Harvard Sailing Makes History With First-Ever Women’s ACC Championship

With just one race remaining in the Women’s Atlantic Coast Championship Final, Harvard’s first-ever title was still hanging in the balance.

After two days of closely contested racing, the Crimson was locked in a four-way battle with Stanford, Yale, and Tulane. Entering the final two races, Harvard trailed the Cardinal and Bulldogs by a single point, with the top four teams separated by just four points. The championship came down to the final performances of captain Zoey Ziskind and junior skipper Kate Danielson.

Ziskind, competing alongside senior Peyton Hadfield in the A Division, delivered a second-place finish in her final race. However, with Yale finishing third, the Crimson remained tied with the Bulldogs, leaving the championship to be decided in the B Division.

From shore, Ziskind watched as Danielson and senior Christina Chen took an early lead in the final race.

“We basically needed to beat Yale and Stanford and Tulane to win the regatta,” Ziskind recalled. “And so we’re watching Kate, and obviously, freaking out, like heart is in your chest.”

When Danielson rounded the first mark in the lead, the possibility of victory began to feel real. Danielson and Chen maintained their advantage through the remainder of the race, crossing the finish line in first place and securing Harvard’s historic championship.

As the pair sailed back toward shore, their teammates rushed to the end of the dock, cheering and announcing the result before Danielson and Chen even knew they had secured the win.

“We ran out to the end of the dock, and we’re screaming at her,” Ziskind said. “Telling them we won, and seeing them cheer and hug, that was awesome.”

The victory marked the Crimson’s first Women’s Atlantic Coast Championship title, capping a weekend in which the team finished with 139 points, seven ahead of runner-up Stanford (146). Yale followed in third with 147, while Tulane rounded out the top four with 154.

Held at St. Mary’s College of Maryland on Oct. 17 and 18, the Women’s ACC Championship brought together 18 of the nation’s leading collegiate sailing programs for 14 races in each of the two divisions. From the opening day, the competition remained remarkably close.

Harvard’s A Division, led by Ziskind, finished fourth in its division with 87 points. Ziskind sailed alongside Chen, Hadfield, and freshman Grace Montgomery throughout the weekend, adjusting the lineup as conditions shifted.

The Crimson’s B Division, meanwhile, emerged as the strongest in the competition. Danielson and her rotating crews of freshman Zia Zucker, Montgomery, and Chen combined for 52 points, winning five of their 14 races and finishing first in the division. The group closed its final four races with finishes of second, fifth, second, and first.

Despite those strong performances, Harvard did not take the overall lead until the competition’s final race.

“I think the only time we were actually winning the regatta was after the final race,” associate head coach Bern Noack said. “We were within like eight points for the last 12 total races, but we were never winning.”

Noack credited the team’s ability to remain focused under pressure rather than becoming distracted by the standings.

“They did a really good job of focusing on the task at hand,” he said. “Rather than trying to worry about the scores or the pressure, I think they focused on what needed to be done in the racing.”

For Chen, who joined Danielson in the decisive final race, that mentality was essential. With the championship so close, the sailors knew which competitors they needed to beat, but were encouraged to concentrate on executing their own strategy rather than targeting individual opponents.

“It was just time to kind of execute,” Chen said. “It was truly just an amazing team effort.”

The victory was particularly meaningful for Harvard’s seniors, who have spent years competing among the nation’s best programs without capturing the ACC title. The Crimson finished second to Stanford at last year’s championship and placed third at the Women’s Fleet Racing National Championship.

For Ziskind, this weekend represented the payoff of four years of preparation.

“I feel like I’ve put in so much work over the four years,” she said. “It just felt good to have all these four years pay off.”

The team’s confidence had been building throughout the fall. After opening the season with a decisive regatta victory, Harvard continued producing strong results, including a first-place finish at the Women’s ACC Round 1 earlier this month.

“We kind of kept that winning going, and we were like, okay, we could actually do this,” Ziskind said.

That confidence was reinforced by the team’s depth and adaptability, which proved especially important as wind conditions shifted throughout the regatta. Stronger winds required heavier crews, and lighter conditions created opportunities for different combinations, so Harvard relied on contributions from across its roster.

For Chen, who competed alongside both Ziskind and Danielson, the ability to adjust between skippers reflected years of preparation and trust developed through practice. Her partnership with Ziskind began during her sophomore year, while her experience crewing for Danielson in stronger winds developed during last year’s ACC competition.

“I’ve practiced with Zoey, and I’ve practiced with Kate in breeze,” Chen said, crediting the coaching staff for preparing different combinations of sailors to succeed together.

The approach also allowed younger members of the team to contribute to the championship title. Rookies Montgomery and Zucker both competed against many of the same schools Harvard expects to face at nationals in the spring.

“They kind of just jumped in the deep end,” Chen said. They really brought the energy and helped us clinch the win.”

Noack similarly emphasized the importance of having sailors ready to step into different roles as weather conditions changed.

“Everyone who stepped in was ready to go and was on top of it,” he said. “There was a really good team vibe, and everyone contributed.”

The championship also reflected the influence of former teammates who helped establish the program’s competitive culture. Even as Harvard adjusted to the departure of several experienced sailors, the returning members remained committed to building on the foundation they had inherited.

“It’s just kind of all about executing and continuing this legacy of dedication to the sport that our upperclassmen left us when they graduated,” Chen said.

Although the Women’s ACC title marked a historic milestone, the Crimson’s ambitions extend beyond the fall season. The team last captured the Women’s Fleet Racing National Championship in 2005 and has remained among the nation’s strongest programs.

This weekend’s victory offered further evidence that Harvard can compete with the country’s best, but Noack emphasized that the team still has work to do before it vies for the national title in late May.

“Everyone’s going to keep working to get better, including us,” Noack asserted.

For Ziskind, maintaining a winning momentum will require the same confidence and collective enthusiasm that carried the Crimson to victory this weekend.

“I think it tells us that it can be done and that we need to keep it up,” she said. “What we’re doing is working.”

Chen was even more emphatic about the team’s ambitions.

“For the women’s team, this means that we’re in it for nationals,” she said. “We’re in it to win it.”

While the women’s team was winning the ACC Championship, another Harvard contingent competed at the 35th Captain Hurst Bowl, hosted by Dartmouth in Enfield, N.H. Originally scheduled as a two-day competition, the regatta was shortened to Saturday after racing was canceled on Sunday because of weather conditions.

Facing temperatures in the mid-40s, Northwest winds reaching 25 knots, and intermittent snow, the Crimson finished eighth among 18 teams with 166 points. Stanford captured first place with 96.

Sophomore Jacob Posner and junior Amelie Zucker represented Harvard in the A Division, combining for 89 points and six single-digit finishes, including a victory in Race Seven. In the B Division, freshman Max Wolfensberger and junior William Bourell recorded 77 points, coming back from a difficult opening to have consecutive top-nine finishes. Sophomore Skyler Reading served as a reserve.

The Crimson will return to competition next weekend, with the Norman Reid Team Race hosted by Boston College on Oct. 24 and the Open Atlantic Coast Championship Final hosted by Brown on Oct. 24 and 25.

—Staff writer Tamar H. Scheinfeld can be reached at [email protected].