Ward Cromwell is in his 13th season with the College of Charleston and 10th as head coach of the nationally-recognized program. He previously worked at the Southern Yacht Club, where he served as sailing director and head coach since 2000.
Last season, CofC captured its first-ever ICSA/APS Team Race National Championship title in program history and was presented with the Leonard M. Fowle Trophy, awarded annually to the best overall collegiate team in the nation.
A year prior, the Cougars earned their first No. 1 national ranking in over a decade after winning the prestigious Truxtun Umstead regatta over Georgetown on March 23, 2011.
In 2008-09, the sailing team had a successful campaign. The Cougars competed in 20 events in the fall and won six of them and finished in the top 5 in 12. In the spring, CofC placed in the top 5 in 23 races and won 10 of them.
The Cougars would compete at the ICSA Singlehanded Nationals after winning both the men's and women's district titles in the fall. At Nationals, Juan Maegli finished seventh on the men's side and Allie Blecher placed sixth on the women's side. CofC qualified for all three nationals in the spring. The Cougars finished second at the women's championship as well as 12th in the coed championship. CofC also placed fifth in the team race championship.
Cromwell comes with a strong coaching background, having served as coach with the US Youth Championships clinic in 2003 and 2004 as well as the US Junior Women's clinic. He also served as a US Sailing Level One Instructor and as a coach at the US Optimist Team Trials.
A 1999 graduate of Old Dominion University, Cromwell was a part of a Monarch sailing team that won the ICYRA Team Race Championship and the ICYRA Dinghy Championships in 1998. That year, he was named All-American Honorable Mention.
Cromwell was a member of the US Sailing team and placed fifth at the Olympic Trials in the Tornado Class. In 2000, he finished third in the 470 Class Olympic Trials.
