Young Harvard Shocks the Field

Despite its youth, the Harvard sailing team found success this season—and the co-ed squad saved the best for last.

The Crimson’s mixed team, led by seniors Kyle Kovacs and Elyse Dolbec, earned berths to two national regattas.

After a seventh-place finish at the ICSA Dinghy National Semifinals at the end of April, Harvard came back the next weekend and issued a dominant team racing performance to take a surprising third at the New England Team Race Championship.

“It was certainly the most pleasantly surprising happening of the whole spring,” Kovacs said. “We didn’t have any pressure going into the event, and other teams certainly collapsed under the pressure.”

The co-ed squad competed in the Team Racing National Regatta from May 30 to June 1, and the Dinghy Championship on June 2-4.

The two national bids capped a season that was by all means successful for the Crimson co-ed team. The squad finished the regular season ranked No. 9 in the nation.

Harvard boasted a particularly young team, with just six juniors and seniors, that improved over time.

“We struggled a little bit early in the spring and really just hit our stride the last month or so,” Kovacs said. “Our freshmen made a lot of big strides this semester.”

On the women’s side, it was a season that saw plenty of victories but ultimately ended in disappointment.

The Crimson endured a tough second day of the Women’s New England Championship, looking up at five national qualifiers from seventh place.

“We’re very disappointed and very bummed,” junior captain Megan Watson said after the regatta. “Not qualifying came as a shock, because our team has a great tradition of qualifying. The goal isn’t just to qualify, it’s to get to nationals and do well.”

The team ended the season ranked No. 12 nationally.

Led by the A-division pair of skipper Watson and freshman crew Meghan Wareham, the Harvard women recorded five top-five team finishes on the year, and like the co-ed squad, the team’s youth offers great promise for the future.

In the fall season, the Crimson recorded five team victories to set the pace for its successful spring.

The co-ed team finished seventh in November’s ACC Championship, while the women placed ninth.

The highlight of the fall came from individual efforts, as Kovacs and Watson each qualified for the Singlehanded National Championships. Kovacs recorded his second consecutive fourth-place finish, and Watson was ninth on the women’s side.

Kovacs was the winner of the New England Singlehanded Championship, while his young teammates, freshman Teddy Himler and sophomore Drew Robb, finished sixth and seventh, respectively.

Junior Roberta Steele joined Watson at the Women’s New England Singlehanded Championship in September, finishing 11th to Watson’s third.

At season’s end, Kovacs, Dolbec, Watson, and Wareham were all honored as part of the All-New England team. Kovacs was also the recipient of the Senior Award, and was named the NEISA Sailor of the Year.

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