OYSTER BAY, N.Y.  -  This past weekend, the Coast Guard Academy sailing team placed third at the 2024 College Sailing Match Race National Championship. Ten teams, representing five conferences from around the country, came to compete for the Cornelius Shields, Sr., Trophy. The event was hosted by the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club.

The event had sunny skies and wind all three days. Friday consisted of winds ranging from 4-13 knots, and seven races were completed. The Bears had an impressive first day of racing with a 7-0 record, putting them in 1st place early on.

Day two (Saturday) had winds ranging from 4-14 knots. The last two races from the round-robin were completed, leaving the Bears with an 8-1 record. The Bears then moved on to the Gold Round, including the top six teams. In the Gold Round, the Bears went 2-3 and ended up as the fifth seed going into the quarterfinals. Day three (Sunday) had winds ranging from 3-8 knots, where the Bears led off with a quarterfinal match-up against the U.S. Naval Academy. The quarterfinal and semifinal rounds were both best-of-3, and the team was able to win the quarterfinals against Navy, 2-1.

The semifinals were raced against Brown University, where Coast Guard unfortunately lost 0-2, which meant the Coast Guard Bears were in the Petit Finals (fighting for 3rd place) against Stanford University. The Bears had a hard-fought battle in another best-of-3 series. Coast Guard lost the first race but fought hard in the next two to win 2-1, which meant Coast Guard placed 3rd overall at the College Match Race National Championship. Placing 1st was Boston College, and 2nd was Brown University. The sailors for this event were seniors Colman Schofield, Jack Derry, Laura Slovensky, and junior Charles Pohl.

The CGA sailing team made its debut at the Match Race Nationals in 2021 and since then has finished on the podium three out of the four times competing. This podium finish means a lot to the team because it was a long and hard road to make it to this regatta. The field was extremely competitive, and it is a testament to the team's hard work to come out in the top three in the nation. The sailors have put in a ton of work to improve in the Match Race discipline. Derry has sailed the event three times for the Bears and has podiumed all three times, while Slovensky and Pohl are also return members to the team after getting 2nd place last year.

Head Sailing Coach David Thompson had this to say about the team, "We are super excited for our performance at the ICSA Match Race National Championship. The road to this regatta has been filled with ups and downs, and it's been exciting to see our team grow and perform at the highest level. The hard work from the entire program to support this discipline has been amazing." This event wraps up the 2024 fall season for the sailing team. The Bears are looking forward to getting back on the water in the spring.