MEDFORD, MA (May 1, 2026) – Six members of the Tufts University sailing team were recognized when the New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association (NEISA) announced its 2025-26 Awards on Thursday.
Senior crew
Lilly Ladd, junior crew
Eloise Goedkoop and first-year skipper
Maddie Janzen from the Tufts women's team, and sophomore crew
Kate Castleberry for the Jumbo coed team were all selected to the All-NEISA second team.
In the annual awards categories, senior
Ben Mueller received the NEISA Sportsperson of the Year Award for the second straight year. Janzen and coed freshman
Pearse Dowd were also recognized as finalists for the NEISA Women's and Open Rookie of the Year honor, respectively.
Janzen, Ladd and Goedkoop were starters for the women's team which made huge strides this year. During the fall fleet racing schedule, they had a handful of top-five finishes including a fifth at the New England Fall Championship. That was the Tufts women's best New England championship finish since 2013. This spring, the All-NEISA trio helped the team cap another much-improved season by placing third at the New England Team Race Championship, and then fifth at the Intercollegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) Team Race Nationals. That was Tufts' best national finish in any event since 2010. The Jumbos were also seventh at the NEISA Fleet Race Championship this spring, and earned a berth into the ICSA Fleet Race Nationals coming up May 15-18 in Florida.
Castleberry and Dowd start for a Jumbo coed team that had their best finish at the Fall New England Fleet Race in five years with their seventh-place score. This spring, they helped the Jumbos to a regular-season victory at the KP Open Team Race, as well as a seventh-place finish for the New England Team Race, and eighth at the Open New England Fleet Race. Twelfth at the ICSA Team Race Nationals, Tufts earned an ICSA Fleet Race Nationals berth as well and will compete in Florida May 19-22.
The All-NEISA recognition is the first for each Jumbo.
Mueller is the recipient of the Sportsperson of the Year honor for the second straight year. He is the first sailor to win the honor two years in a row since Coast Guard's Nikole Barnes did so in 2016 and 2017. The award is given to the individual who best exemplifies excellence in performance, sportsmanship, and contribution to the sport. Mueller is a four-year starter at Tufts who is wrapping up his stellar career with the coed team this spring. An excellent student as a History major, Mueller's passion for the sport has also come through over several years as a sailing instructor. He is also a member of ATO of Massachusetts, an independent, co-ed fraternity known for its community involvement and focus on scholarship, equality, and friendship.
See the NEISA 2025-26 Awards press release
HERE.
--JUMBOS—
