The varsity sailing team will have a chance to compete for a title this season, qualifying for fleet nationals with a third-place finish at last weekend’s event.

The event, held May 22-23 in New Bedford, MA, featured eight schools competing for the three available spots at Nationals. The Bearcats finished third with 114 points, trailing Tabor and St. George’s, who will also qualified.

Hotchkiss entered one boat in each of the two divisions, which each sailed a total of nine races. The total team score is found by adding the finishing place of each boat in each race, with the lowest overall score winning the event.

The Bearcats produced a remarkably consistent effort. Oliver Hurwitz ’21 and Nicole Morikawa ’21 tallied 54 points in the A division, and Chapman Petersen ’22 and Kate Moran ’23 scored 60 points in the B division.

Jeb Bechtel ’22 and Aurora Smedvig ’22 also traveled to the event as alternates.

With the result, Hotchkiss has earned a spot in the upcoming ISSA Mallory Doublehanded National Championship, which will be held on June 5-6 in Cleveland, OH.