Women Cruise to Victory in Regis Bowl

Refusing to be derailed by either rain or standardized testing, the No. 3 Harvard co-ed and women’s sailing teams took to the waters this weekend with a vengeance, competing in no less that five regattas.

Missing senior captain Christina Dahlman due to the LSAT exam, the women’s team continued its assault on college sailing with a victory in Boston University’s Regis Bowl. Consistency and depth carried the day as the Harvard women placed second in both the A and B-divisions to capture the overall title.

Sophomore skipper Roberta Steele and sophomore crew Christina Cordeiro finished second in the A-division, scoring 42 points to the 38 of Roger Williams University. Sophomore skipper Megan Watson and senior crew Emily Simon replicated their feat in the B-division, also scoring 42 points and finishing second behind Yale.

“We didn’t get a lot of races in because of the weather,” Watson said. “That meant we had to be more consistent. Our crews did a really good job with the tricky wind. When it’s really shifty, they always have to be on their toes adjusting.”

The men’s team fared less successfully in the largest intersectional of the weekend, the Danmark Trophy, hosted by the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

With senior captain Clay Johnson also taking the LSAT Saturday, freshmen skipper Drew Robb and crew Hyunjin Kim ably filled his place, sailing ten races in the B-division Saturday.

Skipper Johnson and crew Kristen Lynch returned Sunday but raced only once as weather led to the cancellation of seven of the day’s eight scheduled races.

Nevertheless, that one race was enough to cement a third-place finish for the Crimson in the B-division.

The uncooperative weather frustrated the ambitions of juniors Kyle Kovacs and Elyse Dolbec. The shortened regatta left the boat in eighth place in the A-division, resulting in an overall eighth-place finish for the Crimson.

“The winds were very inconsistent and fickle,” Johnson said. “You can really see that inconsistency in everyone’s scores.”

In the ongoing Team Race and Metro Series, the Crimson relied on its youngsters to step up and contribute—but were unable to match No. 1 Boston College, victors in both events.

In the third regatta of the Team Racing Series, Harvard finished one loss behind first place BC, compiling a 6-2 record against BC’s 7-1 mark. Sophomores Lauren Brants and Jon Garrity, Kim, senior Cassandra Niemi, freshman Liz Powers, and Robb represented Harvard in the series.

In the Metro Series, BC also dominated the field with 72 points. The Crimson, with freshmen Ali Beyer and Alex Bick, Powers, and Niemi competing, earned sixth place with 196 points.

Competing for the George Warren Smith Trophy at MIT, the Crimson finished thirteenth out of 21 schools. The B-division team of senior Marion Guillaume and sophomore Kerry Anne Bradford finished in the top ten in eight of the day’s fourteen races. Senior Robert McIntosh and sophomore Margaret Wang sailed in the A-division.

Considered the tenth best collegiate team in the world in August, the women’s team jumped to third in the September 19 standings.

The team’s performance at the Regis Bowl, coupled with the No. 2 U.S. Naval Academy’s eighth place finish this weekend, will give the Crimson the opportunity to move up even further in the rankings.

This weekend will also prove critical for both teams, as Johnson, Robb, and Kovac enter the New England Men’s Singlehanded Championship for the opportunity to compete at the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association Singlehanded Championships. Furthermore, the co-ed and women’s teams will compete at the Ivy League Championships at Princeton.

“This weekend was a learning experience for us,” Johnson said. “We’re really getting into the heart of our schedule.”