Sailing Enjoys Taste of Success

This past weekend was a busy one for the Harvard sailing team, with the Crimson scheduled to compete in seven races over two days.

On Saturday, the Crimson posted respectable showings in three different races. In the days womens interclub qualifiers, sophomore Caroline Dixon finished in sixth place with 59 points over 10 races.

In Saturdays Hood Trophy races at Tufts, the Crimson combined for a fifth place finish with 122 total points. In eight races in the A Divison, sophmore Ewell Potts finished in eighth place with 63 points, and junior Daniel Litchfield finished in seventh place with 59 points. Those two strong finishes propelled the Crimson into fifth.

Sophmore John Mulcahy captured a third place finish with 47 points at the Dartmouth Single Elims. Mulcahy finished behind Tufts Tomas Zarios and front-runner Chris Ashley of Brown.

The top sixth finishers at the Elimination races this weekend will qualify for the New England Singlehanded Championships, which is the premiere regatta in the fall. His 3rd place finish was good enough to qualify him for the New Englands, which are the weekend of Octover 6-7 at Yale.

I thought I raced pretty well, said Mulcahy. The race was challenging, and the wind was pretty shifty. Im happy its over with, and Im ready for the New England championships. Im excited to be eligible to compete at the next level.

Senior Margaret Gill, competing at the Womens New England Singlehanded Championships yesterday, ended the day with a strong second-place finish. Gill recently returned from Slovenia, where she competed in the 470 Womens World Championships. According to captain Sean Doyle, without the benefit of time to practice, her second-place finish is an indication of her tremendous skill.

Also on Sunday, two of Harvards All-Americans were in action at the Mens Singlehanded Elims at Yale. Doyle and junior Clay Bischoff both qualified for New Englands, which came as no surprise since both competed at the Mens Singlehanded Nationals last year, with Doyle garnering a tenth place finish and Bischoff a fifth place. In Sundays race, Bischoff finished in second place and Doyle came in fifth.

Its hard to qualify for New Englands, Doyle said. Weve been training really hard with our coaches, and I think it showed.

If last year concluded on a high note, then the Crimson have yet to break stride in the 2001-2002 season. Harvard took home a first-place finish and the Harry Anderson Trophy at Yale the weekend of September 1-2, a first-place finish at the Pine Trophy Sloop Intersectional at MIT on September 8-9 and a first-place finish in the Captain Hurst Bowl at Dartmouth alos on September 8-9.

Continuing on the theme of firsts, the Crimson is currently first in Sailing Worlds Coaches Poll as the best college sailing team.

The Crimson is in action again next weekend, with a Saturday-Sunday race for the Danmark Trophy, and a local race for the Presidents Trophy Sunday at B.U. The following weekend brings the Mens New England Singlehanded Championships at Yale, and Doyle, Bischoff and Mulcahy already have their tickets punched for New Haven.