Sailing team takes second in Tyrell Trophy regatta

Author: Ted Silberman

After years of work, the Middlebury College Sailing club is charting a course for success. On April 5, skippers Max Junda '09 and Sam Wyer '12, with the help of crews Ashley Bell '09 and Sasha Garfield '09.5, took second place in the Tyrell Trophy at Boston University. This recent accomplishment is the pinnacle of what promises to be yet another highly competitive non-varsity athletic program at Middlebury.

Fostered by the guidance of the senior members, the drive and enthusiasm of the underclassmen is taking this sport to new heights. According to Vice Commodore Ben Brown '11, the team's impressive showing in Boston was "hands down, our best performance ever. Sam [Wyer] had the regatta of his life and the results reflected that."

Though not a powerhouse - yet - the Middlebury club is the top ranked uncoached team in the New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association (NEISA). They are currently ranked 23rd in the total field of 38 teams, which includes such fierce rivals as Boston College, UVM and Dartmouth.

The team's dramatic improvement in performance is built on the commitment that the team's veteran members have had to growing the club and improving its fleet. After dying out in the 1960s, the club reemerged in 1996, but it was not until nearly a decade later when Chandler Koglmeier '09 and Adam Volwiler '09 came on the scene that the club really took off.

"Chandler and Adam really started the movement of this club to grow and transform," said Commodore Katie Donovan '10. "They laid the groundwork that got us to this point and now we're focused on making it sustainable."

The two seniors brought Donovan on as the fundraising chair and treasurer and have every reason to be pleased with the results. Last year, the team raised $93,600 from alumni, family, faculty and staff to buy a fleet of 12 new Flying Juniors and build floating docks for Lake Dunmore. The new equipment is a spectacular improvement on the old fleet, which looked like Judge Smails' Flying Wasp after Al Czervik and his crew were done with it.

"Our old fleet was just six run down boats, so we couldn't practice competitively. Our new FJs have taken our team to a new level," said Donovan. "What we've done here is really respected in the New England sailing community. It's been really exciting to be a part of it."

The club's development has been noticed outside Middlebury and has been met with enthusiastic encouragement. "Next year, we will host our first event, the Middlebury Cup," said Brown. "It's a really exciting step and we're glad to see NEISA reward our growth by giving us this opportunity."

The sailing team's new prominence has caught the eye of current and prospective students alike. "As people have seen how serious our club has become, we've been able to bring in sailors who didn't sail with us last year. Success has drawn people to our club and prospective students, who would have never considered Middlebury before, are more likely to come now that we have a competitive team," said Donovan.

Indeed, rumor has it that the second- ranked female skipper in the country is considering coming to Middlebury next fall. She would make a fine addition to the young talent led by Wyer and Bianca Dragone '12, who, according to Donovan, "have been pushing to get the boats in the water since before the ice melted on the lake."

The same crew that excelled in the Tyrell Trophy will head back down to Boston for the George E. Morris Trophy this coming weekend. Here's hoping they leave the competition in their wake.