Making program history, sophomore Gilda Dondona placed first at the ICSA Women's Singlehanded National Championship on Nov. 9th at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, and brought home the Janet Lutz Trophy.
Dondona finished with 25 points to win over Katharine Doble from Brown (35 points) and Sophia Montgomery from Harvard (37 points). In a lineup stacked with All-American sailors and previous champions defending their titles, Dondona dominated the competition and performed boldly.
The regatta started off at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 8, with ideal wind conditions in the beginning, a steady eight to 13 knots coming in from around west to northwest. Unfortunately, the wind began to ease after the first race start and shifty weather conditions only allowed for two races.
On the second day of racing, the weather conditions did not match the forecast, pulling in southern winds about four to eight knots, with a few spikes up to 12 making for overall unpredictable wind conditions. Two races were dropped, but because of the unstable weather, it allowed for close racing between boats and the races became incredibly tactical.
Despite all the instability on the water, Dondona started with a runner-up finish which led to a clinched win on the second race by one point, scoring above Harvard's 2024 OlympianMontgomery, who was fighting to defend her 2024 win of the trophy.
This regatta gave Cornell redemption from previous years, since many of the same sailors competed in both 2024 and 2025, yet the results were starkly different. This past year, the Red and Harvard competed with the same sailors, yet Cornell fell behind as a runner-up by eight points.
This season, with the same sailors, Dondona competed passionately and turned the tides around, her performance consistently keeping the competition off her trail and securing her win by a significant margin. Adding this win to her resume, Dondona is continuing to prove herself as an elite collegiate sailor, especially with previous successes, such as being a two-time MAISA Faye Bennett Champion and 2024 national runner-up.
This race signaled the end to the fall 2025 sailing season with the historic win of the Janet Lutz Trophy.
