Sailing Blows Away Competition

Not only was the third time a charm this weekend for the Harvard sailing teams, so were the first and second, as they took home first place finishes in three regattas: the Emily Wick Trophy, the Yale Team Race, and the Jan Friis Trophy Team Race.

The women's team battled treacherous conditions and a competitive field of 16 teams to win the Wick Trophy at MIT. Although strong and gusty winds forced race officials to call the regatta early, Harvard stood at the top of the leader board after 4 races in each of two divisions.

Senior skipper Lauren Toretta and co-captain Alex Beale finished first overall in the A division.

"We really held it together out there, despite the somewhat crazy conditions," Beale said. "It was a good opportunity for us to demonstrate the improvements we made over spring break."

The coed team was victorious at the Yale and Friis Trophy Team Races.

Racing was close in New Haven, and the Crimson shared a first place overall finish with St. Mary's and Dartmouth, who both had ten wins and four losses during the weekend in a round robin match-racing format.

Harvard's triumphant trio of boats were manned by the skipper/crew combinations of senior Jason Carroll and freshman Natalie MacLean, freshman Clay Bischoff and Lema Kikuchi, and junior Jack Donahue with sophomore Mara Stith. Junior Matt Ocwieja also crewed for Carroll.

Extreme conditions prevailed over the weekend.

On Saturday, big waves and absent wind made for a nauseating set of races.

"The conditions were difficult for our team because we're used to sailing in the flat waters of the Charles River." Carroll said. "In, the 'light and lumpy' conditions, a couple of our sailors got a little green around the gills and we had to sub them out for a few races."

"All the crews deserve a lot of credit for fighting through both seasickness

and the cold," added Bischoff.

Sunday began with wind and snow, postponing the races until early afternoon. The sailors braved the snow to complete the second rotation of five races each.

Meanwhile, at Tufts University, other members of the coed team worked to win the Jan Friis Trophy in conditions Tufts coach and race organizer Ken Legler summed up in one word: "Windy!"

"Most of the races were a test of sailing skill without team racing tactics, but there were many close races particularly on Sunday," Legler said.

"Harvard out-sailed all opponents."

The Crimson came away with only a single mark in the loss column, beating nine other teams to take home the Friis. "Our team demonstrated that we have the ability to be the commanding team in New England in a wide range of conditions," senior Chris Perriello said.

Watch for Crimson sailing to continue their upward climb in the national collegiate sailing rankings. The coed team is currently ranking third, behind St. Mary's and USC.