Co-ed, Women's Sailing Impress on Saturday

The Harvard sailing teams cruised away from the competition this weekend, as the co-ed team landed a first-place finish at the Coast Guard Academy and the women's team garnered second place at the New England Women's Singlehanded Championships.

Entering the Coast guard regatta in New London, Conn., ranked No. 8, the Crimson took command of the waters against 17 other teams. It did not let up until it captured the Dan Mark's Trophy, as well as a qualifying spot for the Atlantic Coast Championships scheduled for late fall.

Seniors Pete Strothman and Becky Rosen finished fourth in Division A, senior Brian Fox and junior Christian Taubman finished third in Division B, and freshman Sean Doyle came in second in Division C. These performances combined to give Harvard its winning point total.

"The competition was very intense, but we pulled it out," Doyle said.

The teams in each division sailed 18 races, 12 on Saturday and six yesterday. Each race was about one mile and lasted 30 to 45 minutes.

"We've come a long way," Strothman said. "It looked good, but it is still a long time until Nationals. Whichever team learns the most until then will have the advantage."

Strothman, along with Doyle, will compete next weekend at the New England Men's Singlehanded at the University of Rhode Island. There, they will try to earn one of four spots to go to Nationals. The Harvard men were two of 16 sailors that qualified for the race.

"It should be a fun time" Strothman said. "I'm itching to get back."

"I'm really looking forward to it, especially after this weekend," Doyle said.

While Doyle and Strothman get ready, they hope to follow in the success of freshman teammate Margaret Gill (also known as MoJo for her speed) who sailed to a second-place finish at the Women's Singlehanded.

Along with senior Courtney Ermler, Gills spent the weekend closer to home at MIT, sailing eight races on Saturday and nine yesterday alongside about 30 other women.

Gill had an impressive showing for a freshman and gave other schools plenty to be alarmed about for the future. But for right now, she said she is just focused on Nationals, which are two weeks away.

"I am excited to go to Nationals, but I have a lot of practicing to do to get ready," Gill said. "I want to sail as well and as consistently as I can."

Consistency was the hallmark for this past weekend and produced two top finishes for Harvard. The races could be a stepping stone for Harvard sailing as the most important regattas of the fall season approach.