Sailing World’s Collegiate Conference Rankings, Fall 2015

Sailing World’s College Rankings, presented by Gill and Sailors for the Sea, are determined by an open coaches poll. For more information on the poll, or on how your team’s coach can become a part of it, visit http://bit.ly/9jqgev. This is the sixth and final national ranking for the Fall 2015 season, based on results through December 16th.

Top teams:

Charles Higgins, Assistant Coach at Old Dominion University, provides some insight on the end of the 2015 season:

The Fall semester is done and boats have been packed away for their annual winter hibernation. For some schools, that will last quite a bit longer than others. In the meantime, coaches have had a chance to reflect on the season so far, and weigh in on their thoughts for the best teams in each conference. For teams that haven’t sailed against each other much so far, this round of rankings gives a snapshot of some of the teams we can expect to see at the National Championships this coming May in San Diego, CA.

MAISA
In MAISA, the Georgetown Hoyas continue their dominance on the coed side, having won the conference championship for an astounding 10 consecutive times. In fact, Georgetown coed squad was the top MAISA team at every event but one that they sailed in this fall. The St. Mary’s Seahawks and Old Dominion Monarchs rounded out the top 3. When these teams sailed, their top players they were consistently in or near the top 5 throughout the fall as well.
For the women, the Hoyas hold on to a slim advantage over their George Washington neighbors. Both teams seem to be a good bit ahead of the rest of the conference and both had great results in both the single and double-handed disciplines. The battle will be tight come April when those last qualifying spots are up for grabs.

MCSA
In the Mid-West, Wisconsin had an edge on the rest. Graduation hit Wisconsin hard, but their depth has allowed them to stay at the top of the MCSA. This coming spring, these sailors will have to travel away from the frozen tundra to get some quality experience before the National Championships come around.
The Wisco women are clearly the team to beat in the Midwest as well, and have shown the ability to keep up with some of the top teams in the country. As mentioned in the last edition of the rankings, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to see these ladies make it through the semi-final round this year.

NEISA
NEISA had some familiar names at the top throughout the season and the top of their conference ranking shows that as well. Yale, Boston College, and Coast Guard were all the top 3 teams from NEISA at the Atlantic Coast Championship as well as finishing in the top 5 at the Shell Trophy two weeks prior. The conditions at those two regattas could not have been any more different but the best always rise to the top regardless of the conditions.
On the women’s side, the top 3 teams in the conference are probably the top 3 teams in the country right now. The Lady Rams from Rhode Island had a great fall, and Dartmouth peaked at the right time. The Coast Guard Lady Bears had a tough time at their Fall Conference Championship, as their top boat was competing in coed competition. Winning the Coed ACCs was a pretty good consolation prize though, and they still remain the team to beat, in my opinion.

NWICSA
In the Pacific Northwest, Western Washington continues to show that they are the team to beat in the NWICSA, but like some of the other geographically challenged conferences, competition against the best teams is hard to come by without some significant travel.
The Women’s side of the rankings mirrored the coed side. Western Washington leads the way but it’s difficult to get a true feel for where things stand. Only sailors from Western Washington attended the conference single-handed championship, although the U. of Washington did have some of their ladies faring well at the coed conference championship.

PCCSC
The PCCSC conference is always tough to judge. There is some serious talent in the conference but rarely do we get to see them all at once. Stanford has been the best litmus test for judging some of these teams in recent years, but the Cardinal’s top sailors didn’t compete against the top PCCSC teams very often. UC Santa Barbara and Hawaii have shown they can compete at a high level and both stand solid chances of making it to the National Championship finals.
Stanford is also solidly ahead on the women’s side as well. Their depth is enviable on the women’s side and it will be tough for others to keep up. That being said, the UC Santa Barbara women showed some solid talent this fall and will certainly be looking for a spot in the National Finals as well.

SAISA
SAISA continues to be the College of Charleston’s realm of domination. Like Stanford, they are one of only a few teams that have overcome extensive travel and compete at the highest level. The rest of the conference is starting to show some depth, but I don’t see the Cougars being knocked off their perch anytime soon.
The women’s side is a different story. The South Florida Bulls picked up a transfer during the offseason and their performance has spiked ever since. This is definitely not the same team that finished at the back of the National Championship Finals last spring. They have supplanted the Charleston Cougars at the top and may just hold that for the foreseeable future.

SEISA
Finally in SEISA, Texas A&M Galveston was able to pick up a couple of talented freshmen this year. With their addition they seem to be solidly ahead of Tulane and the others. TAMUG has shown that they will travel a little more in the Spring, and with that warm weather to practice in they may surprise a few come May.
Like the NWICSA conference, the SEISA women simply haven’t competed against the top teams nationally to say where exactly they stand. Even within their own conference there hasn’t been a lot of sailing, but it’s hard to argue against Tulane with their berth at the Women’s Single-handed National Championship.

Full Rankings:

COED

Also receiving votes: King’s Point

Also receiving votes: Washington University, Marquette

Also receiving votes: Tufts, Connecticut College

Also receiving votes: Univ. Victoria

Also receiving votes: Cal. Poly University, UC San Diego, UCLA

Also receiving votes: Univ. Florida, Florida State, Georgia Tech, North Carolina State

Also receiving votes: Univ. Texas, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Rice, Univ. New Orleans

WOMEN’S

Also receiving votes: Virginia, Washington College, SUNY Maritime

Also receiving votes: Michigan State, Ohio Univ.

Also receiving votes: Harvard, Brown, MIT, Northeastern, Roger Williams, Salve Regina

Also receiving votes: Univ. British Columbia, Univ. Oregon, Univ. Victoria

Also receiving votes: Santa Clara

Also receiving votes: Florida State, Florida Atlantic, Univ. Florida

Also receiving votes: North Texas, Univ. Texas, Baylor