MEDFORD, MA (April 28, 2026) – The Tufts University Women's Sailing Team earned an at-large berth into the 2026 Intercollegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) Fleet Race National Championship tonight. The ICSA Women's Championship will be hosted by the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg from May 15-18.
The Jumbos are among 36 teams competing at the national championship. Twelve teams received automatic berths after winning or finishing second in their conference fleet race championships. Tufts is one of 24 teams that earned an at-large berth into the national regatta, determined by a selection committee and announced on the College Sailing Instagram page tonight. At-large berths were awarded based upon exemplary performance throughout the entire 2025-26 season.
Fresh off a strong fifth-place finish at the ICSA Women's Team Race Championship on Monday, the Tufts team is ranked as the eighth seed out of the 36 teams that will compete at the Fleet Race Nationals.
The first two days of racing will be the semi-finals, divided into two 18-team regattas. The top nine teams from each group will then advance to the finals round – an 18-boat regatta, which will take place on the last two days of the Championship.
In the Women's Championship, the Jumbos are one of 14 teams from the deep New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association (NEISA) to earn national berths. Tufts placed seventh at the NEISA Fleet Race Championship on April 18-19 in Connecticut.
Last year, Tufts was ninth in the Western Semifinals to advance to the ICSA Fleet Race Finals where they placed 18th. The Jumbos also advanced to the Finals in both 2022 and 2023 and placed 18th both years. Historically, Tufts has won eight Women's National Championships (1984, 1986, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2003).
Starting lineups for the fleet race national championship have not been announced yet. For the NEISA Fleet Race Championship, Tufts had the combinations of sophomore skipper
Sophia Hubbard with junior crew
Eloise Goedkoop and first-year skipper
Maddie Janzen with senior crew
Lilly Ladd on day one, and senior skipper
Ella Hubbard with sophomore crew
Dory Russell as well as sophomore
Kiana Beachy skippering with classmate
Patricia Winssinger as crew on day two.
See the ICSA announcement of Women's Fleet Race Championship selections
HERE.
--JUMBOS--
