The pressure of history pounded on the Bulldog sailors this weekend at the Navy Fall Intersectional: In both 2006 and 2007, the Elis took home the gold at this event.

But this year, the team had to settle for eighth.

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In addition, Yale placed 10th at the Captain Hurst Bowl Intersectional at Dartmouth and 14th at the Great Herring Pond Open at Massachusetts Maritime Academy. The women’s team qualified for nationals with a fourth-place finish at the Yale Women’s Intersectional, hosted at home.

At the Navy Fall Intersectional, one of the biggest events of the season, the Bulldogs recorded 678 points over 80 races. Because it was a larger event, there were four divisions of racers. The A and B divisions raced double-manned boats, while the C Division fielded singlehanded Lasers and the D Division sailed the Laser Radial. Amid so many divisions, the Elis’ depth helped to pull the team to mid-field finish.

In the A divison, Thomas Barrows ’10, Marla Menninger ’10 and Blair Belling ’11 finished third with 131 points. The crews were in the top 13 racers in all but seven of their races and placed first in five races. During the regatta, the team suffered two boat breakdowns, only one of which was taken into consideration by the racing committee, despite the fact that the breakdowns were not due to Bulldog negligence.

According to Barrows, the breakdown was a disappointing inconvenience that cost the team a higher spot in the rankings.

“We were able to get a redress for one where they averaged our other scores,” Barrows said. “But for the other, we came in last place.”

Jane Macky ’09, Michael Hession ’10 and Menninger came in 10th in the B Division. The team scored 190 points and came in second in their sixth race.

Cameron Cullman ’12, who focuses on handling Lasers, finished fourth in the C Division with 132 points. He finished in the top five in eight of the 20 races, and in all but three, he finished in the top half of competitors.

“I have grown up sailing singlehandedly, and I think that it helped me out this weekend,” Cullman said. “It is different from having a crew because with a crew, you can talk about tactics [but] when you sail alone, you make the decisions.”

Sarah Lihan ’10 finished 12th for the Bulldogs in the Laser Radial D Division. She accumulated a total of 225 points.

At Dartmouth’s Captain Hurst Bowl Intersectional on Lake Mascoma, the Bulldogs finished 10th with 213 points. In the A Division, FJ sailors Joseph Morris ’12 and Grace Becton ’09 finished sixth with 79 points. In the B division, Caleb Dorfman ’09 and Tatyana Camejo ’11 finished 18th. However, soft, variable winds plagued the competition.

The Great Herring Pond Open was limited to only six races, as high winds resulted in the cancellation of planned heats on Sunday. Despite the limited nature of the regatta, the Bulldogs brought home 14th place overall. In the A Division, Genoa Warner ’12 and Jared Shenson ’12 placed 14th. In the B Division, Rob Struckett ’12, Margot Benedict ’12 and Andrew Kurzrok ’11 placed eighth.

The women’s team competed at home this weekend at the Yale Women’s Intersectional, where their fourth-place finish qualified them for the Women’s Atlantic Coast Championship.

Christopher Ell ’12, an Eli sailor who helped to host the event this weekend, said the weather helped the women to their victory.

“It was rather windy,” Ell said. “That made for excellent sailing all around – good enough for them to qualify for nationals.”

Captain Kate Hagermann ’09 and Elizabeth Brim ’11 placed fifth in the A Division. The two narrowly missed third place by a five-point margin.

Rebecca Jackson ’10 and Adriane Levin ’09 placed sixth with 99 points in the B Division.

As one of the top-two finishers among New England Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association schools, the Elis received an invitation to the ACC Championships, which will be hosted by Georgetown Nov. 15-16. The event features the top 18 schools in three sailing divisions. These divisions field 14 of the top 15 sailing schools in the nation, making for tough competition. Last year, the Bulldogs took home gold at the event.

This upcoming weekend, the Bulldogs will send Barrows and Jane Macky ’09 to the ICSA National Singlehanded Championships at Cornell, where they will be defending their 2007 first and second place titles, respectively. The Bulldogs will also travel to Brown and MIT to compete for the Hoyt Trophy and the Oberg Trophy, respectively. In addition, the Southern Series Six event will be hosted at home at the McNay Family Sailing Center on Saturday.