Mariners Sail to 15th at Southern Series 2

NEWPORT, R.I. - The Mitchell College sailing team finished 15th in the field of 20 at the Southern Series 2 race on Saturday, an event hosted by the University of Connecticut at Salve Regina.

The teams spent the day sailing in freezing rain and light winds. Competing in A-Division were Brendan Griffiths and Jared LaFosse-Baker, while sailing in B-Division were Alex Hering and Chelsea Abbenante.

The Mariners finished 15th out of 20 teams which was respectable considering four teams were representing schools in the top 20 of collegiate rankings. Also, Oregon State University came to the event for a Spring Break trip.

Griffiths and LaFosse-Baker finished 15th overall in A-Division, just two points out of 14th. Hering and Abbenante finished 13th in B-Division, just six points out of 11th place. 

While the team continued to struggle in light air, but when the breeze picked up, they hit their groove and had really strong finishes. Highlights of the regatta were three 11th-place finishes from Griffiths and LaFosse-Baker, as well as finishes of sixth, ninth and 11th for Hering and Abbenante.

"It was my hope to finish in or near the top ten, if the forecasted wind had shown up," said head coach Bill Furgueson. "When the wind did blow hard, we did exactly that. However, we need to work on our light air sailing and will continue to do so as we greatly improve. We are now regularly having a few finishes near the front of the pack at each regatta. It is a credit to the hard work and efforts of each and every member of this team how much we have improved."