October 5, 2009

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – With freshmen David Alfonso and Adrienne Tran leading A-Division and veterans Jamie Curran and Jillian Reddy steering the ‘B’ group, the host and nationally-ranked No. 17 MIT sailing team finished a remarkable fourth overall out of 26 teams at the Smith Trophy this past weekend. With no wind on Sunday, the 16 rounds between the circuits were all raced in Saturday’s 4-8 knot southeast breeze as abundant rain poured along the Charles River.

The event honors long-time MIT Professor George Warren Smith, who taught Electrical Engineering and volunteered at countless collegiate regattas, while racing Star Boats into his 90’s.

With Alfonso as skipper and Tran in tow, the ‘A’ team placed seventh in its group. The rookie duo finished in the top 10 in six of the circuit’s seven rounds, including fourth- and second-place marks in the third and sixth tilts, respectively.

Curran, the skipper, and crew Reddy finished sixth in the ‘B’ circuit, rallying from a 17th place slot in the opening round. They placed first twice among their six top 10 finishes.

University of Rhode Island won the event with a score of 95. Rounding out the top five were University of Connecticut (115), Roger Williams University (125), MIT (129), and Boston College (143).