In a down-to-the-wire finish Friday afternoon, the College of Charleston took home the Leonard M. Fowle Trophy as the nation’s top collegiate sailing team.
The College won the Gill Coed College Sailing National Championship in their home waters of Charleston’s Harbor Friday afternoon to edge out erstwhile points leader Boston College and 2016 defending champion Yale. The College’s team won collegiate sailing’s most illustrious trophy, awarded each year to the team that performs best across six championship events throughout the year.
Boston College, which went into the Gill Coed Championships with 88.81 points toward the Fowle Trophy, fell behind in the day’s final races, opening the door for the College to move up from second place with 89.06 points into the lead position.
The end result: the Cougars added their seventh Fowle Trophy since the award was introduced in 1972. It’s also the third time in three years that CofC sailing won the sport’s top collegiate honor.
The College’s sailing program was the host for this spring’s championship events, which included the Sperry College Sailing Women’s National Championship, the LaserPerformance College Sailing Team Race National Championship and the Gill Coed College Sailing National Championship.
CofC athletic director Matt Roberts was quick to congratulate the team on the titles on Instagram, saying “Amazing group of student-athletes and coaches. Proud to be a part of this storied program.”
The College placed sixth in the women’s national championship, won its second-ever team race national title and beat a field of 18 to win the coed sailing national title.
Featured Photo by Stefan Keuhn
