The UVM sailing team proved its first-ever national ranking was no fluke over the June 2-4 weekend by placing 11th in the Spring National Dinghy Championships in Newport, R.I.

The Catamounts, ranked 7th in the nation by Sailing World magazine heading into college sailing's most prestigious event, were the only club-level team (as opposed to varsity status) aside from Brown University. As they did throughout the season, the Catamounts received strong performances from a number of top flight sailors. Sophomores Clinton Hayes and Coco Solsvig placed second in the A Division behind Brown University, while junior Tyler Baeder and senior Matt Clark combined with junior Chris Bletzer and senior Caitlyn Connolly to place 15th in the B Division.

"Our goal all year was to just get to nationals," said Baeder, who was the B-Division skipper. "UVM had never made it that far before, so once we qualified our expectations became higher. 15th place (in the B Division) was lower than I expected, so our finish was disappointing for us. But we're already excited about next year. We expect to do even better."

Georgetown won the event, which is part of the overall ICSA/Gill National Championships, with 233 points over runner-up Boston College (269). St. Mary's placed third (276), followed by Roger Williams (289 points); Connecticut College (307); MIT (312); College of Charleston (321); Yale (321); Brown (328); Harvard (336) and UVM (346).

CLICK HERE for complete article.