Strong Winds Lead to Weekend Struggles

It was a rough weekend in the Northeast’s waters for the Harvard sailors, as the team couldn’t muster better than 11th place in any of its five regattas. Women’s captain Megan Watson finished 12th at the ICSA Women’s Singlehanded Championship at Cornell, and co-ed captain Jon Garrity led the way for the Crimson’s best finish on the weekend at the Hoyt Trophy.

Both the co-ed and women’s squads have one final chance to qualify for the ACC Championship this weekend.

ICSA WOMEN’S SINGLEHANDED CHAMPIONSHIP

Watson spent a three-day weekend up at Cornell, competing in the ICSA Women’s Singlehanded Championship. In her second trip to nationals, Watson came home with 12th place in the 18-sailor field.

“I started out the regatta with good races, and then as I got more tired my size became a factor,” Watson said. “The majority of the girls at the regatta were larger than me.

“When it’s windy, I’m at a disadvantage sizewise.”

Watson had seven top-eight finishes, and ended the weekend on a high note, coming in fourth and second place in the regatta’s final two races.

Boston College’s Annie Haeger was crowned national champion in a dominant performance.

It was, all in all, a successful weekend for Harvard’s doublehanded-minded captain.

“Singlehanded, I was just really excited to qualify for nationals – it’s not my specialty. So just being able to go there and sail against those girls who have been doing it for a while was a great experience,” Watson said. “A lot of the lessons I’ve learned from this weekend I’ll be able to carry into doublehanded sailing.”

SHERMAN HOYT TROPHY

The Crimson sent a co-ed contingent to Providence this weekend to compete in the Sherman Hoyt Trophy, hosted by Brown. The team came away with an 11th-place finish.

Consistency was a problem for Harvard as both boats finished 12th in their division.

“We had some very sporadic races. We either did pretty well or very badly,” sophomore crew Quincy Bock said.

Skipper Garrity helmed the A-division boat, assisted by crews Bock and junior Winston Yan. Sophomore skipper John Stokes and junior crew Michelle Konstadt competed in the B division.

The A boat’s six top-ten finishes were offset by two 17th-place races, while the B boat was unable to recover from a disqualification in the fifth race of the regatta.

Roger Williams emerged victorious, winning the regatta by 39 points.

Harvard has one last chance to qualify for ACC’s at next weekend’s Erwin Schell Trophy, to be sailed in Cambridge.

“[The Schell Trophy] is in FJ’s, which our team sails better in,” Bock said. “I think if we can just eliminate the bas mistakes we’ve made in the last two regattas and just keep the good races, then we should be fine.”

WOMEN’S STU NELSON TROPHY

Heavy winds and light sailors derailed Harvard’s women’s team at the Stu Nelson Trophy, hosted by Connecticut College. The Crimson placed 16th in the 18-team field.

“Our boat was a little overpowered. We’re a pretty small weight combination for the wind we were experiencing,” sophomore crew Grace Charles said. “We don’t get those conditions very often on the river and we just struggled.”

Last weekend’s A-division team of freshman skipper Emily Lambert and sophomore crew Meghan Wareham placed ninth, with six top-ten finishes highlighted by a second-place showing in the regatta’s final race.

The B-division tandem of freshman skipper Annie DeAngelo and crew Charles was 15th. Their best finish was also second place, but three disqualifications proved to be too much to come back from.

Boston College dominated the event, finishing nearly 50 points ahead of its nearest competitor.

The women will also look to claim an ACC berth this coming weekend at the Victorian Coffee Urn, which will also be the final home regatta of Watson’s impressive career.

“Four women’s teams have already qualified, so we just need to be one of the next three,” Watson said. “The Charles River is a very intimidating place for visiting sailors, so I think we definitely have an advantage sailing here every single day.”

OBERG TROPHY

Harvard placed 13th out of 17 teams at the MIT-hosted Oberg Trophy.

Junior skipper Drew Robb, freshman crew Cody Evans, and junior Alex Bick, who served as both skipper and crew throughout the weekend, placed 11th in the A division. Sophomore skipper Matt Donelan and freshman crews William White and Lilla Cosgrove matched that finish in the B division.

CENTRAL SERIES SIX

The Crimson sailed to 12th place in the local-level Central Series Six at Boston College.

Freshman skipper Jerry Tullo and sophomore crew Florence On were seventh in the A division, and a pair of freshmen, skipper Art Bartolozzi and crew Marie Appel, were 14th in the B division.

—Staff writer Kate Leist can be reached at kdleist@fas.harvard.edu.