The William Smith sailing team will be back in action May 20-23 when it heads to St. Mary's City, Maryland, for the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) Women's National Championships.
 
Thirty-six teams will begin competition on Tuesday, May 20, on the St. Mary's River. The field will be split into two 18-team semifinals with the top nine finishers in each semifinal advancing to the championship round, which begins May 22. The 18 advancing teams will compete for the Gerald C. Miller Trophy awarded to the national champion.
 
The Herons, who are ranked 17th, were placed in the Western Semifinal with No. 13 Boston College, Boston University, No. 24 Bowdoin, No. 4 Cornell, No. 12 Dartmouth, No. 25 Fordham, No. 5 Harvard, No. 8 MIT, North Carolina State, No. 16 Old Dominion, No. 20 St. Mary's Md., No. 1 Standford, Hawaii, No. 9 Penn, No. 21 South Florida, Texas and Wisconsin. Stanford is the two-time defending national champion.
 
The Herons earned an at-large bid into this year's championship. William Smith finished seventh at this year's MAISA Women's Championship. Senior Elizabeth Starck and first-year Deana Fedulova competed as skippers and sophomore Ella Donaldson and first-years Sabrina Starck and Olivia Wilkins sailed as crew.
 
Last year, the Herons competed in the Western Semifinal, finishing 14th. Elizabeth Starck and Donaldson competed in B Division last year, finishing 13th.
 
Since earning its first bid to the national championship in 1999, the Herons have competed in the women's fleet race championship 23 times. The Herons' top finish at the regatta was third in Norfolk, Virginia, in 2018.
 
Fans can follow all the action through Tech Scoring and a live video stream.