National Championships Await Crimson

Last weekend was a busy one for Harvard sailors: some traveled to Yale to participate in the New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association (NEISA) Championship, while others stayed sharp in local regattas. At the end of the weekend, the No. 2 Crimson celebrated a third-place finish at New Englands that clinched a spot in the National Championships at the end of the month.



NEISA TEAM RACING CHAMPIONSHIP

Winning took a back burner in New Haven last weekend—the focus for the teams sailing in the New England Championships at Yale was finishing in the top three. And with a third-place performance, Harvard is indeed heading to the team racing national championships, held in the last weekend of May at the College of Charleston in South Carolina.

Accustomed to the flat water of the Charles River, the Crimson had to adjust to the choppy conditions on the harbor at New Haven. But gaining experience in trying conditions will pay off at Nationals, where tricky winds and currents will certainly play a role.

“We thought we sailed pretty well,” co-captain Clayton Johnson said. “At the end of the day, qualifying was our only concern.”

Harvard (5-2) lost to only Yale and Tufts, who will join Harvard at Nationals after finishing at 6-1. Yale won a tie-breaker over Tufts to take first place.

Johnson, senior Vincent Porter and sophomore Kyle Kovacs skippered each of the three boats, while junior Emily Simon, senior Ruth Schlitz and sophomore Elyse Dolbec served as their respective crews.

“We were fortunate that all three boats were really strong—it was important this weekend and it’ll be important in Charleston,” Johnson said. “We think we have a great chance to win Nationals.



GEIGER CUP

As their teammates traveled to Yale to qualify the team for national competition, members of the sailing team stayed in town to sail in the Geiger Cup, which was hosted Saturday and Sunday by MIT.

Overall, the Crimson placed fourth out of six teams with a score of 93 points. Brown, MIT and BC took the top three slots with 69, 90, and 93 points, respectively,.

Dartmouth and Mass. Maritime Academy rounded out the top six.

Although not a qualifying regatta, it provided an important tune-up for Harvard as it readies for Nationals. As it was for those at the NEISA event, getting time away from the calm Charles was an important test for Harvard.

“Sailing at MIT was good practice for everyone,” senior Jess Baker said. “The results aren’t necessarily the most important thing—we benefited a lot even though we didn’t win it.”



STAAKE TROPHY & METRO SERIES 6



Across the river, Harvard placed fourth out of six teams at the Staake Trophy team race hosted by Boston College. The team tied third-place MIT with a 5-5 round robin record, but lost to the Engineers in a sail-off tiebreaker. BC and Tufts were tied atop the leader board, but the hosts won in another sail-off to take the trophy. At the Metro Series 6 at Brandeis University, the Crimson took sixth overall. Junior skipper Robby McIntosh and freshman crew Margaret Wang sailed their boat to a sixth place finish, while junior skipper Marion Guillaume and freshman crew Emily Lamont finished in 20th place.