Above: Senior skipper Paris Henken and  freshman crew member Lucy Klempen compete in the Intercollegiate Sailing Association Women’s National Championship.


The College of Charleston women’s sailing team battled through light breeze and shifty conditions Thursday, May 20, 2021, to claim the program’s third Intercollegiate Sailing Association Women’s National Championship by a one-point margin over Tulane. The competition took place over two days at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

“We are stoked,” head coach Ward Cromwell said. “The regatta was really well run under the circumstances and, despite Boston College’s boat speed and the threat of Tulane, our team kept their heads in the game.”

The championship win marks the program’s third women’s title and first since 2010, while also entering the history books as Charleston’s 27th ICSA National Championship since the program’s inception. The Cougars, facing a deep field, rallied from a a 15-point deficit over the final three rotations. Charleston finished the regatta with a 16-rotation total of 201 points to edge out second-place Tulane’s total of 202 points. Boston College was third with 205 points followed by Brown (224) and Stanford (232).

Senior skipper Paris Henken and freshman crew Lucy Klempen sailed to a fourth-place finish in A-Division with 108 points including eight top-five performances. The duo posted wins in the seventh, ninth and 14th rotations while also finishing second in race four. Senior Marian Williams skippered the Cougars to a third-place performance in B-Division alongside sophomore crew Roxanne Snyder. The pair finished the championship with 93 points and top-five’s in seven races including wins in the eighth and 12th rotations.

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