Tufts prepares for Goodwill Regatta

The sailing team finished the regular season with decent performances at the Atlantic Coast Dinghy and at the Women's Atlantic Coast Championship. There is more still to come, however, as the sailors will soon head to the West Coast for the Goodwill Regatta.

Tufts took fifth of 16 teams at the Atlantic Coast Dinghy at the United States Coast Guard Academy with a score of 243. Seniors Pete Levesque, Caroline Hall, and Rob Pascal took Tufts' division A team to third place with a score of 98 in sixteen races, including three first place finishes. Seniors JR Maxwell and Deane Madsen finished tenth for Tufts B after sixteen races with a score of 145 and one first place finish.

St. Mary's finished first with a score of 89 and Harvard finished second with 90.

It is hard to judge the performance of Tufts in the Atlantic Coast Dinghy because several top teams were there, most of which turned in inconsistent performances. Although St. Mary's finished first it was only because it started out with three first place races, though after these they were very up and down. Harvard was a little more consistent but never had a solid grouping of strong performances like St. Mary's did.

This is not to say that St. Mary's performance was a fluke, however.

"They are one of the most determined teams out there right now," Coach Ken Legler said. "Kings Point is a good team especially when there is wind or a breeze involved."

Prior to the meet, Tufts was ranked ahead of St. Mary's in the national sailing ranks _ third and fourth, respectively. New rankings have yet to be released.

At the Women's Atlantic Coast Championship at Connecticut College, Tufts finished ninth out of 16 with a score of 212. Juniors AJ Crane, Kristen Tysell, and sophomore Lindsay Shanholt, in representing Tufts A, took fifth place with a score of 82. Out of the thirteen races, Tufts A finished in the top three only once.

In Tufts' B division, sophomore Lindsay Shanholt, junior Kristen Tysell, and seniors Clare Dooley and Taylor Fallon, took thirteenth place. Tufts B finished worse than tenth in seven of the 13 races.

Next the sailors will head to the Goodwill Regatta at Newport Beach in California, which is not part of the regular season. The Goodwill Regatta includes mostly West Coast teams such as Hawaii and several Japanese teams. There are a few exceptions, however, such as Tufts, and Harvard.

At this meeting, Tufts will be represented by two boats, with Crane and Tysell in one and Dave Siegal and Katie Shuman in the other.

Also, Peter Levesque will head to New Zealand to sail in the World Championships.

The Goodwill Regatta will be the last major event for sailing in 2002, as it turns the calendar to prepare for next spring. Though the Goodwill Regatta is more of an exhibition and it will be hard to determine anything from the event, it does give Tufts a look at the west coast and Japanese teams for future competitions.