The William Smith sailing team will be back in action May 15-18 when it heads to St. Petersburg, Florida, for the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association Women's Fleet Race Championships.
 
Thirty-six teams will begin competition on Friday, May 15. 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 Sunday, May 17. The 18 advancing teams will compete for the Gerald C. Miller Trophy awarded to the national champion.
 
The Herons, who are ranked 16th, were placed in the Eastern Semifinal with No. 13 Boston College, No. 9 College of Charleston, No. 24 Columbia, No. 25 Connecticut College, No. 5 Dartmouth, Fordham, No. 4 Harvard, Jacksonville, NC State, No. 17 Old Dominion, No. 12 Roger Williams, No. 21 St. Mary's College (Md.), No. 1 Stanford, Texas A&M, No. 8 Tufts, No. 20 Rhode Island, and Vermont. Stanford is the three-time defending national champion.
 
The Herons earned an at-large bid into this year's championship. William Smith was fourth at this year's MAISA Women's Fleet Race Championship. Sophomores Deana Fedulova and Sabrina Starck competed as skippers while juniors Maya Mahoney and Ella Donaldson and sophomore Olivia Wilkins sailed as crew. They finished first twice and were in the top 10 in all but one race of the conference championship.
 
Last year, the Herons competed in the Eastern Semifinals, finishing 12th. Donaldson, Fedulova, Starck, Mahoney and Wilkins all competed in St. Mary's City last year.
 
Since earning its first bid to the national championship in 1999, the Herons have competed in the women's fleet race championship 24 times. The Herons' top finish at the regatta was third in Norfolk, Virginia, in 2018.
 
Fans can follow all the action through Tech Scoring.