Biscoff, Porter Excel At Nationals Nationals

Harvard sailing once again proved its skippers are among the nation’s very best, as captain Clay Bischoff and freshman Vince Porter captured second and third place respectively in the North American Singlehandeds, the fall’s individual national championships.

The Crimson also qualified three women for last weekend’s regatta in Houston, each finishing in the middle of an elite field.

Bischoff was dominant throughout much of the 16-race regatta, capturing first place seven times, second place four times and fourth place on one occasion.

It was the other four races which bumped him from the lead. Two ninth place finishes, an 11th and a 13th were enough to give Georgetown’s Andrew Campbell the title.

Bischoff began slowly, opening with 9th and 11th place finishes. Two race wins and a runner-up showing pulled him to within striking distance of the lead.

His 13th place finish in the sixth race, however, returned him to his earlier position on the outside looking in at the leaders.

As before, Bischoff roared back, winning four of the next five races and once again moving to within five ranks of the overall lead.

A ninth place in race 12 though dropped him to 11 points behind Campbell. That deficit proved insurmountable, despite Bischoff’s top-four finishes in the final four races.

“Clay Bischoff sailed a great regatta,” said Georgetown coach Mike Callahan.ßBut in the end, Andrew’s conservative approach, combined with superior boat speed, were what won the regatta for him.”

Porter sailed consistently throughout the weekend, finishing lower than 10th only once. He was unable to win any of the races, however, greatly hurting his chances at the overall title.

Porter started strong, holding a share of the overall lead after the fourth race.

“That was a big confidence boost,” Porter said. “To be tied for first after the first four races, knowing that if I can just be in the top five and sail consistently I’d have a shot.”

But despite top three finishes in six of the next 10 races, he slowly fell behind Campbell and Bischoff, finishing far ahead of the fourth place finisher, but not in a position to threaten the two ahead of him.

“[Campbell and Bischoff] went out and won races, and it was a little frustrating,” Porter said.

On the women’s side, senior Clemmie Everett took seventh in the regatta, freshman Genny Tulloch finished ninth and junior Jennie Philbrick 14th.

Everett turned in solid performances all weekend long, finishing in the top five in half the races sailed and finishing lower than 10th on only three occasions.

Those few races were enough to push Everett out of contention for the overall title. Old Dominion sophomore Anna Tunnicliffe, the winner of the regatta, never finished lower than eighth.

Tulloch was unable to match Everett’s consistency. While the freshman was able to win two races and finish in the top four on three other occasions, she finished lower than tenth in half the events, including a last place finish in the regatta’s final race.

Philbrick failed to make much of an impact during the weekend, never cracking the top five.

The Crimson returns to the water next weekend at the Atlantic Coast Dinghies Regatta, hosted by the Coast Guard Academy.