Day One of the 2011/2012 ICSA (Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association) Match Race National Championship for the Cornelius Shields Sr. Trophy hosted by St. Francis YC and California Maritime Academy
ICSA Match Race Nationals are underway! Navy is leading after the first round robin with a record of eight wins and one loss, but two teams are close on their tail. With only two losses on the scoreboard, Roger Williams is in second place winning the tie-breaker over Tufts University. To round out the top four, Stanford has a solid record of six wins and three losses. These top four teams, plus two more- St. Mary’s and University of South Florida- will advance to the second stage Gold Round Robin, in which they will race a single round robin for Quarter Final’s seeding. At this point, the bottom four teams (Texas A&M, University of Wisconsin, University of Michigan and University of Oregon) will compete in the Repechage stage, which will consist of a single round robin for the last two spots in the Quarter Final’s.
Conditions on the bay today added complicating elements to the match
racing. Sailors were greeted by 8-12 knots of south-westerly breeze and
slightly ebbing current in the morning. With frequent shifts and scattered
puffs, teams utilized their short-course college sailing tactics-despite
being in J22 keelboats. As the current’s strength increased in the
afternoon, pre-starts became significantly more challenging. Many teams
found themselves pinned to the left side of the starting area, below pin
layline. Unable to fetch the starting line on starboard tack, about half
the races started on port tack. This uncommon pattern for match racing was
indicative of the current’s effects on pre-start strategy. The shifts, on
the other hand, seemed to facilitate covering around the course. With very
few lead changes after the start, teams who were controlling off the
starting-line extended their lead by staying “in phase” and capitalizing on
the shifts upwind.
St. Francis Yacht Club’s PRO Bartz Schnieder, Race Director Robbie Dean,
Event co-chairs Shannon Kaiser and Charlie Arms, along with several
volunteers and organizers, including Jessica Barhydt, had a long and busy
day. The race committee completed nine flights with five simultaneous
matches in each- a total of forty-five races. The efficient ten-boat format
is made possible by St. Francis Yacht Club’s ten evenly matched J22’s.
Racing resumes tomorrow 10:00 am PST. Don’t miss the action! Be sure to
check out the live stream: www.collegematchrace.com provided by Chicago
Match Race Center, follow the twitter @ICSAMatchRace2, and “like” the
Facebook page: “ICSA Match Race National Championship.”
Find complete results here:
http://www.stfyc.com/default.aspx?p=v35EvtView&type=0&ID=2453430 .
For more information, please visit the event website: www.collegematchrace.com
