After two successful season-opening weekends on the water, the College of Charleston coed sailing team climbed six spots to No. 1 in the latest Sailing World College Rankings, presented by Sperry Top-Sider, on Thursday.
It marked the Cougars’ second No. 1 ranking this year as they surpassed Boston College for top distinction last season on March 23, the program’s first No. 1 ranking in over a decade. College of Charleston took over the top spot this week from Yale, who fell to No. 6. Rounding out the top 5 was St. Mary’s College of Maryland in second, Roger Williams in third, Boston College in fourth and Georgetown in fifth. The College women were also ranked No. 14 in this week’s poll.
“We couldn’t be more proud of the team’s early-season success and their No. 1 ranking,” College of Charleston Director of Sailing Greg Fisher said. “They are all sailing fast and smart and the overwhelming number of first-place votes in this week’s rankings is indicative of the respect they’ve earned already from the voting panel of coaches. Head coach Ward Cromwell and assistant coach Mitch Hall are doing a tremendous job in focusing on the aspects of college sailing that matter the most – and the consistent regatta results are indicative of their and the team’s efforts.”
The Cougars return to competition this weekend sending senior team captain Zeke Horowitz (Sarasota, Fla.), senior Erik Bowers (Excelsior, Minn.), junior Brendan Faria (Middletown, R.I.) and freshman Chris Sands (Nassau, Bahamas) to the SAISA Men’s Singlehanded Championship hosted by Jacksonville University on Oct. 1-2 in Jacksonville, Fla.
They will also play host to the T.S. Stern Sloop Match Race on Oct. 1-2 at the J. Stewart Walker Sailing Center in Mt. Pleasant, S.C. College of Charleston will be represented by freshman Nick Johnstone (Newport, R.I.), junior Chris Banholzer (Hartland, Wis.), junior Sarah Somes (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich.), junior Cory DeCollibus (Duxbury, Mass.) and senior All-American Perry Emsiek (Corona del Mar, Calif.).
“We are certainly very proud of the accomplishments of our team thus far this fall,” Cromwell said. “We bring back a lot of depth from last year and this talented squad has shown that they can win at a very high level. Our team members work very hard and play the game with a lot of respect for their competition. With this type of dedication, good things will continue to happen.”
