Brown’s open sailing team charts course to national championship victory

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] - Brown University's open (also known as co-ed) sailing team captured the 2026 College Sailing Open Fleet Race National Championship, capping a standout season with a dominant performance in St. Petersburg, Florida.

After winning the Western Semifinal by 33 points over defending national champion Stanford University, the Bears advanced to the finals and sailed into the top spot on Friday, May 22. The victory marks the program's first win at the event since 1948.

"We certainly had the team that could do it," Head Coach John Mollicone said. "We went into the end kind of knowing, 'All right, this is ours.' They stayed calm, cool and collected, and they got the job done."

The team spent significant time training in Florida and preparing for the many factors that can influence sailing conditions, from heat and humidity to wind and current strength. Mollicone credited their success not only to talent on the water, but the many support systems available to Brown's student-athletes.

"The resources that our team has here at Brown have helped them tremendously," he said, nodding to Athletics and Recreation staff like Strength and Conditioning Coach Mike Pimentel. "It helped our [athletes] be focused and in really good shape, physically and mentally."