STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford defended its Boston Dinghy Cup title Sunday, maintaining possession of the oldest trophy in college sailing. This year’s 18-team field featured seven of the top ten squads in the nation, with each school fielding three teams.
Stanford held a narrow seven-point lead going into the final day of the two-day competition hosted by MIT. After briefly relinquishing that lead, Stanford capped the event with strong finishes in the A and C divisions. The Cardinal finished with 163 points, nine ahead of second-place Dartmouth.
Skippered by Antoine Screve with a crew of J.P. Cannistraro, the Cardinal A-unit amassed 55 points, good for second-place in the division. After a rocky start on Saturday, Screve and Cannistraro finished in fine form, registering four top-3’s in their final five races.
The Cardinal B-unit of skipper Reinier Eenkema van Dijk and crew Mary Vangelos didn’t fare quite as well. The pair of sophomores still finished in the top 10 in seven of its 10 races, good for 79 total points and eighth place in the division.
The stars of the weekend for Stanford were freshman skipper Will La Dow and junior crewman Samantha Steele. Sailing on the Cardinal C-boat, La Dow and Steele started strong, owning third place after the opening three races.
Cardinal C conducted a breathtaking run of six races to conclude the event, including four wins and a third-place finish over that span. The most impressive Cardinal boat finished the weekend with a minuscule 29 points over nine races, good for first place in the division.
The Cardinal will host the Mark Healy Coed Conference Championship and the Carter Ford Team Race Conference Championship next weekend in nearby Redwood City.