Bulldogs Look Ahead To Spring Season

March 1, 2008

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Yale is ready to get back into action on the water and continue the success that characterized its fall season. After achieving a No. 1 national ranking in the fall and winning the Atlantic Coast Championships, the team is at the top of its game.

Zachary Leonard '89, the McNay Family Director of Yale Sailing, believes that improvement is still possible, though.

"The team has been working hard all along and the hard work has paid off and started to show results," Leonard said. "If they do keep working, they'll continue to improve. The main thing is that we keep on getting better."

The team's hard work paid off in the fall season. Winning the Atlantic Coast Championships, which were hosted by Yale, was a highlight. The regatta was one of the most competitive of the fall season and showcased the strongest competition from the East Coast. The fall also saw junior Jane Macky capture second place in the ICSA Single-handed National Championships.

The spring season offers the opportunity for the team to continue to improve and welcome back a number of athletes to full-time training. The women's team will have five strong skippers, with juniors Macky and Kate Hagemann, sophomores Sarah Lihan and Rebecca Jackson and freshman Molly Lucas. Lihan returns her entire focus to training with the team after spending much of the fall training and competing in the Olympic Trials while Lucas has overcome injuries that prevented her from competing last season.

Junior captain Hagemann is looking forward to the season.

"I think it is going to be a fabulous season," Hagemann said. "We have amazing people on the team and we all get along well with the other people on the team. I think that continuing to improve is critical to our team's continued success."

Talented and dedicated crews have also been a vital component of the team's success. Leonard noted the contributions of sophomore Marla Menninger, who sails with Macky, and freshman Elizabeth Brim, who sails with Hagemann, as being very valuable and critical to the team's success.

With the ICSA National Championships not until the last week of May, the Bulldogs have time to continue the hard work that has been integral to their success over the past year.

Report filed by Caleb Dorfman '09, Yale Sports Publicity