Houck, White Take U.S. Junior Women’s Doublehanded Championship

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Houck_White 2 Reyes_400Columbia, S.C. (June 30, 2015) – After five days of quality coaching and instruction, racing, and good ole’ fun on and off the water with friends, we have a winning team to crown today at the Columbia Sailing Club, host of the 2015 U.S. Junior Women’s Doublehanded Championship. The team of Stephanie Houck (Annapolis, Md.) and Camille White (Annapolis, Md.) of Annapolis Yacht Club proved to be the top team in the fleet this week through 10 races. Thirty-nine teams raced for the Ida Lewis Trophy in Club 420s on Lake Murray over the past three days in Columbia, S.C.

Teams displayed a considerable amount of skill on the racecourse and improved their sailing throughout the week in conditions that changed drastically each day. Sailors encountered it all, including light breezes on Sunday and Tuesday, heavy winds at 15 to 18 knots on Monday, and hot temperatures throughout. Saturday’s clinic was held under stormy, rainy conditions.

Houck and White took the lead after race two on Sunday and never looked back. The Annapolis duo won 5 of 10 races and never placed worse than fifth. Teams completed four races each on Sunday and Monday, with two more races on Tuesday.

Trailing Houck and White was Louisa Nordstrom (Osprey, Fla.) and Katie Lounsbury (Stuart, Fla.) who finished the championship in second place with three wins and 12 points back. Cassie Obel (Marina del Rey, Calif.) and Annika Garrett (Culver City, Calif.) of Del Rey Yacht Club placed third.

Performances from the Houck/White and Obel/Garrett teams qualified them for the 2015 U.S. Youth Sailing Championships next week in Bristol, R.I. Nordstrom and Lounsbury have already qualified.

High-level coaching and skill development was a key component of this championship. Prior to racing, teams took part in a two-day clinic last Friday and Saturday. Led by Richard Feeny, US Sailing Junior National Coach, the clinics featured several college sailing coaches including Old Dominion’s Mitch Brindley, Eckerd’s Zack Marks, and MIT’s Matt Lindblad. They were joined by two-time Olympian Amanda Clark and former US Sailing Team members Alana O’Reilly and Elizabeth Kratzig.

It wasn’t all about racing this week. The sailors were served by the Columbia Sailing Club volunteers all week with outstanding hospitality and great food, including a food truck, pizza night and a field trip to the Riverbanks Zoo and Garden.

For Twitter real-time updates, final standings, photos, and more information from the 2015 U.S. Junior Women’s Doublehanded Championship, please visit the event website.

Final Standings – Top 10
1. Stephanie Houck/Camille White, 2-1-1-[5]-1-1-1-4-3-2- ; 16
2. Louisa Nordstrom/Katie Lounsbury, 1-9-3-1-[10]-3-2-1-2-6- ; 28
3. Cassie Obel/Annika Garrett, 7-8-[35/ZFP]-3-2-5-8-9-7-4- ; 53
4. Daisy Holthus/Amanda Majernik, 4-12-9-[16]-11-7-3-5-5-1- ; 57
5. Rebecca McElvain/Mercedes McPhee, 5-7-8-2-5-6-[20]-11-11-3- ; 58
6. Emily Haig/Julia Zaleski, 18-20-[32]-7-6-12-14-23-1-7- ; 108
7. Julia Reynolds/Taylor Kirkpatrick, 8-21-16-[29]-21-4-17-3-15-5- ; 110
8. Kerri Luttrell/Sammy Pickell, 3-5-4-9-25-[35]-18-34-4-9- ; 111
9. Sinead McManus/Ariel Casaretto, 11-19-10-11-15-11-7-18-[28]-10- ; 112
10. Tanner Chapko/Megan Lansdale, 21-27-6-13-4-[28]-19-2-13-8- ; 113
Complete Final Standings

Social Media Highlights:

Ready for a great last day of racing and celebrating the USA! #idalewis15 #ussailing

A photo posted by Ellen (@ellencdonnelly) on

78 young women from all over the US – all smiles and ready to race! #idalewis15 #ussailing

A photo posted by Ellen (@ellencdonnelly) on

And, they’re off…..for practice #idalewis15 #ussailing

A photo posted by Ellen (@ellencdonnelly) on

Quotes:

  • Stephanie Houck: “We got off the starting line lean with speed this week. I think we did a good job sailing towards the pressure and we anticipated the shift.”
  • Camille White: “We learned a lot this week from the coaches, especially sail shape, and some useful tips on lake sailing.”
  • Elizabeth Kratzig: “This is really a great venue. Sailing on Lake Murray provided a variety of conditions new to many sailors, like the shifty breeze and fresh water. The middle of the fleet was consistency close during most races.”
  • Matt Lindblad: “These sailors worked really hard this week at improving. They will recognize this effort when they return home to race.”
  • Alana O’Reilly: “Although there were a lot of first-timers here this week, the skill on display was on par with past events.”

Championship Notes:

  • The C. Thomas Clagett Jr. Sportsmanship Prize was awarded to Meredith Morran (Austin, Texas) of Austin Yacht Club and Natalie Hopper (Heath, Texas) of Rush Creek Yacht Club.
  • The Most Improved Prize was awarded to Eloise Burn of Bayhead Yacht Club and Natalie Gagliano from Coral Reef Yacht Club.
  • The U.S. Junior Women’s Championships Committee annually hosts two events: a Singlehanded and a Doublehanded championship. Both championships are open events.
  • The U.S. Junior Women’s Doublehanded Championship started in 1995.
  • Support of the U.S. Junior Women’s Doublehanded Championship as well as the clinics is made possible by funds provided by the late C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. to perpetuate his unwavering dedication to junior women’s sailing. This support is intended to encourage young American women to enhance their sailing ability, with emphasis on sportsmanship, by providing the opportunity to compete in national-level competition with guidance from high-level coaching. Tom Clagett’s family continues to assist in fulfilling his vision.

The 2015 U.S. Junior Women’s Doublehanded Championship was sponsored by Gill North America and Switlik. This US Sailing National Championship is a Sailors for the Sea – Clean Regatta.

Contact: Jake Fish, US Sailing Communications Manager, jakefish@ussailing.org

*Photo credit to Joe Reyes.

About US Sailing
The United States Sailing Association (US Sailing), the national governing body for sailing, provides leadership, integrity, and growth for the sport in the United States. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, US Sailing is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. US Sailing offers training and education programs for instructors and race officials, supports a wide range of sailing organizations and communities, issues offshore rating certificates, and provides administration and oversight of competitive sailing across the country, including National Championships and the US Sailing Team Sperry. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org.

About Gill North America
Gill NA, with headquarters near Atlanta, GA is the exclusive importer and distributor of Gill-brand foul weather gear in North America including Caribbean, US and Canada. Gill is a worldwide apparel and accessories brand serving the marine industry with over three decades of experience. Gill specializes in high tech, breathable waterproof clothing. The company develops and markets a variety of performance-oriented, award-winning apparel and accessories for virtually every type of boating activity with product lines that include foul weather gear; interactive layering systems; footwear; gloves; bags; junior gear; scholastic gear and team wear. Gill products are available through hundreds of independent dealers and select West Marine Stores. For further information, please contact: Gary Barker at 941 505 2111 or gary.barker@gillna.com.

About Switlik
Established in 1920, Switlik Parachute Co. has been owned and operated by the Switlik family for four generations and is known worldwide as a manufacturer of the highest quality sewn and heat sealed inflatable safety and survival products for the aviation, marine, and military/government markets. Our capabilities include a wide variety of anti-exposure and anti-g suits, inflatable life rafts, inflatable life vests, inflation systems and other specialty textile-based military equipment all manufactured at our 85,000 sq. ft facility located in Trenton, NJ USA. www.switlik.com