year crewing, will certainly continue to fight for the B women's spot throughout the year. In C division, Prioleau got to get in some singlehanded practice for the upcoming women's singlehanded national championships which she qualified for along with Grimes. Prioleau finished 7th in her division at Navy. Combined, the team finished 7th overall in a very competitive event.
Having graduating multiple starting players last spring, the Stanford women's team nonetheless shows promise for this year. The teams performance at the Navy Intersectional, competed in a fraction of the number of races held at a normal college event and sailed in very light and fickle conditions, highlighted room for improvement in some key areas. Up next for the women's team is the ICSA singlehanded nationals hosted by Cornell University October 24-26.