Harvard Continues to Improve at Regattas

Building on last weekend’s victory at the Captain Hurst Bowl Regatta, the Harvard sailing team continued to execute at three regattas over the weekend. The Sherman Hoyt and Oberg Trophies tested the Crimson’s mettle while the Women’s Stu Nelson Trophy was ideal preparation for an upcoming event.

“The weekend went pretty well overall,” junior crew Alexandra Jumper said. “[Nelson trophy] was an important regatta for us to get ready for ACC qualifiers next weekend.”

SHERMAN HOYT TROPHY

The Crimson participated at Brown’s intersectional regatta and fared well against a pool of 18 squads. Although poor winds on Sunday cut the weekend-long event short, Harvard’s strong performance on Saturday placed the group third behind first-place Boston College and Roger Williams. Brown and Dartmouth—dominant on the Charles in the Oberg Trophy—didn’t match that performance in Providence, slipping to sixth and seventh, respectively.

“I think we sailed well in both divisions this weekend,” senior skipper Alan Palmer said. “It was kind of puffy and shifty on Saturday with lots of wind, and I think we were able to sail well in those conditions.”

In the A division, Palmer and senior crew Meghan Wareham cruised to top-10 finishes in all eight races of their set to secure third place. The pair trailed only the Eagles and the Hawks, the winners and runners-up, respectively.

In the B division, co-captain Tedd Himler and sophomore Alma Lafler navigated a six-race set to capture sixth place on the scoreboard. The pair posted three top-four finishes and ended behind the third-place Bears by only 13 points.

“It was a really good regatta to do well at because all of the best teams in New England had all of their best pairs there,” Palmer said. “We haven’t been able to sail against a field like that yet this season. For us to pretty solidly get third this weekend is a good sign as we get ready for the Schell Trophy regatta next weekend, which serves as the qualifier for ACCs, the most important regatta of the fall for us.”

WOMEN’S STU NELSON TROPHY

Down at Connecticut College, an all-female Crimson contingent also performed well at the intersectional regatta. Home field advantage gave the Camels the edge as they left the weekend victorious, but Harvard sailed well in the field of 18 teams, finishing in sixth place.

Junior captain and skipper Emily Lambert and Jumper sailed in the A division and landed five top-10 finishes en route to a fifth place slot on the scoreboard.

Freshman Caitlin Watson and junior Marie Appel landed in 12th place in the B division.

“[Watson] did a nice job in the B division, and Emily and I were fairly happy about how we did in the A division,” Jumper said of the weekend. “But, we know that there are some things we can work on. We need to keep capitalizing on all of the work we have been putting in during practice and all of the regattas on the weekends.”

The regatta also served as good preparation—the team will be returning to the same site on the Connecticut River next weekend for the ACC qualifiers.

OBERG TROPHY

Although much of the buzz on the Charles River this weekend focused on the Head of the Charles, the Crimson hit the water as well at MIT’s weekend-long conference regatta. Over the 30-race event, two Protests resulted in disqualifications for Coast Guard and Salve Regina, while Harvard received a Redress.

Brown, landing at the top of the scoreboard by a margin of 50 points, took home the trophy, and fellow Ivy League squad Dartmouth placed second. MIT performed well on its own turf as well, nabbing third place for the top Greater Boston team finish. The Crimson wrapped up the regatta 12 out of 18 teams.

In the A division, juniors Brendan Kopp and William White, who is also a Crimson news editor, sailed to seven top-five finishes, including a first-place sixth race. The pair amassed 53 points, a performance that beat out the Bears and the Big Green for first place.

But the teams competing in the B and C divisions weren’t as successful. Senior Colin Santangelo and sophomore Sarah McCuskee finished 15th in the B division, and sophomores Nick Waldo and Jinyan Zang sailed to 16th place in the C division.

MIDWEEK TECH INVITATIONAL

Last Tuesday at MIT’s fourth Midweek Tech Regatta, rookie Harvard sailors got a chance to get on the water. Ames Lyman and Diana Powell finished 11th, Luke O’Connor and Sarah Pierson captured 12th, and Ben Lamont and Kathryn Kelly rounded out the group in 13th place.

Junior Grant Wonders and sophomore Chris Lee finished in 22nd place.

—Staff writer Molly E. Kelly can be reached at mkelly@college.harvard.edu.