SAN DIEGO, CA. - Following a win at the Team Race National Championship, the Yale coed sailing team started fresh today at the Gill Coed National Championship Semifinal. The top 36 teams in the country came together for the final Inter-collegiate Sailing Association National Championship of the season. The teams are split into an Eastern and a Western fleet, and the top 18 teams make it to the national championship after two days of semifinals. After a light and shifty first day, the Bulldogs sit in a close sixth place.

In A division, juniors Ian Barrows and Meredith Megarry are in fifth place. They sailed fairly consistently despite the tricky conditions, with only one race out of the top half.

Juniors Mitchell Kiss and Clara Robertson are in sixth place in B division, just four points out of fifth.

The semifinals will conclude after a long day of racing tomorrow. Similar conditions are expected, though the westerly breeze may fill more quickly. Several other sailors may compete as well, including senior Charlotte Belling, juniors Natalya Doris and Isabelle Rossi de Leon, sophomore Caroline Colwell, and freshmen Nic Baird and Nick Hernandez.

Follow the regatta via live online video at http://livestream.com/Degan/ICSACOED. Live results can also be found at http://scores.collegesailing.org/s16/gill-coed-east-semis.

Report filed by Isabelle Rossi de Leon, Yale Sports Publicity