MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - The fourth-ranked University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine sailing team sits in fifth place after the first day of the Charleston Women's Spring Invitational at Patriots Point. UH's one-day total of 67 puts them 46 points behind Yale, who has taken a sizeable lead in the 15-team field.

A total of 10 races, six in the A division and four in the B division, were completed after the first day of competition. Winds were 15-20 mph with occasional gusts in the mid-30's. Tinja Anderson-Mitterling and Cassie Harris represented UH in the A division and totaled 38 points. Shandy Buckley and Crystal Bronte sailed in the B division and their 29-point effort puts them in seventh in their division.

The Invitational, which concludes on Sunday, February 12, serves a prelude to the Intercollegiate Sailing Association's (ICSA) national championship events to be held at the J. Stewart Walker Sailing Center May 24th - June 2. The Women's Championship will be held May 24th - 26th, while the Team Race Championship will be held the 28th - 30th. The final event, the Dinghy Championship, will be held the 31st - June 2nd.

Day One Results (A-B-Tot)
1. Yale (14-7-21)
2. Navy (40-10-50)
3. Georgetown (39-23-62)
4. Charleston (26-38-64)
5. Hawai`i (38-29-67)
6. Harvard (35-34-69)
7. Stanford (47-23-70)
8. Eckerd (52-27-79)
9. South Florida (61-27-88)
10. St. Mary's (60-35-95)
11. Wisconsin (64-37-101)
12. Coast Guard Academy (60-43-103)
13. Columbia (41-64-105)
14. ODU (71-37-108)
15. Florida (72-52-124)

-UH-