Sailing Earns Third at ICYRA Meet

With finals out of the way and more time to focus on their sport, the Harvard co-ed and women's sailing teams found themselves in the throes of championship competitions, the culmination of the sailing year.

The Crimson was at the Intercollegiate Yacht Racing Association North American Spring Championships, a series of three races that is often a training ground for future Olympians.

"The ICYRA North Americans are a showcase for sailing's best collegiate talent," said Mike Horn, president of the ICYRA, "and provide a window on the future of the Olympics, the America's Cup and other world-level regattas."

With two of the three races completed, the Harvard contingent has warranted a good look from the national sailing bodies.

Last Wednesday through Friday, the No. 3 co-ed team took third in the ICYRA Team Race Championship at St. Mary's College in Maryland.

In a round-robin format, the Crimson went 9-2 and won a tiebreaking third-place race against No. 6 Dartmouth. The victory avenged a round-robin loss, for a 10-2 record on the weekend.

Although also losing to eventual champion and No. 2 St. Mary's, the Crimson romped over the rest of the field, beating second-place and No. 9 Georgetown in head-to-head competition and defeating No. 1 Southern California, No. 12 Stanford, No. 10 College of Charleston, Washington, No. 20 Texas, Michigan, Eckerd and Wisconsin, which finished in order from fifth through 12th.

Beginning tomorrow, the co-ed team wraps up its season with the ICYRA Co-ed Dinghy Championship at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y.

The No. 5 Harvard women's team participated in the ICYRA Women's Dinghy Championship last Sunday through Tuesday at St. Mary's, taking fourth place in the meet.

Sophomores Margaret Gill and Susan Bonney won the A division with a near-flawless 56 points, 22 points better than the top team from Boston University and making them the best two-person women's boat in the country. For her efforts in the meet, Gill was named an All-American.

"Exceptional sailing by both Gill/Bonney and [the Dartmouth team of] Morgan/Myers allowed them to lead their divisions by wide margins," Horn said. "Both combinations sailed throughout the varied conditions unchanged, while many other teams substituted crews during Monday's big breeze."

For getting the top score in their division, Gill and Bonney won the Madeleine Cup.

Unfortunately for Gill and Bonney, though, the team championship was a compilation of the A and B division scores, and Harvard's B boat finished in ninth with 173 points. Overall, the Crimson finished in fourth with 229 points. No. 2 Dartmouth won the meet with 157 points, followed by No. 4 Tufts and No. 6 Boston University at 174 and 182 points, respectively.

Harvard placed ahead of No. 1 USC, No. 7 Old Dominion, No. 9 Brown, No. 8 Goergetown, Boston College, No. 13 Hawaii, No. 11 U.C. Santa Barbara, No. 14 Eckerd, Michigan, Wisconsin, Texas A&M Galveston, Miami of Ohio and Washington.