Harvard, 'Cliffe Sailing Teams Chase National Championships

The Harvard-Radcliffe sailing team is looking for a clean sweep of the national championships this month, as the team will have representatives at both the Women's National Championships and the Men's North American Championships.

Kathy Angell, Marie Roehm along with crews Pam Mack, Sarah Herrick and Anne Johnson, will travel out to Newport Harbor, Calif., June 6-8, to seek a fifth title for Radcliffe in the last seven years. Coach Mike Horn will then return shortly after and take Terry Neff, Chris Middendorf and crews Edgar Pulitzer, Clem Wood, David Tew and Steve Saudek to the Men's North American Championships in Winthrop beginning June 10.

Radcliffe placed second in the nationals last year, with Angell co-skippering in the B division and winning three of her four races. This year she will sail A Division in 15 races, while Roehm takes on the B division competition. The event will be sailed in Lido 14s, a West Coast boat that neither skipper is familiar with.

Horn feels that Princeton, whose squad is made up mostly of West Coast sailors, will have a slight advantage in the event as will the University of California at Irvine. MIT, last year's champs by four points, and the University of Washington could also provide a challenge to Radcliffe.

Over the regular season, Radcliffe took first in six of seven major events, including the last four in a row. The team finished second in the President's Trophy regatta at Boston University.

Impressive Season

Harvard had an equally impressive season, winning five major trophy regattas including the Atlantic Coast Championship and the Greater Boston title. Overall, the squad had one of the most consistent records of any Harvard team in a long time, taking either first, second or third in most events.

The Crimson has been ranked fourth in the North Americans behind Tulane, San Diego and Irvine and just ahead of New England champion Coast Guard. Tulane won the event last year, while Harvard did not qualify.

Neff and Middendorf will each be sailing eight races in Harvard's Interclub dinghies and eight races in the relatively unfamiliar Larks donated by MIT and BU.