Harvard Cruises to Victory at Michael Horn

The Harvard sailing team held its own on the Charles River this past weekend, capturing a decisive victory at the Michael Horn Trophy.

The trophy was the third and final regatta of the season on the Crimson’s home turf and proved to be one of its most successful matchups.

Harvard’s team was also missing two of its key members in the Michael Horn Trophy: co-ed captain Kyle Kovacs and junior women’s captain Megan Watson were across the country in Seattle, competing in the ICSA Singlehanded Championships. Kovacs captured fourth place in the men’s tournament, and Watson ended the weekend with a solid ninth-place finish in the women’s division.

Watson, Kovacs, and the rest of the Crimson sailors will be back in action next weekend, when they will sail all along the East Coast in three different regattas.

MICHAEL HORN TROPHY

Battling tough weather conditions, the Crimson sailing team still managed to blow its opponents out of the water this past weekend, ending its home season with a win. Harvard, which finished 20 points ahead of second-place Vermont, captured a top-three spot in all four divisions.

“It was tough sailing, but I think we did really well,” said freshman Teddy Himler, who acted as skipper on the first-place C-division team.

Himler paired up with freshman crew John Stokes, and together with freshman skipper Alan Palmer and freshman crew Quincy Bock, the team captured first in its division with 15 points.

The six-race division was not all fun and games, however, as the freshmen had to battle back from a second-to-last-place finish due to a flipped boat in the fourth race.

“That was a bummer,” Himler said. “It was really cold, and I drank a lot of Charles River water.”

Ultimately, the C-division team pulled through and ended the regatta in first.

Junior skipper Roberta Steele and freshman crew Meghan Wareham also placed first in the A-division with 14 points.

The Crimson’s sophomore team of skipper Liz Powers and crew Kate Harris placed second in the D-division with 13 points, only one point behind first-place Dartmouth.

In the B-division, Harvard came in third, with sophomore skipper Drew Robb and sophomore crew Michelle Konstad and junior skipper Jon Garrity and junior crew Kerry Anne Bradford combining for 22 points.

ICSA MEN’S AND WOMEN’S SINGLEHANDED CHAMPIONSHIP

Across the country at the University of Washington, Kovacs and Watson represented the Crimson in the ICSA Men’s and Women’s Singlehanded Championships this past weekend. Although Friday’s races were pushed back a day because of weak winds, the Harvard sailors pulled through, with Kovacs capturing fourth place and Watson ending in ninth.

Tallying 96 points over the two-day contest, Kovacs ended 30 points behind the regatta’s top finisher, landing him in the same place he finished the tournament last year.

“I’m a little disappointed,” Kovacs said. “I made some mistakes on Saturday that were unforced errors.”

These slip-ups included prematurely beginning a race, which caused Kovacs to have to restart. They also left him needing decisive victories on Sunday to overcome his opponents, which Kovacs was unable to do.

“[I was] a little bit slower than the top two boats,” Kovacs said of his performance on Sunday. “I could hang with them, but not necessarily beat them.”

Watson placed ninth in the women’s championships after seventeen races and a top-three finish in her last two events. Ending the regatta with 139 points, Watson registered four top-five finishes over the two-day contest.

—Staff writer Alexandra J. Mihalek can be reached at amihalek@fas.harvard.edu.