Weekend Highlighted by National Qualifiers

It seems rather fitting that the onset of spring weather this past weekend in Cambridge marked the Harvard sailing team’s busiest weekend of competition, with five regattas over the two days. While the sunny skies and fair conditions were surely enjoyed by the majority of Harvard students on campus, the Crimson sailors seemed to respond especially well to the blue skies and improved climate. After enduring a few recent weeks of struggles, both the Harvard women and the co-ed squad performed beautifully in the fair conditions.

The Crimson women took home runner-up honors at the New England Women’s Championship, a mere three points back of their Ancient Eights rivals from New Haven. The co-ed squad split its top performers on the weekend between the Morris Trophy and the Thompson Trophy and brought home first- and second-place finishes, respectively.

Harvard also had competitors stay close to home and register a sixth-place effort at the Central Series Five regatta and a 12th-place finish at the Wellesley Invitational.

“There were a lot of good regattas taking place this weekend,” sophomore skipper John Stokes said. “The talent was spread around throughout our conference, and we dealt with the conditions well.”

NEW ENGLAND WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP

The Crimson women finished second over the weekend at the New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association Women’s Championship in Burlington, Vt., an event co-hosted by the University of Vermont and Dartmouth.

Harvard registered third-place finishes in both the A and B divisions, finishing just three points back of Yale for the overall team trophy. The runner-up placing ensured that the Crimson will be making the cross-country trip to San Francisco for the ICSA Women’s National Championship May 25-27.

“Our main focus was to qualify for nationals and then to concentrate on finishing in the top two, and we were able to do both,” rookie skipper Emily Lambert said.

Senior skipper Megan Watson teamed up with junior crew Liz Powers for five of the eleven races in the A-division, while sophomore crew Meghan Wareham worked the other six contests in the division. The boat finished in the top five of the 15-team field in five of the 11 contests over the two days of competition.

Lambert skippered the B-division boat, with freshman Lilla Cosgrove and senior Lauren Brants splitting time at crew. They registered one victory and two second-place efforts on the weekend.

“This weekend went really well for us,” Lambert said. “We will focus on practicing in heavy winds over the next couple of weeks, because San Francisco is supposed to have some tough conditions and we don’t get heavy winds very often on the Charles.”

MORRIS TROPHY

The Harvard co-ed squad sent a contingent to the Morris Trophy, hosted by Boston University, and earned the team victory. While the weather might have been pleasant, the conditions were nonetheless tricky, as the wind had a significant effect on the two days of competition.

“There were some crazy wind shifts,” Stokes said. “It was nice to be more familiar than the other fleets on how to deal with the conditions on our home river.”

Stokes teamed up with junior crew Michelle Konstadt in the B-division to lead the Crimson’s efforts. The pair won its opening race of the weekend, and was also victorious in its final three competitions on Sunday. The duo’s late charge allowed it to take over Boston College and bring home the division title.

In the A division, the tandem of sophomore skipper Teddy Himler and freshman crew Annie DeAngelo earned a fourth-place finish. They also opened racing on Saturday with a win, and remained consistent throughout the two days and 12 races of the weekend, finishing outside the top five on only three occasions.

The solid team performance provided some great practice for next weekend’s ICSA National Semifinals, co-hosted by Harvard and MIT.

“We were able to avoid most of the weird stuff that happens out there on the river this past weekend,” Stokes said. “We will practice hard this upcoming week, and hope to finish in the top half of next weekend’s regatta and earn a trip to Nationals.”

THOMPSON TROPHY

The other half of the Crimson’s co-ed squad traveled to New London, Conn. over the weekend for the Thompson Trophy, hosted by the US Coast Guard Academy, where it earned a second-place team finish overall. The B-division boat also found success in this competition for Harvard, as the pair of senior skipper Jon Garrity and sophomore crew Grace Charles won the division by 20 points over Boston College. The duo finished among the top half of the 18-team field in all but one of their 18 races on the weekend, earning five victories along the way.

Sophomore co-ed captain Alan Palmer skippered the A-division boat, while fellow second-year Quincy Bock crewed. The pair registered a seventh-place team finish in the division, with six top-three finishes out of 18 races over the two-day affair.

CENTRAL SERIES FIVE

The Crimson also finished sixth overall in the Central Series Five regatta, hosted by MIT on the Charles River on Saturday. Sophomore skipper Colin Santangelo teamed up with freshman crew Ruth Engle to take home runner-up honors in the B division of the competition, earning four victories out of their 11 contests.

WELLESLEY INVITATIONAL

Harvard also competed at the Wellesley Invitational on the Charles River on Sunday. The MIT-hosted event saw the Crimson place 12th in the 16-team field.

—Staff writer Thomas D. Hutchison can be reached at tdhutch@fas.harvard.edu.