Double The Trophies: Cougars Storm Back To Win Fifth Coed Dinghy National Championship

Thursday, June 1

J. Stewart Walker Sailing Complex

All Day

College of Charleston

Coed National Finals

Photo by: Stefan Kuehn

Double The Trophies: Cougars Storm Back To Win Fifth Coed Dinghy National Championship

6/2/2017 10:19:00 PM | Sailing

MT. PLEASANT, S.C. --- The College of Charleston sailing team put together one of its best days of the season on Friday when it mattered the most, as the Cougars erased a 25-point deficit to capture their fifth Intercollegiate Sailing Association Coed National Championship, and mark the second championship week in program history with a pair of national titles.

Charleston also took home the program's seventh Leonard B. Fowle Trophy, which is awarded to the best overall sailing program in the nation. The College finished the two-day finals with 230 points to beat out Yale for the Gil Coed College Sailing National Championship. Yale accumulated 249 points in the championship round to finish second, while Dartmouth came in third with 261 points. Boston College was fourth with 267 points, followed by Hobart and William Smith Colleges' total of 271 points.

Junior skipper Stefano Peschiera (Lima, Peru) and junior crew Grace McCarthy (San Diego, Calif.) came from behind to win A-Division with 120 points – three ahead of Hobart's duo, who finished with 123 points. Peschiera and McCarthy dominated the field on Friday's second day, with a pair of race wins and no finish lower than sixth. Boston College was third in A-Division with 125 points, followed by Roger Williams with 129 points, and Fordham with 131 points.

Skipper Jack Cusick (Fairfield, Conn.) and Chloe Dapp (Newport Beach, Calif.) closed out their senior season in style, finishing third in B-Divison with 110 points to help the Cougars secure the national title. Dartmouth won B-Division with 80 points followed by Yale in second with 103 points. Boston College and Georgetown rounded out the top five with 142 and 145 points, respectively.

The Cougars began the day in fourth with 152 points, but needed just two rotations to jump into second after taking first in both races of rotation 12. The true turning point came in rotation 14, when Peschiera and McCarthy posted their second win of the day to vault the Cougars into first. A trio of key top-five finishes would follow, as Peschiera and McCarthy made a late push in the final rotation to place third and clinch the team title.

Peschiera and Cusick were each named ICSA All-American Skippers, while McCarthy and Dapp both earned ICSA All-American Crew honors.