The College of Charleston sailing team won the ICSA/APS Team Race National Championship title and were the recipients of the Walter C. Wood Trophy on Tuesday.

It marked their first team race national title in program history and first national regatta title since the Cougars won the women’s dinghy national championship in 2010. The event is the second of three collegiate sailing nationals co-hosted by the University of Texas Sailing Team and the Austin Yacht Club on Lake Travis.

“We were the best team out there today,” CofC Head Coach Ward Cromwell said. “We were fast and were able to sail quickly in the light wind. We also had good clean boat handling which allowed us to get back into the races when we were a little behind. This is our first team race national title in the history of The College. We are very proud of our kids and how they sailed today.”

The Cougars, who were ranked No. 1 in Sail1Design College Sailing Team Race Rankings prior to nationals, led the event by just one win leading into the final day of racing. The other Final Four teams, No. 7-ranked St. Mary’s College of Maryland, No. 2 Boston College and No. 5 Hobart and William Smith College, had eight wins each making for a very close and competitive regatta.

The Final Four began Tuesday morning in light winds around 3 knots from the southeast. The air was warm in the low 80s and six races total were completed in the final-four round robin.

The wind picked up slightly to about 10 knots for the CofC versus Boston College race. The Cougars led at the top mark with a 1, 2, 6 and the Eagles raced to catch the lead boats. Charleston made a successful trap at the leeward mark and held onto the 1, 2 up the last beat to take the win with a 1, 2, 5.

The CofC versus St. Mary’s race was the last matchup of the day and determined the national title. It was a slow fight between the two teams due to the light wind. St. Mary’s had a good start and an advantage over the Cougars up the first windward leg, but they were able to take the lead by the leeward mark. CofC was able to hold onto their winning combination moving up the last beat and St. Mary’s could not break up their winning pair in time. The Cougars took the win with a 1, 2, 3.

The winning team members were junior All-American skipper Mac Mace (Newport Beach, Calif.) with senior All-American crew Perry Emsiek (Corona del Mar, Calif.); senior All-American skipper Zeke Horowitz (Sarasota, Fla.) with junior crew Cory DeCollibus (Duxbury, Mass.); and junior skipper Ben Spector (Santa Clarita, Calif.) with senior All-American crew Alyssa Aitken (Sandwich, Mass.).

Racing continues tomorrow with the first day of the ICSA/Gill Coed Dinghy National Championship. The Cougars are among the top 18 collegiate teams in the nation who have qualified to compete in the event.

Gary Jobson will be filming highlights of the three days of racing which will air on ESPNU on Friday, July 6 at 6 p.m. (ET). This will be the eighth time the ICSA/Gill Coed Dinghy Nationals have been covered on ESPNU.

ICSA/APS TEAM RACE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

June 3-5, 2012

Lake Travis

in Austin, Texas

Final Overall Results

1. College of Charleston (11-6)

2. St. Mary’s College of Maryland (10-7)

3. Hobart and William Smith College (10-7)

4. Boston College (8-9)

5. Roger Williams (7-7)

6T. Brown (6-8)

6T. Georgetown (6-8)

8. Stanford (4-10)

9. Wisconsin (5-0)

10. Miami (4-1)

11. UCSB (3-2)

12. Texas A&M-Galveston (1-4)

13. Oregon (1-4)

14. Michigan (1-4)