The No. 5 St. Mary’s College of Maryland coed sailing team emerged victorious at the 2023 Aaron Szambecki Team Race on Saturday, March 25. The team posted an impressive 11-3 record and won the tiebreaker over No. 7 Georgetown University to claim the team trophy.
Hosted by Old Dominion University, the Aaron Szambecki Team Race memorializes Aaron Szambecki, a 1996 ODU team captain and avid team racer. The event also raises awareness for suicide prevention, as Szambecki took his life shortly after his college sailing career ended. Suicide is preventable with awareness, and all campuses have resources available to help students in need. Websites such as www.suicideispreventable.org, www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org, and www.afsp.org provide important information and support.
Due to favorable weather conditions, the two-day regatta was condensed into a one-day event, with 68 races completed on Saturday. St. Mary’s College began the competition with a 6-3 record in the opening round-robin, winning four straight victories over No. 11 Roger Williams University, No. 20 Tufts University, No. 13 Tulane University, and Old Dominion after losing three of their first five matchups.
The Seahawks dominated the Top 6 flight, winning all five races with victories over Georgetown, Roger Williams, Tulane, Fordham University, and Tufts. St. Mary’s achieved near-perfect first-, second-, and fourth-place finishes versus Fordham and Tufts to end the Top 6 competition.
A sail-off was required to determine the winner of the 2023 Aaron Szambecki Team Race, with St. Mary’s and Georgetown both finishing with 11-3 records. The Seahawks emerged victorious in the sail-off, claiming first-, second-, and fifth-place finishes.
The three teams that raced in the sail-off for St. Mary’s College were Leo Boucher and Ellie Sekowski, Felix Cutler and Madison Bashaw, and Owen Hennessey and Sam Muir. The skipper duties were handled by Boucher, Hennessey, Charlie Anderson, and Cutler, while the crew roles were split between Sekowski, Katherine Shermock, and Anna Flynn.
The St. Mary’s College of Maryland sailing team will compete in the Superstar Team Race (scrimmage) on April 1-2 in St. Mary’s City, Maryland, and the Prosser Trophy on April 8-9 in Kings Point, New York.