Friday, June 1, 2001
UH wins CAMBRIDGE, Mass. >> Andy Johnson had a feeling that this might be the year his University of Hawaii sailing team would break through and win a national title.
national
sailing title
Senior skipper Molly O'Bryan
leads a young Hawaii women's
team to its first championship
From staff and wire reports"It's one of the strongest (teams) I've had in my 11 years of coaching,'' Johnson said prior to the start of the regatta. "It's the best opportunity for the women (to win) for sure.''
Yesterday, the Wahine proved Johnson's hunch was correct. Hawaii won its first national sailing title, earning the Inter-collegiate Sailing Association North American Women's National Championship on the Charles River.
The Wahine scored 185 points to end the three-day regatta 15 points ahead of runner-up Dartmouth (200). St. Mary's was third (206), Connecticut fourth (214) and Tufts fifth (217).
Hawaii, which was in third place Wednesday, garnered six first-place finishes in the 18-race event.
Senior skipper Molly O'Bryan and sophomore Sarah Hitchcock had 78 points for first place in the "A" division.
Freshman skipper Marin Diskant and junior Melody Torres had 107 points, as did freshman skipper Jennifer Warnock and freshman Renee DeCurtis, to put the Wahine in fourth place in the "B" division.
Next up for Hawaii is the co-ed ICSA Team Race National Championship, Sunday through Tuesday, and the co-ed ICSA Dinghy National Championship June 6-8.
Hawaii is one of only seven schools that has qualified for all three national sailing competitions.
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu