CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (October 18-19, 2014): NC State sailors delivered a dominating performance winning the two-day Jefferson Cup Trophy regatta, claiming college sailing's newest trophy. Hosted by the University of Virginia, the regatta featured a ceremony following the event, where the Jefferson Cup Trophy was presented to NC State's team Sunday afternoon by popular UVA Dean of Students, Allen Groves.
NC State sailors out in front of the home squad Virginia Cavaliers on the downwind leg.
“Trophy competitions are such an important part of college sailing and this is NC State’s first trophy win,” said NC State head coach Dana Magliola. “It’s great to be able to bring some hardware back to Raleigh, and this was an especially strong showing from our young squad, too, so we’ll surely look to build on this win.”
First engraving on the Jefferson Cup Trophy goes to the Sailpack!
Introduced in 2014 as a showcase invitational college regatta, the Jefferson Cup celebrates President and UVA founder Thomas Jefferson and featured college sailing teams from both the Mid-Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association (MAISA) Conference and the South Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association (SAISA) Conferences. From the 79-year old Boston Dinghy Club Challenge Cup, to the season-long Fowle Trophy, to the most recently-introduced Jefferson Cup, trophy regattas are an important part of the tradition of college sailing. Teams competing in this inter-conference invitational included Virginia Tech, University of Maryland, Salisbury (Md.) University, American University, Catholic University of America, SUNY Stony Brook, NC State and the host team, University of Virginia.
UVA Dean of Students Allen Groves presented the 1st annual Jefferson Cup Trophy to NC State sailors on Sunday at the conclusion of the two-day regatta. Dean Groves was on the lake Sunday and was charged up and tweeting about college sailing.
Success at this regatta is not new to NC State as the SailPack had won this same regatta at UVA last fall when the competition was known as the Virginia Open, and was not yet affiliated with a trophy. Sailed on nearby Lake Anna, normal conditions at this event favor lake sailors who are used to sailing in shifty conditions. Yet, the 2014 version must have recognized the formal occasion of it's debut and delivered consistent strong breeze, waves and whitecaps. There were quite a few capsizes throughout racing on Saturday and Sunday. NC State's young squad had prepared and trained for conditions like these during recent regattas at Miami, Florida; Oriental, NC; and Wilmington, NC.
Sophomore crew April Lamb rocking her new Zhik gear.
With 10-15 mph winds throughout the weekend and stronger gusts, racing was fast and fierce. Yet, by the third race Saturday, Wolfpack sailors had secured first position in the competitive field. Although they faced strong challenges from the UVA and Salisbury, NC State did not let go of the lead, completing the 12 set regatta with a 26 point advantage over their closest competitor. Sailing A-fleet for the SailPack was senior skipper David Rogers (Mt. Pleasant, SC) and freshman crew James Stonecypher (Chapel Hill, NC) with four 1st place finishes throughout the weekend; although the breakout performance of the weekend was delivered by freshman skipper Mark Thompson (Cary, NC) and sophomore crew April Lamb (China Grove, NC) who led their fleet wire-to-wire finishing with an almost 2:1 lead over their closest rival. At one point Thompson and Lamb strung together a 6-race streak of 1st-place finishes and wrapped up the two-day regatta with 10 total 1st-place finishes out of 12 races.
"Our performance in coastal conditions has improved greatly over the past two seasons and although this regatta was several hours inland, the conditions this weekend were very similar," said Wolfpack race team captain David Rogers. "Being able to stay focused, keeping the boat flat and take advantage of each opportunity to gain position or speed really paid off for our team."
Full scores from the Jefferson Cup can be found at the link above. With live-scoring, college sailing supporters and team fans can stay tuned in during regattas. Visit scores.collegesailing.org for regattas every weekend during the fall and spring.
NC State sailors grabbed the early lead and did not relinquish it despite some great competition from several of the squads in attendance. Sailors (especially NC State) love data and each regatta is charted with visualizations on ICSA's "Techscore" at scores.collegesailing.org.
Full regatta results are available HERE. Some photographs compliments of Casey Firth, University of Virginia Sailing.
