AUSTIN, Texas - The University of Hawaii coed sailing team had its second straight national title within sight but fell victim to an upstart sailing program. The Rainbows finished second to Hobart/William Smith at the ICSA Coed Dinghy Championships at Lake Travis.

UH entered the final day of action in second, down just 11 points with eight races left. Hobart/William Smith, winners of the Team Racing Championships just three days earlier, surged ahead though and finished with a total 197, a comfortable 38 points ahead of the Rainbows (235). Dartmouth finished in third place with a total of 247.

All-Americans Bryan Lake and Jennifer Warnock did all they could to bring the title back to Hawaii, placing first in two of its final four races. The pair tallied a low of 82 points in the "A" division, 19 points ahead of its nearest competition. UH's "B" division team, however, experienced some trouble on the final day. The team of Matt Stine, Cassandra Harris,Shandy Buckley, Scott DeCurtis and Becky Mabardy entered the day a solid fifth place. The "B" team couldn't manage better than a 10th place finish in its final four races and finished with a total of 153 points, 12th-best in its division.

"The wind was blowing was hard," head coach Andy Johnson said. "We pulled within seven points after the first race of the day with Bryan (Lake) and Jen (Warnock) really putting down the hammer. Hobart/William Smith was just phenomenal. I'm really proud of our kids, they hung in there."

Despite falling short of defending its title, the Rainbows continued its success in the coed dinghy nationals with its fourth straight top-three finish. Lake, meanwhile, became just the second skipper in the championships history to win the "A" division three times.

Final Results

Team (A-B-Total)
1. Hobart/ WmSmith (114-83-197)
2. Hawaii (82-153-235)
3. Dartmouth (101-146-247)
4. Georgetown (106-142- 248)
5. USC (102-157-259)
6. Old Dominion (125-141-266)
7. Harvard (136-137-273)
8. Brown (159-127-286)
9. Yale (178-117-295)
10. St. Mary's (155-148-303)
11. South Florida (173-134-307)
12. Charleston (203-150-353)
13. Boston College (225-130-355)
14. Texas A&M Galveston (224-209-433)
15. Washington (207-274-481)
16. Minnesota (241- 265-506)
17. Tulane (253-273-526)
18. Michigan (286-279-565)

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