ITHACA, N.Y. -- Junior
Lucija Ruzevic claimed the Faye Bennett MAISA Women's Singles, Cornell sailing's third straight conference singlehanded title, while classmate
Lauren Ehnot qualified for nationals with her runner-up finish to highlight another big weekend for the Big Red. Cornell also won the Big Red Invite and finished second in the Jack Boehringer '52 Memorial Regatta on the home course.
Ruzevic responded after an 11th place and fifth place finish in the first two races of the weekend to dominate the rest of the way. She won eight of the final 12 races, claimed second place points three times and didn't slip below fourth the rest of the way. The conference runner-up in 2021 grabbed fifth at nationals and will attempt to better that finish this fall. Ehnot missed the 2021 nationals due to illness, but will be back in the field along 16 other of the top singlehanded racers in the country. Her 55 points was 11 clear of Georgetown's Piper Holthus. Freshman
Maya Conway was 16th in her first conference appearance.
In the Big Red Invite, Cornell placed two teams in the top four and raced four squads total. Skipper
Sophia Devling and crew
Sophia Fogarty (races 1-2) and
Isabel Dhar (races 3-8) won the event thanks to its consistency, winning two of the eight races and placing no lower than seventh. JJ Smith skippered and
Sophia Pearce (races 1-2) and Rocco Cappetta (races 3-8) crewed Big Red 1, finishing fourth overall. The boat had six top-five finishes, including one race win.
Racing three division, Cornell took second to Penn in the Boehringer on Cayuga Lake, as its 198 points was 20 behind the Quakers. The Big Red won A divison with its 37 points over its eight race, winning twice with two more runner-up spots with Hayden Earl as skipper and
Gabbi DelBello (races 1-4) and
Sophia Mulvania (races 5-8) finding great success. B division included
Meredith Moran racing with Mulvania (races 1-4) and
Amelia Neumann (races 5-8), and C division was
Bridget Green alongside Neumann (races 1-4) and DelBello (races 5-8). C division claimed one race victory and a third-place finish with five top 10 efforts.
The Big Red will split squad with the MAISA Match Race Championship held at Kings Point and Cornell hosting the MAISA Top 9/Susan Rogers '75 Memorial Regatta on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 24-25.
