Rainbow Sailors Descend On New England For ICSA Nationals

The University of Hawai’i sailing team gears up for the postseason and the ICSA National Championship hosted next week by Harvard and MIT. Both the coed and women’s teams will compete in the fleet racing nationals which runs May 20-27 on the waters of Lake Charles in Boston.
The women’s and coed events follow the same four-day format. The first two days of racing will be the semifinals, with the 36 total participants divided into two 18-team regattas. The top nine teams from each group will then advance to the Finals Round – an 18-boat regatta, which will take place on the last two days of the championship. The women’s championship runs May 20-23 while the coed event is May 24-27. Live streaming of the nationals will be available on ESPN+ starting on May 21.
The women make their return to Boston, site of the program’s momentous national title run in 2001. This is UH’s third straight appearance in the women’s nationals and 21st overall. UH has been a regular at the nationals. In 27 years of existence the Rainbow Wahine sailors have missed nationals just five times, excluding the cancelation of the 2020 event due to COVID.
UH earned a spot in the national semis with a runner-up finish at the PCCSC Championships last month in San Diego. The Rainbow Wahine will be represented in Boston by Mercy Tangredi, Anna Kalabukhova, Vivian Bonsager, Morgan Carew, Martha Schuessler and Peyton Lieser. The Rainbow Wahine look to advance to the finals for the first time since 2012. Last year’s squad placed 14th in the semifinals held in King’s Point, N.Y.
The coed team, meanwhile, received an at-large bid to the nationals for the second time in the last three seasons. UH finished in the top three in five of six fleet races this year, while capturing three regattas – the Stoney Burke Intersectional, the Rainbow Invite and the PCCSC South Designate. Competing for the coed team will be sailors Erik Anderson, Amanda Turner, Everett McAvoy, Sophia Shaeffer, Trey Summers and Stella Taherian.
This will be the program’s 20th overall appearance in the coed fleet racing championship. UH looks to advance to the final 18 for the first time since the field was expanded to 36 teams nearly 15 years ago. The ‘Bows had previously enjoyed a spectacular run from 2002-05 when they finished in the Top 3 four straight years, including a national title in 2004.