BOSTON, Mass.—The William Smith sailing team finished 14th at the Inter-collegiate Sailing Association Women's Western Semifinals. The regatta was hosted by Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology on the Charles River.
 
Thirty-six teams began competition Monday in two 18-team semifinals. The top nine finishers in each semifinal advanced to the championship regatta which starts tomorrow.
 
The Herons sailed in the western semifinal with Boston College, Boston University, Bowdoin, Dartmouth, Florida State, Fordham, Georgetown, Harvard, MIT, Northeastern, Northwestern, St. Mary's (Md.), Tufts, Tulane, Hawaii, Vermont and Yale.
 
Monday was a perfect day for racing on the Charles River with a fairly steady breeze out of the east-southeast. It varied from 4 to 10 knots throughout the day. The teams were able to complete 12 races in each division. On Tuesday teams had to wait for a breeze to start the morning. It eventually settled in from the south-southwest at 4-6 knots. Five additional races in each division were completed.
 
William Smith was 13th in B Division, finishing the weekend with 213 points. Junior Elizabeth Starck competed as the skipper with first-year Ella Donaldson and sophomore Laura Therien competing as crew. Donaldson sailed in races 1-10 and 13-17. Therien competed in races 11-12.  They finished in the top 10 in the first race of the weekend, including a second place to start the week.
 
Senior Heather Kerns and junior Brook Wood served as skippers in A Division with first-years Stella Kim and Maya Mahoney competing as crew. Kerns sailed in races 1-6 and 13-17 with Wood competing in races 7-12. Kim raced in 1-10 and 13-17 with Mahoney sailing in races 11-12. They had three top-10 finishes and had 221 points on the weekend, placing 14th.
 
Yale won the Western Semifinal, compiling 132 points in the two days of racing.
 
Hobart and William Smith will be back in action on the Charles River on Friday, May 24, when they compete in the ICSA Open Fleet Race National Championship.