Four Connecticut College sailors have been named NEISA Open Sailors of the Week following a thrilling victory at the 2026 Sherman Hoyt Trophy at Brown University. The New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association announced the weekly honors on Wednesday, recognizing the Camel quartet that captured the prestigious regatta title on Sunday.
Sailing for Conn were Henry Scholz of Lake Forest, Ill., with Vivian Smith of Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y., in A Division and William Hurd of West Dennis, Mass., with Charlotte McDonald of Portland, Maine, in B Division. The four combined for a dramatic overall victory that came down to the final race of the event.
Scholz and Smith delivered a commanding performance in A Division, leading wire to wire from the opening race against the best open sailors NEISA has to offer. Their dominance in the division set the foundation for the overall team result as the Camels battled Dartmouth and Yale throughout the day in a tense three-way contest for the lead.
The drama intensified in the closing stages. Dartmouth’s Big Green took over the overall lead after race eight heading into the final set, and appeared poised to claim victory. But the Camels came charging back thanks to a clutch performance from the B Division pairing of Hurd and McDonald. The duo managed to beat their Dartmouth counterparts in both of the last two races, including by just one point in the final race of the regatta. That narrow margin proved decisive, forcing a tie on points and allowing Conn to maintain the head-to-head tiebreaker to claim the 2026 edition of the Sherman Hoyt Trophy in dramatic fashion. Hurd and McDonald also finished third in their division, just four points behind the divisional winners.
Connecticut College returns to action with three regattas on the upcoming weekend as the fall sailing season continues.
