First national championships appearance for Salve Regina’s sailing team

The women of Salve Regina’s sailing team recently returned from making their first women’s nationals’ appearance in program history at the College Sailing Women’s and Open Fleet Race National Championships. Hosted by the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York, Salve Regina’s female sailors placed 16th in the semi-finals.

Pearl Lattanzi ’23 and Charlotte Martinez ’23 competed in the A Division, while Olivia Lowthian ’25 and Caelan Haddock ’25 sailed in the B Division. Reserves Kate Johnson ’25 and Shannon Gondoly ’25 excelled in supporting the starters and were both ready to jump in the boat at any time if needed.

While the women fell short short of qualifying for the finals, they scored many impressive races and elevated the program to a new level of achievement that hasn’t been seen before at Salve Regina. Thirty-six teams are selected for the women’s national championship, and being included in this group shows the growth and improvement that the team and individual student-athletes have earned this season.

The women from Salve Regina were selected for this event based on its performance in women’s sailing events throughout the entire school year. Salve Regina placed 13th in the women’s New England championship — which is impressive, because the New England Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (NEISA) is the most competitive conference in the country. On April 9-10, the women’s team earned an 8th place finish at the Emily Wick Trophy at Connecticut College.

The women in Salve Regina’s sailing team are also competitive at co-ed events, with Lowthian and Haddock establishing themselves as the third boat in its team racing group, and Lattanzi and Martinez often scoring strong results in co-ed fleet races throughout the season. Johnson and Gondoly are starting crews on the co-ed team, which was only one position short of being selected for the open national championship.

The sailing team is eager to build on this success going into next year, and it has learned many lessons about how to consistently achieve at this level and continue to improve. With many of the student-athletes returning next year, the sailing team is looking forward to another successful season and continued growth of its program.