Friday, November 22, 2002

KIRKLAND TAKES FOURTH AT SINGLE-HANDED NATIONALS

MEDFORD – The thick cloud cover and muddy waters created a challenge for the sixteen sailors who met last weekend (Nov. 8-10) at Rice University to compete in the 2002-03 ICSA/Vanguard North American Men's Singlehanded Championship. The races ended on November 10, and among the top finishers was Tufts freshman Alexander Kirkland (Warwick, Bermuda/Tabor Academy), who placed fourth with a total of 103 points.

In 16 total races, Kirkland had an impressive performance in several of them. The Tufts freshman clinched first place in the sixth race, second place in the seventh race, and third in the ninth race. In three other races Kirkland maneuvered for fourth place. At the end of the weekend, Kirkland's consistent finishes helped him edge past sophomore Bryan Lake from the University of Hawaii, who finished the competition in fifth place with 106 points.

The Glen S. Foster Trophy was eventually claimed by Georgetown freshman Andrew Campbell, who totaled 51 points and finished first in four different races. In second place with 61 points was junior Clay Bischoff from Harvard, who won seven of the sixteen races. Freshman Vincent Porter, also from Harvard, finished ahead of Kirkland in third place with a total of 76 points.

The level of young talent at the championship was extremely high, with an impressive number of young sailors clinching top positions. Of the sixteen racers who qualified, six were freshmen, including three whom finished in the top four places. Kirkland's exceptional performance as one of these freshmen secures the future for Tufts' continued position as a strong contender in sailing. He had qualified by finishing second at the New England Men's Single-handed Championship behind Bischoff against Coast Guard in late October.

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