The seventh-ranked William Smith College sailing team won the Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association Women's Championship in Norfolk, Va., over the weekend. It was the Herons' fourth MAISA Championship and the 16th overall for the HWS sailing program.
 
With its first place finish, William Smith secured one of nine qualifying spots for the ICSA Women's National Championship hosted in Norfolk. The Herons finished the weekend with 88 points, one ahead of second place Georgetown. The Hoyas, St. Mary's, Navy, George Washington, Pennsylvania, Fordham, Cornell, and Old Dominion also earned a spot in the national championships.
 
Sophomore Kate Cox and senior Sarah Warren represented William Smith in B Division, finishing first with 47 points. They earned top-10 finishes in all 11 races winning three. The conference championship came down to the last leg of the final race on Sunday. The Herons entered race 11B with 80 points while the Hoyas had 88. William Smith needed to finish eighth or better to secure the conference crown. Georgetown jumped to the front of the field while William Smith was in the middle of the pack. The Hoyas won the race moving their total to 89 points. Cox and Warren battled back from their slow start and moved into eighth in the final yards of the race.
 
Junior Bailey Carter, senior Haley Okun and sophomore Anna Flaherty sailed in A Division. They finished second with 41 points. Carter served as skipper while Okun and Flaherty competed as crew. They opened the weekend strong with wins in the first two races and then notched a third victory in the seventh race. Their lowest finish was 10th in the sixth race. Following the regatta, Carter was named to the All-MAISA Women's Skippers first team. This is the third time Carter has received All-MAISA honors. She was first team last season and second team as a first-year.
 
HWS, which was ranked fifth in the latest Gill Sailing World College Rankings, was also in action this past weekend. The Colleges won the Admiral's Cup in Kings Point, N.Y.  HWS compiled 94 points in 10 races on Saturday. Yale was second with 107 points. Sophomores Hector Guzman and Maya Weber won B Division, finishing the weekend with 39 points, 14 ahead of College of Charleston. They started Saturday off with a bang, winning the first three races. Guzman and Weber added a fourth victory in the sixth race to go along with a pair of second place finishes in the eighth and 10th races. Senior Greiner Hobbs and junior Lindsey Kloc were third in A Division with 55 points. They were in the top-10 in all but one race and earned a victory in the fourth.  Racing on Sunday was wiped out due to a lack of wind.

HWS will be back in action next weekend, April 28-29, when it travels to St. Mary's City, Md., for the America Trophy, the MAISA Coed Fleet Race Championship. The Colleges are the defending champions.