The Hobart and William Smith sailing team returns to St. Petersburg, Florida, on Tuesday, May 19, for the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association Open Fleet Race Nationals.
 
Thirty-six teams will begin competition on the St. Mary's River in two, 18-team semifinals. The top nine finishers in each semifinal advance to the championship round, which begins May 21. The 18 advancing teams will compete for the Henry A. Morss Memorial Trophy awarded to the national champion.
 
HWS was seeded 20th and was placed in the Eastern Semifinal. They will take on No. 9 Boston College, No. 21 Connecticut College, No. 25 Cornell, No. 12 Dartmouth, Eckerd, No. 24 George Washington, No. 1 Harvard, MIT, Northeastern, No. 4 Roger Williams, No. 13 St. Mary's College of Maryland, Texas A&M, No. 8 Tulane, No. 5 Navy, UC Santa Barbara, No. 17 Miami and Michigan.
 
HWS earned an at-large bid into this year's championship after placing fifth at the America Trophy, the MAISA Fleet Race Championship. Senior Juan Carlos LaCerda Jones and junior JJ Klempen competed as skippers and seniors Cooper Delbridge, juniors Stella Kim and Elijah Goldman and first-year Jamie McGuffe sailed as crew.
 
Last year, HWS finished 17th at the fleet race championships in St. Mary's City, Maryland. LaCerda Jones, James Kopack and Klempen served as skippers and Frances Depke '25, Kim and Rachel Duggan '25 served as crew.
 
This is HWS' 25th appearance at the Open Fleet Race Nationals. HWS has finished on the podium five times, winning the national championship in 2005.