MEDFORD, MA (June 1, 2026) – The Intercollegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) announced its national awards for the 2025-26 season today, and three members of the Tufts University sailing team have been honored.
First-year skipper
Maddie Janzen and senior crew
Lilly Ladd of the Tufts women's team earned ICSA All-America Honorable Mention recognition. Senior
Ben Mueller of the Jumbo coed team was selected as the Robert H. Hobbs Sportsmanship Award recipient.
Janzen and Ladd are two of only seven Tufts sailors to make an All-America team of any kind in the last decade, joining Mueller (HM Open Skipper in 2025), Ann Sheridan (HM Crew 2022), Talia Toland (HM Women's Skipper 2020), Mary Claire Kiernan (HM Women's Skipper 2017) and Ian Morgan '19 (HM Crew 2017).
Additionally, amongst the 73 total All-America honorees this year, Janzen and Ladd represent two of the six recipients from Division III programs including three from Roger Williams and one from Bowdoin. Finally, Janzen is one of only two first-years in the nation to be honored as a women's skipper this year and one of only four first-years amongst all honorees.
At the ICSA Women's Fleet Race National Championship in St. Petersburg, Florida May 15-18, Janzen and Ladd finished third in B division. They had placed sixth in A at the Eastern Semifinals to help the team earn a berth into the finals, where Tufts was 11th. At the ICSA Women's Team Race Nationals in New Orleans April 26-27, Janzen and Ladd paired together to help the Jumbos earn a fifth-place finish that was the women's team's best performance at any national event since 2010.
"I'm immensely proud of Maddie and Lilly for earning this distinction," Tufts head coach
Johnny Norfleet said. "It represents the sustained success they achieved all year as a partnership, which culminated in their personal best finish at the national championship, and as a key part of what was a groundbreaking year of achievements for the Tufts Women's Sailing team as a whole. That said, I think it's important to note that while these are individual honors, it's only possible to achieve the level of success necessary to merit All-America consideration with the support both in practice and in competition of our entire Tufts Sailing program, including both our women and coed rosters."
Mueller wins the Robert H. Hobbs Sportsmanship Award after earning the New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association Sportsperson of the Year Award in back-to-back years (2025 and 2026). The national trophy honors Robert Hobbs (MIT '64), past Executive Vice President of the ICSA, past President of U.S. Sailing (1992-1994), and former chair of the U.S. Sailing Olympic Committee. It is presented each year to the sailor who best exemplifies the Corinthian ideals of sailing. This sailor has made contributions to College Sailing through his/her efforts, by competing, promotion of the sport, fostering sportsmanship among teams, maintaining quality of competition, and contributing to the overall performance of College Sailing.
"Ben has been a four-year starter for Tufts and has played consistently at the highest level of national competition," Coach Norfleet said. "This award represents four years of consistent character from Ben and shows that he has earned the trust and respect of his teammates, competitors, and even opposing coaches while simultaneously succeeding at the highest levels of competition."
Mueller was selected for the honor from among a field of nation finalists which included Jedidiah Bechtel of George Washington University, Kaitlyn Hamilton of Brown University, Vanessa Lahrkamp from Stanford University and Kevin Gosselin of North Carolina State University. He is one of three Tufts recipients of this award since its inception, alongside Josh Adams in 1994 and Sam Madden in 2014.
Read more about the ICSA National Awards on their Instagram page
HERE.
--JUMBOS--
