Crimson Sailors Find Some Success in Local Waters

Another weekend of competition meant another three regattas for the Harvard sailing team, as both the co-ed and women’s squads stretched themselves over the waters of New England this past weekend.

While the much-anticipated home opener of a certain professional Boston area sports team had to be postponed due to inclement weather yesterday, the contingent from Cambridge competed admirably over the weekend amidst fierce winds and challenging waters.

Despite some less-than-stellar team results, the Crimson took advantage of the tough conditions to tinker with its lineups and display some of its depth in the Dellenbaugh Trophy Women’s Intersectional in Providence, R.I., the Southern New England Team Race in New London, Conn., and the Central Series Three regatta in Medford, Mass.

“Our first really windy regattas of the year necessitated that we try some new combinations,” senior Megan Watson said. “It was windy the entire weekend, which made it difficult on our crews, and they are probably pretty worn out after two days of competition, but they deserve a lot of credit.”

DELLENBAUGH TROPHY WOMEN’S INTERSECTIONAL

Cloudy and windy weather welcomed Harvard’s women’s squad to the Dellenbaugh Trophy Women’s Intersectional, where the Crimson took home seventh in a field of 16 teams.

Harvard placed fifth in the A division, led by the return of junior Liz Powers, who was a workhorse over the weekend. Powers skippered the first eight races in the division, teaming up with freshman crew Alexandra Jumper for the first two contests and freshman crew Lilla Cosgrove for the other six races.

Then, for the final six races in the division, Powers crewed, while Watson skippered, leaving the Crimson a mere five points out of fourth place in the division. Each skipper had one victory and one runner-up finish on the weekend.

“Powers was a super woman this weekend,” Watson said. “She was injured all fall, and we are excited to have her back. She skippered well and hiked hard as crew, and it is great to have her back competing.”

In the B division, freshman skipper Emily Lambert switched from her normal crew, as Cosgrove crewed the first two races, freshman crew Marie Appel the next four, and Jumper the final eight. Harvard finished ninth overall in this division, 13 points out of sixth place.

Yale won the overall team title, totaling 119 points over the two-day affair.

SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND TEAM RACE

Most of the regulars from Harvard’s co-ed squad finished ninth out of 18 teams at the Southern New England Team Race.

Despite the rather mediocre finish, the Crimson’s weekend began well, with a 6-2 record on Saturday in the first round robin of the regatta. Harvard found itself tied with its counterparts from Boston College with the best record in their group after Day 1.

This Saturday success placed the Crimson into Sunday’s top fleet, where the team struggled to a 2-7 record on the day, which was marked by very windy conditions.

The Eagles took home the team victory on the weekend, bettering their solid Saturday record with an even better 8-1 record on Day 2.

CENTRAL SERIES THREE

Harvard’s efforts at the Central Series Three competition over the weekend were highlighted by the performances of two rookies, as freshman skipper Brendan Kopp and freshman crew Annie DeAngelo won the A division to lead the Crimson to a fourth-place team finish amongst the field of 19.

The rookie duo was remarkably consistent over the windy two days of competition, as the freshmen finished no worse than fourth in all 10 races, winning their final race and taking second place four times and third place twice.

“They had to deal with some really tricky conditions this weekend,” sophomore captain Alan Palmer said. “Some teams suffered from broken boats, it was so windy. It was great for Brendan to get some experience in these challenging conditions.”

In the B division, sophomore skipper Colin Santangelo teamed up with freshman crew William White to place 10th. The Terriers from Boston University won the overall team title.

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