The Yale co-ed Sailing Team ended its fall with a second place for the Schell Trophy at MIT.
 
Three races were barely able to be completed on Saturday in extremely light wind that rotated a cumulative 270 degrees over the course of the day. Conditions shifted dramatically overnight, and the competitors battled in a torrential downpour and powerful breeze to raise the total number of races sailed to 13 in each division.
 
The Bulldogs' showed the ultimate grit and consistency - placing in the top 10 in 92% of their races and maximizing top five finishes - aided them in securing the second-place podium spot. 
 
The annual Nickerson Trophy first year championship at Tufts enabled new members of the Bulldog family to demonstrate their finesse, and the young co-ed sailors won a tie breaker to finish fourth overall. The annual Dave Perry Team Race Trophy was also held as a scrimmage at Yale this year, with a Bulldog team securing the victory against Brown, Tufts and Connecticut College.
 
The 79th Professor Erwin Schell Trophy – MIT: 2nd (137 points)
A: Shawn Harvey / Graceann Nicolosi (2nd, 68 points)
B: Teddy Nicolosi / Sonia Lingos-Utley (races 1-12) / Helena Ware (race 13) (2nd, 69 points)
Alt: Luke Arnone, Meredith Ryan, Jacob Asher
 
Nickerson Trophy – Tufts: 4th (121 points)
A: B Lindsay / Ben Markert (5th, 54 points)
B: Petru Neagu / Catherine Cheung (races 1-5) / Sydney Zoehrer (races 6-8) (8th, 67 points)
 
Comments from the Bulldogs:
First-year skipper B Lindsay, who sailed A division at the Nickerson Trophy, explained that despite a rough light air day on Saturday the young Bulldogs "stayed positive and shifted our focus to the shifty and puffy conditions Sunday [to] pull away with a much better score line" at the tail end of the competition. Lindsay emphasized that this event was a "great opportunity to be able to put everything we've worked on this fall season together against the other freshman from NEISA." First-year B Division crew Sydney Zoehrer echoed Lindsay's sentiments, "It was a great learning experience being able to sail in a freshman-only regatta and we're happy to have come away with a solid result for our last regatta of the fall season." Her focus for the competition was "trying to get off the line quickly, responding to shifts, and keeping our eyes out for pressure...despite extremely shifty and unpredictable conditions all weekend."
 
The Yale sailors are looking forward to seeing familiar faces at the traditional Alumni Regatta this weekend, and are excited to have the satisfaction of racing against some of the greatest sailors in the team's history.
 
Scores for the 79th Professor Erwin Schell Trophy can be found at https://scores.collegesailing.org/f19/79th-erwin-schell/
Scores for the Nickerson Trophy can be found at https://scores.collegesailing.org/f19/nickerson/