Patterson leads St. Mary’s to title

NORFOLK, Va. — St. Mary’s College (Md.) junior Adrienne Patterson, a Corona del Mar High product, led St. Mary’s to the Intercollegiate Sailing Assn. (ICSA) women’s national championship at the Old Dominion University Sailing Center on Friday.

Patterson, St. Marys’ A-Division skipper, was also named the 2007 Quantum Female Sailor of the Year, an annual honor given to the female skipper who has compiled the best overall sailing record during the academic year. Patterson, the first Seahawk to win the honor, also received ICSA All-American recognition for the second consecutive year.

On the final day of racing Friday, the Seahawks won the 15th and 16th races, holding off defending champion College of Charleston to capture their second national championship. St. Mary’s also won the title in 1995.

For the win, Patterson and St. Mary’s carry home the George C. Miler Trophy with 132 points -- 62 won by the A-Division team of Patterson and senior crew Melissa Pumphrey, and 70 by the B-Division team of Sara Morgan Watters and Mattie Farrar.

College of Charleston finished second, followed by Stanford in third. UC Irvine placed sixth.

It was an emotional win for Patterson, who completed in high school with the Newport Harbor Yacht Club before graduating from Corona del Mar in 2004.

Her mother, Melanie, passed away in December.

“Every regatta since my mom passed away, I’ve been under control, able to look at the bigger picture and control my emotions,” said Patterson in a press release. “It’s kind of a new thing for me -- to be a little kinder to myself, while still pushing. So [coming into this championship] my attitude was different, I was not nervous, I was confident in my crew and comfortable in the conditions.”

— From staff reports