Cornell sailing posted a race victory and mounted an impressive late charge on Saturday to sit sixth after the opening day of the David Lee Arnoff Trophy at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York.
The Big Red accumulated 185 points through 10 races in each division, matching fifth-place Princeton in the eight-team field. However, the Tigers held the edge on the head-to-head tiebreaker to claim the higher position.
Freshman skipper Finlay Hayes and freshman crew Annabelle Ulak spearheaded Cornell’s B entry, collecting 72 points to place sixth among the regatta’s 16 entries in the combined-scoring standings. The duo captured victory in the fifth race and added a fifth-place result in the fourth race and a fourth in the eighth. Cornell received a breakdown score in the final B race.
Freshman skipper Hayden Van Zandt and freshman crew Grace Smith helmed Cornell’s A entry, totaling 113 points to rank 13th in the combined standings. The pair produced Cornell’s most compelling closing stretch, finishing sixth, third and second in the final three races after placing outside the top 10 in each of the first seven.
That late push helped the Big Red erase a 17-point deficit to Princeton after seven races in each division. Cornell entered the final set of races trailing the Tigers by 14 points before drawing level at the close of racing.
Freshman Halina Diehl was registered as Cornell’s reserve.
Host Hobart and William Smith led the team standings with 115 points, four ahead of Vermont. Cal Poly stood third with 155, followed by SUNY Maritime with 167. Cornell finished the day 24 points ahead of seventh-place Kings Point, while Michigan rounded out the field with 210.
