ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Sophomore Valerio Palamara, in his first event as a Hampton Pirate, took third place this weekend in the Laser South singlehanded qualifier at the U.S. Naval Academy. 

With his finish he earns a spot in the Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association (MAISA) conference singlehanded championships in early October.  The top nine finishers qualified from this regatta for the MAISA on Oct. 2-3.

After a slow start yesterday, Palamara took top five finishes in four of the five races.  He made his charge up the leader board with top four finishes in seven of the last eight races to total 61 points. 

Teammate Can Dilikoglu missed out on qualifying as he took an 11^th place finish with 149 points.

Hampton is back in action next weekend at the Kingsmill Invitational in Williamsburg.