Sailing Takes Third In ICYRA Champs

Sailing is often considered one of the peripheral sports in the sporting universe.

But for the Harvard co-ed sailing squad, its recent third-place finish in the national championships was anything by peripheral.

At the Intercollegiate Yacht Racing Association Championships (ICYRA)-hosted by Eckerd College on Boca Ciega Bay in St. Petersburg, Fla.-the Harvard co-ed sailing team finished in strong fashion to capture third in the nation.

Sixteen teams competed in Vanguard 420s over the course of two-and-a-half days of co-ed sailing from June 2-4.

The competition is broken into two divisions, with each division sailing a total of 12 races. Every boat is given a point equal to the place of its finish in the race. At the competition's conclusion the points are totaled, with the team with the lowest number of points winning.

Captain Becky Rosen and senior Pete Strothman competed in the A division for Harvard. In the B division the Crimson sent down senior Brian Fox and junior Christian Taubman.

Harvard-ranked No. 9 in the country by the Sailing World College Coaches Panel-struggled on the first day of competition, as two A division races were sailed. Light and shifty winds hurt Rosen and Strothman, who finished the two races in eighth and 12th place.

"After the first day [Rosen] and I were disappointed and a little worried with how we finished," Strothman said. "We had sailed well, but there were just unfortunate winds. Sometimes the wind just handles you."

With the second day, however, came stronger wind, as Harvard began to heat up on the water.

Leading the Crimson charge were Taubman and Fox in the B division. In their third and fourth races, the two put up back-to-back bullets, or first place finishes, to get Harvard back into the thick of the competition, which after the second day was led comfortably by Boston University, who held a 20-point lead over its nearest competitor.

Winds were light in the morning but picked up in the afternoon on the third and final day of the meet.

With B.U. comfortably maintaining its first place lead, the Crimson found itself locked in a four-team battle for second place leading into the day's final races. With just two races remaining-both in the B division-Harvard held the third place spot, 12 points behind a strong St. Mary's team and just one point in front of Tufts.

In the final two events, Taubman and Fox put up low numbers, placing second and fifth to close out the meet. Harvard's strong finish was good enough to distance it from Tufts, but left them five points behind St Mary's to end the competition.

"Basically we just raced conservatively as our coaches had taught us," Fox said. "It is more important to be consistent, and our strong finish is just an indication of how we sailed consistently well."

Individually, Taubman and Fox finished in third place in the B division, while Strothman and Rosen ended up in fifth place in the A division.

After the regatta, the annual ICYRA awards banquet was held to announce the 1999 All America team. Co-ed skippers Strothman and Taubman were both named All Americans, as was Fox for his work in the crew position.

The Harvard women's sailing team-which finished in seventh place in the women's national competition earlier in the week-also earned individual awards. Lauren Toretta and Margaret Gill each received All-America honors for their work as crew and skipper, respectively.

"Being named an All-American is definitely a great feeling," Strothman said. "It's nice to receive the individual recognition after working so hard for the team."

The third-place finish at nationals marks a another step forward for the sailing team under the tutelage and guidance of Coach Mike O'Conner and assistant Bern Noack. Last season, the team finished in fifth place in the nation, after years of disappointment.

"Our coaching was the best anyone could hope for in college sailing," Strothman said. "[O'Conner] and [Noack] are to of the best coaches college sailing has ever seen, and they've really been the reason for our success. Harvard sailing is as good as it has been since the 1970s."

The victory was especially sweet for the seniors, as years of training had finally paid off.

"We've worked so hard for four years, so this was just an incredible way to finish," Fox said. "To finish the season in third and as All-Americans, it's just a dream."