Sailing Women, Co-Eds Struggle in Weekend Races

Coming off its first weekend of competition, the Harvard sailing team was eager to get back out on the water and improve on its first week’s performance. But despite its intentions, the Crimson once again finished mid-pack at its four regattas this weekend.

“We were a little disappointed with our results as a team this weekend,” captain Liz Powers said. “We will look to rebound our next time out on the water.”

The women’s squad once again brought home the best result, placing seventh at the Mrs. Hurst Bowl at Dartmouth College.

Meanwhile, the Harvard co-ed lineup found a bit more trouble in its efforts at the Nevins Trophy regatta at the US Merchant Marine Academy and the Hatch Brown Trophy regatta hosted by MIT and Boston University, finishing 12th and 18th, respectively.

A small Crimson co-ed contingent also competed at the Central Series Two regatta hosted by Boston College and UMASS Boston, finishing 14th as a team.

MRS. HURST BOWL

The women’s team found some unusual difficulty in the waters of Hanover, N.H. over the weekend. Having won the event two out of the past three years, the squad placed seventh out of a field of 17 teams at the Mrs. Hurst Bowl.

The B-division duo of skipper Powers and sophomore crew Marie Appel led Harvard’s efforts on Mascoma Lake. The pair placed second overall in its division’s 10 races, finishing in the top three in four of those 10 contests.

“There was a strong but shifty breeze out on the lake this weekend,” Powers said. “Marie and I were able to adapt to the conditions and will only get better as we continue to get used to sailing together.”

While the A-division pair of sophomore skipper Emily Lambert and second-year crew Alex Jumper managed the Crimson’s lone race victory, the duo placed 11th overall in its division. Lambert and Jumper placed in the top three in three of their 10 races, including the aforementioned victory in the eighth race of the weekend, but finished in the bottom half of the field in their other seven contests.

NEVINS TROPHY

Harvard’s top co-ed sailors made their way to Kings Point, N.Y. over the weekend, where the group placed 12th as a team in a field of 20 at the Nevins Trophy regatta.

Three divisions of racing were contested at the two-day affair, and the B-division pair of junior skipper Tedd Himler and senior crew Michelle Konstadt faired the best, finishing seventh with top-10 finishes in all 13 of its races.

“We were really trying to work on two things this weekend—our starting and our consistency,” Himler said. “We were able to start well and parlay that into some good finishes, and our consistency was great this weekend with all of our top ten finishes.”

The A-division pair of skipper and junior captain Alan Palmer and fellow third-year crew Grace Charles were victorious in the sixth race of the weekend, but the duo only managed an 11th-place effort overall in its division.

A C-division of racing was also contested in the New York waters over the weekend. Filling the single-handed role requisite of sailing lasers in this division of racing, rookie Jason Michas placed 15th, managing one finish in the top half of the field over the two days of competition.

“I think Jason learned a lot this weekend, competing in his first intersectional collegiate regatta,” Himler said. “He is also a member of the squash team and has really committed himself to being able to excel at both sports.”

HATCH BROWN TROPHY

While the co-ed squad’s more experienced sailors made their way south and found rather mediocre success, the team’s younger and less experienced members did not have to travel far to find similar results.

Competing at the Hatch Brown Trophy regatta on the waters of the Charles, the young group of co-ed sailors placed 18th out of a field of 18 teams.

The A-division duo of sophomore skipper Brendan Kopp and sophomore crew William White placed 13th overall in their 18 races on the weekend. The B-division pair—consisting of junior Colin Santangelo at skipper and freshman Sarah McCuskee at crew—did not have as strong a day, as it finished last in its division of racing, despite a runner-up finish in the 12th race of the two-day competition.

Freshman Ryan Byrne competed in the C-division for the Crimson, matching his B-division counterparts efforts with an 18th place finish.

CENTRAL SERIES TWO

A co-ed contingent of Crimson sailors also competed at the Central Series Two regatta hosted by Boston College and UMASS Boston over the weekend. This group also found limited success, placing 14th out of 15 teams at the event.

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