Perdomo Makes Nationals in Strong Weekend for Sailing

In just its third week of competition, the Harvard sailing team proved its mettle by finishing in the top-five in all three of its regattas this weekend. The greatest standout came from done by freshmen Juan Perdomo, who has guaranteed himself a spot at Nationals in November.

31st HOOD TROPHY

The Crimson finished the weekend strong on Mystic Lake in Medford, Mass., where it took home second place overall.

Despite the unfavorable wind conditions on the enclosed water, Harvard was able to finish with 97 points. Tufts, the host of the event, took first with an impressive 45 points.

“It ended up being a pretty good weekend for us despite the conditions,” said sophomore crew Jacob Bradt. “It was a tough event because of both the conditions and venue, as well as the boats—lark regattas are unique fleets.”

Teamed with junior skipper Brian Drumm, the duo’s performance looked barely affected. They finished in the top seven for every rotation except one in the A division. Additionally, they had a resounding first place finish in the regatta’s finale.

“We were able to be consistent, which was important,” he said. “We only had one outlier in our scores.”

Junior Gram Slattery and freshman Emma Wheeler were able to take second in the B division.

“We did a really good job working together,” she said. “Figuring out where the shifts were on the water and choosing the path accordingly.”

REGIS BOWL

The women used their home waters to their advantage this weekend as they finished in fifth place for this in-conference regatta on the Charles. Boston University, the hosts of the competition, finished in second, behind Yale and just ahead of Bowdoin.

The lack of wind on both mornings delayed racing and sailors were using FJs in this regatta.

Senior Caitlin Watson took to the water with two freshmen, Julia Lord and Olivia Kjorlien, finishing eighth in the A division. Junior Ashleigh Inglis and sophomore Sophie Bermudez finished fourth in the B division.

“The women… had a great performance up in Boston,” Bradt said. “In general, on all fronts, it was a great weekend.”

NEISA MEN’S SINGLEHANDED CHAMPIONSHIP

It was an exciting two days for two Harvard male sailors who competed in the New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association Championship for singlehanded lasers. The Crimson sent sophomore Marek Zeleski and rookie standout Perdomo to Yale, which was hosting the event.

In only his second collegiate regatta, Perdomo finished in third place, thereby qualifying for nationals, which will be held in November. The freshman is the first to qualify for nationals since Kyle Kovacks ’08 did so during his senior fall season in 2007.

Yale Freshmen Ian Barrows and Joseph Kiss, University of Vermont Junior Michael Zonnenberg, and sophomore Avery Fanning of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy finished on either side of Perdomo and also qualified for Nationals.

Zeleski, despite matching Fanning at 78 points, lost in the tiebreaker and did not make the cut to join his teammate. Last year he placed in 10th in this regatta.

Perdomo finished three rotations in second place and the final round in first. Zeleski also racked in a first place finish in his fifth rotation.

Despite the results, Perdomo believes he could have done better.

“The conditions were not the strongest and we would have liked to finished stronger,” he said. “The wind was really weak today, a lot weaker than the winds I’m used to back home in Puerto Rico.”

Racing alone is Perdomo’s forte, as he has always competed in lasers. Last weekend he competed in the Nevins Trophy in a boat with which he is not familiar, a 420.

“My starts were a lot better this weekend,” he said. “But my speed wasn’t as great as the other guys; the wind was light and choppy.”

Perdomo stressed the critical role of practice on the water and exposure to new and challenging conditions in his success.

“Overall, the team is pretty happy with how we did,” Bradt said. “We are improving, and this has really been seen over the last three weeks. But on the finer details we could definitely improve.”

—Staff writer Tanner Skenderian can be reached at tannerskenderian@gmail.com.