Trevians Double Up with MISSA Baker Title

Chicago Yacht Club’s Belmont Station hosted the Midwest Team Race Championship the weekend of May 2-3, 2009. The top six high school teams from the Midwest Interscholastic Sailing Association (MISSA) Fleet Racing Championship, which was sailed last weekend on Lake St Clair, competed for the opportunity to represent MISSA at the upcoming 2009 High School National Team Racing Championship.

This was a big win for the Trevians who had not won this team race championship since 2005. Skippers Michael Cornew, Mark Gargula, Stephanie Hudson & Drew Shea and their crews Scott Bartuska, Amy Baxter, Kim Johnson, Cole Rice & Hannah Wittleder, ensured that the team’s seniors graduated with a MISSA Team Race Championship.

In “team racing”, two high school teams compete in a three-boat on three-boat match race format. To determine the winner of the match, the scores of each team's three boat finishes are combined. The chief umpire for the event was Chicago’s Betsy Altman, winner of US SAILING’s 2007 U.S. Women's Sailing Championship and Adams Cup.

Over the course of the weekend, the race committee completed seventy five races of which each team competed in twenty five. Weather conditions were perfect for team racing with good winds and warm temperatures. On Saturday, the Trevians won their first thirteen races before experiencing their first loss against Lake Forest. They closed with a win over cross-town rival Loyola Academy to finish the day with a two point lead.

On Sunday, the Trevians continued to dominate the action. Despite three losses in ten races, their two point lead was never challenged, enabling Coach Matt Clark to substitute crews freely, some of whom were a little tired following a night at the Senior/Junior Prom. New Trier, ranked number one in the Midwest, displayed the breadth and depth of their squad, adjusting crews to match changing wind and sea conditions. New Trier won the team race title with a 21-4 record. With the win, the Trevians advance to the 2009 ISSA High School Team Racing National Championship for the Toby Baker Trophy which will be sailed in California over Memorial Day Weekend. Defending champion Lake Forest finished second followed by Loyola Academy, Grosse Pointe North (MI), Minnetonka (MN), and Grosse Pointe South (MI). By placing in the top four, Lake Forest, Loyola, and Grosse Pointe North each qualified to compete in the Atlantic Coast Team Race Challenge which will be held in Rochester, NY.

Following the competition, Loyola's Tommy Holmberg was awarded with the High School Sportsmanship Award by the Junior Activities Committee of Chicago Yacht Club, in recognition of outstanding sportsmanship over the course of the High School sailing season.

Next weekend, the crews of both New Trier and Loyola will compete in St Petersburg, Florida at the ISSA National Fleet Racing Championship for the Mallory Trophy.