Connecticut College Athletic Hall of Fame
Karl Ziegler ’93 competed as a skipper for the Connecticut College sailing team and ended his collegiate career as one of the most successful athletes in program history. He led Conn to three consecutive berths at the Coed National Championships, including a fourth-place result in 1991. He earned All-America honors in 1991 and 1993, as well as All-NEISA recognition three times throughout the course of his career. Ziegler led the team as captain in 1993 and was voted NEISA Sportsman of the Year. He remains an ardent supporter of Connecticut College’s sailing program.
Prior to his graduation, Ziegler attempted to qualify for the 1992 US Olympic Sailing Team in the Flying Dutchman Dinghy, finishing fourth, just short of the qualification’s standard.
In 1993 Ziegler graduated with a bachelor’s degree in government.
Following his graduation, Ziegler has maintained an accomplished career in sailing. As a team racer, he is a three-time winner of the US Team Racing Championships, five-time winner of the British-American Cup team race, three-time winner of the Morgan Trophy, four-time winner of the Hinman Masters and one-time winner of the Wilson Trophy. As a match racer, Ziegler has won the Prince of Wales Bowl (US Match Racing National Championship), and as a one design fleet racer, he won both the National and North American Championships in the V15 class, is a three-time North American Champion in the Sonar Class, and a World Champion in the Sonar Class.
Ziegler has enjoyed giving back to the sport he loves. He served as the head coach of the Yale Sailing Team in 1994-95, and has supported youth sailing as a coach for the Darien High School Sailing Team (2005-10) and the Moses Brown Sailing Team (2012-Present). He has also helped to develop adult team racing programs at both Norton Yacht Club and Vineyard Haven Yacht Club. He works as a director in his family business and is also a partner in Storm Marine Group.
Ziegler lives in Providence, R.I. with his wife, Cecily, and sons, TJ, Logan and Eli.
