The No. 1 sailing team reaffirmed its ranking by taking the top spot at their main varsity event this weekend, the Admiral’s Cup regatta, hosted by the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in King’s Point, N.Y.

Skipper Stu McNay ’05 and crews Meredith Killion ’05 and Giovanni Zevi Della Porta ’07 placed second in the A division behind No. 6 Brown, while Molly Carapiet ’06 and crew Jenn Hoyle ’05 earned first place in the B division. Captain Matt Barry ’07 rounded out the meet in the laser race, taking 8th place in the C division.

Due to fickle winds on Saturday and a lack of breeze on Sunday, the sailors got less than halfway through the event, competing in only 24 races overall, McNay said.

“The regatta ended up being only eight races per division, which is a pretty small sampling size,” he said. “While we ended up coming out on top, it was a tenuous victory at best.”

This weekend marked the Bulldogs’ first win at the Admiral’s Cup.

The Elis found mixed success at the other three events they sailed this weekend, which was the last one before the New England Championship races begin Saturday. The women’s and freshmen championships begin next week, with coed and team racing to be held the following weekend.

In the weekend’s second-tier varsity event, the Moody Trophy, the Bulldogs took third place behind St. Mary’s and South Florida. The regatta was hosted by the University of Rhode Island.

Zach Brown ’08 and Sarah Himmerfarb ’06 took the top spot in the A division, and Phil Stemler ’07 and Hilary Shapiro ’08 took sixth in the B division. Each pair sailed in 15 races.

In addition, the Eli women, currently ranked third among the nation’s female teams, sailed in the Dellenbaugh Women’s Trophy regatta at Brown University, placing fifth behind Brown, Charleston, Navy and Harvard.

The Bulldogs struggled with wind conditions and strong competition, Hannah Oakland ’07 said.

“The fleet was really good and we had a lot to work through at the Dellenbaugh,” she said. “The wind would shift from full out-hiking conditions to very light, which is difficult.”

Meghan Pearl ’06 and Oakland crewed for Emily Hill ’07 in the A division, in which the Elis earned eighth place. In the B division, Kendra Emhiser ’07 and crew Natalie Kitchen ’05 also placed eighth.

The Elis also placed 13th at the Boston University Trophy with two crews sailing in eight races each due to a lack of breeze on Sunday.

Next weekend the Bulldogs will compete in the Women’s New England Championship at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London. The top four teams in this regatta will qualify for the Women’s National Championship, which will be held in Texas this year.

Women’s captain Carapiet said she is confident in the team’s ability despite tough competition.

“I think that the women are prepared to do well this weekend at the New England Championship,” she said. “Harvard and Brown are probably our biggest competition.”

Next weekend the coed team will sail in the Thompson Trophy at Connecticut College. The Bulldogs will use this event as a warm-up for the Team Racing New England Championships which will be held at the same venue the following weekend, McNay said.

“Finishing first place at the Admiral’s Cup this weekend confirmed our top spot in the country, which we are hoping to keep as we move into the regional and national championships,” he said.

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