University of Vermont Sails to 11th at First-Ever National Championship; Two Catamounts Named to the All-America Team

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT:
Justin Assad
Head Coach
University of Vermont Sailing Team
m: 917.846.6852
em: jassad@uvm.edu
w: www.uvm.edu/sailing

University of Vermont Sails to Eleventh in First Appearance at National Championship, Two Catamounts Named to 2008 ICSA All-America Team.

Newport, RI - Capping off a recordbreaking year, the University of Vermont sailed to eleventh at college sailing's big dance, the ICSA Coed Spring National Championship. Throughout three days of varied, atypical Newport conditions, Sophomores Clinton Hayes and Coco Solsvig dazzled A fleet, finishing in second of eighteen schools, just six points out of first. In B fleet, juniors Tyler Baeder and Christine Bletzer combined with Seniors Matt Clark and Caitlyn Connolly to finish 15th.

After a spring season that saw many clutch performances from Hayes and Solsvig, Hayes was named an Honorable Mention All-America skipper, and Solsvig was named an All America crew. They are the first Catamounts ever named to the ICSA All America Team. Additionally, Vermont was a presence at the National Championship; teammates and alums crowded the seawall to watch racing, and three sail boats carrying Vermont fans were watching from the water. Vermont boats rounded the windward mark in the top three multiple times, and each time roars reached all the way down the racecourse.

During the summer, the Catamounts will pursue their own personal sailing, before returning next fall. September should be exciting; the Cats will welcome a freshman class with more than twenty incoming sailors, as well as some transfer students. This should have their competitive roster near or over fifty sailors, and will mean full 18 boat practices.

The University of Vermont Sailing Team is a club team supported by the Student Government Association at UVM. Head coach Justin Assad leads the team, who practices out of the Community Sailing Center in Burlington, and has one of the most active racing schedules in the country, attending at least eighty regattas per calendar year.

Head Coach Justin Assad's Interview with Vermont Public Radio

Photos from the event are available at GTSphoto.com, and at Curt Solsvig's site: http://uvmsailing.snapfish.com/snapfish.

Thank you again those that have supported us this year and in the past. We are one of the few true club teams left out there, and we could not compete at this level without your support.

2008 Parents and Alumni Dinner and Regatta: October 4, 2008