FAYE BENNET MAISA WOMEN'S SINGLEHANDED - Full Results
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association (MAISA) held the annual women's singlehanded conference championships this weekend and Christopher Newport junior Grace Watlington captured an historic top-ten finish at the event. Watlington scored 137 points to take 10th place out of 17 singlehanded sailors in one of the most competitive conferences in the country, marking the first time in over at least two decades that a Captain finished that high.

Cornell's Gilda Dondona had a wire-to-wire win in the event and held off Piper Holthus from Georgetown to capture the conference title with 42 points. 

In the middle of the pack, Watlington and the rest of the MAISA women's sailors were locked in a tight battle for positioning. Eight races were held on Saturday before six more were finished on Sunday. After the first day, Watlington had struggled in the second half of the day and sat in 15th place out of 17 sailors. On Sunday, however, the CNU veteran put together an outstanding run and shot up the individual standings. 

She started with a 15th place finish but quickly turned it into a run of five straight top-ten finishes. She went 9-4-2-8-5 in the last five races to catapult into the top ten. Her second-place finish in the 12th race of the regatta was the best effort for Watlington, but the fifth-place effort in the final race was the difference maker as she surged ahead of Lina Carper from St. Mary's (Md.) for the 10th place finish. 

The only CNU sailor to compete in the event since Kaitlyn Reilly in 2017, Watlington improved on a 16th place finish as a sophomore and a 13th place showing as a freshman. Her top-ten finish is the highest finish for a CNU women's sailor in the conference championship since at least 2002 -- and believed to be among the finest performances in program history. 


KINGSMILL CUP - Full Results
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. -- The Captains had an outstanding showing at the local Kingsmill Cup hosted by The College of William & Mary and captured a third-place finish as a team. The eight-team regatta included teams from Hampton, Virginia Tech, UVa, Maryland, American, Catholic, and the host Tribe from William and Mary. 

Among them, Christopher Newport finished first in A division with three bullets and a final score of 21 points in eight completed races. Aston Atherton and Gabrielle Byrne paired up for the win, edging out the Hampton Pirates by just one point in a tight race that came down to the final finish. CNU secured the win in the last race of the weekend and finished outside of the top three boats only once in eight completed races. 

In B division, CNU finished fourth with 28 total points. The Captains never crossed the line later than fifth place and recorded a pair of runner-up ffinishes in B division.  Noah Hubbard and Berend van Der Meer sailed together to capture the top-five finish and lead CNU to another standout showing at the Kingsmill Cup. 

As a team, CNU finished just seven points back of the championship Hampton squad with 42 points. The Captains had 49 total points and Virginia Tech finished second with 43 points. 
 
CHESAPEAKE INVITATIONAL - Full Results
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The Chesapeake Invitational was able to complete 14 races in three divisions of sailing at the United States Naval Academy. The Captains finished in sixth place among the six teams entered into the event, with 593 total points. 

Sailing in one fleet, the Captains saw their best performance from the A division boat with 166 total points. They finished 13th out of 18 boats while the B division boat added a 14th place showing with 182 total points. Finally, CNU wrapped up the event with the C division tandem compiling 245 poitns and finishing 18th overall. 

In A division sailing, Josh Bendura and Gail Schneider snagged the best two finishes of the weekend with a third-place showing in the third race and a fourth-place effort in the eighth completed race. Laura Smith and Jon Matney paired up in B division and snagged three top-ten finishes including a seventh-place showing in race number eight. Finally, Walter Roou and Sebastian Beavers piloted the C division boat and added a 14th