Offshore Sailing Battles Back To Record Fifth Place Finish At Prestigious Navy John F. Kennedy Cup
MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME OFFSHORE SAILING
Navy John F. Kennedy Cup
Friday - Sunday, November 6-8, 2015
Annapolis, Md.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The Massachusetts Maritime offshore sailing team closed out its fall schedule by battling back on the final day to record a fifth place overall performance at the John F. Kennedy Cup hosted by the United States Naval Academy over the weekend. The event is considered the national championship of collegiate offshore sailing, and the Buccaneers made their 20th straight appearance in the competition.
The first two days of competition saw Massachusetts Maritime run into some misfortune, as a poor gybe on Friday put the Buccaneers in ninth place before a current swell forced their vessel into the mark while trying to win the pin on Saturday, placing the squad in 10th place overall heading into the final day of racing. Sunday, Massachusetts Maritime posted a pair of top three performances and gained five spots in the final team standings, as the Buccaneers edged out Queens University and defending champion College of Charleston by one point (41-42) in the scoring for fifth place. Maine Maritime (48), Michigan (56) and the United States Coast Guard Academy (59) rounded out the standings.
California Maritime took top honors in the competition with a score of 21 points, as the Keelhaulers edged out Navy’s Midshipmen by a point (21-22) for first place. The University of Rhode Island (28) was next in third place, while SUNY-Maritime followed in fourth place with 34 points.
Seniors James Lamb (Taunton, Mass.), Brandon Deal (Norton, Mass.) and Leah Saunders (Rochester, Mass.) led the way throughout the weekend for the Buccaneer crew, which also included senior Judson Yerkes (West Barnstable, Mass.), juniors Kyle Brego (St. John, Virgin Islands), Emily Casella (Little Egg Harbor, N.J.) and George Luber (North Redington Beach, Fla.), sophomores Christopher Mannka (Uxbridge, Mass.) and Christopher Dawson (Mashpee, Mass.) as well as freshman Evan Bowen (North Kingstown, R.I.).
Massachusetts Maritime returns to action in early March by heading west for the Cal Maritime Los Angeles Harbor Cup to begin the spring portion of its 2015-16 schedule.