SAN FRANCISCO - The University of Hawai`i coed sailing team finished in fourth place at the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate Yacht Racing Association Dinghy Championships hosted by California, April 29-30, in Clipper Cove. USC and Stanford were the top two finishers as both teams qualified for next month's Intercollegiate Sailing Association's Dinghy National Championship.

A 10-team field competed in a total of 18 races, including eight in the A division and 10 in the B division. Hawai`i tallied 143 points to finish behind champion USC (103), second-place Stanford (133) and third-place UC Irvine (137). The fourth-place finish capped a disappointing weekend for the Rainbows. Coupled with UH's fourth-place finish in the team racing championships two days earlier, the Rainbows failed to qualify for the nationals for both events for the first time since 2000. UH, currently ranked 7th by Sailing World, were the top-ranked team in the nation when the preseason poll was released last August.

UH, however, is not totally shutout of this year's nationals. Hawai`i will have a representative at least one of the three events for the ninth straight year, after the Rainbow Wahine placed second at last week's district championship. For the Rainbow Wahine, it was their eighth berth in the last nine seasons.

The ICSA National Championships, which includes the women's, team race and dingy events, will be held in Charleston, S.C., May 24th - June 2. The women will kick off the nationals, May 24-26.

-UH-