SPORTS BRIEF: Harvard Sailing takes first place in spring season’s first regatta

Forced to work out inside for the bulk of the offseason due to a frozen Charles River, the No. 4 Harvard co-ed sailing team began its 2007 spring campaign with a strong first-place finish at the Sharpe Trophy Team race in Providence, R.I. this weekend, posting a 17-3 mark in the 20-race round robin regatta en route to the season-opening win.

The Crimson beat out host-Brown, Roger Williams, Tufts, the University of Rhode Island and MIT, in the team’s first action since the Atlantic Coast Championships in November.

Both the co-ed squad and the No. 9 women’s team will be in action next weekend when Harvard heads to Newport, R.I. and Annapolis, Md. for the Wood Trophy and the spring’s first women’s intersectional, respectively.

Junior Kyle Kovacs will captain the Crimson co-ed team in 2007, while sophomore Megan Watson will serve as women’s captain.

—MALCOM A. GLENN