Conditions Bring Challenge in ACCs

Harvard sailing battled its way through the Atlantic Coast Championships this weekend, coming out with bittersweet results and determination to improve from their mistakes when they hoist their sails again in the spring. The co-ed team took eighth place out of 18, while the women took 14th.

Harvard had high hopes coming into the race after a successful fall season. The two squads secured their spots at the ACCs two weeks ago at the Erwin Schell Trophy at MIT, where each Harvard team took fourth place. The top seven continued on to the championship regatta, which pitted the country’s best 18 teams against each other.

While the team was disappointed about the women’s results, both the co-ed results and individual performances on the water pointed in a positive direction for the spring season.

“We need to be more consistent in the spring, learn from mistakes more quickly, and get back out there in the next race so the regatta goes on,” junior skipper Teddy Himler said.

WOMEN’S ATLANTIC COAST CHAMPIONSHIPS

The women’s division of ACCs took place at Brown University this weekend, where Harvard placed 14th out of 18 teams over eight races. In the A division, sophomores skipper Emily Lambert and crew Alexandra Jumper took 11th place, posting a second-place finish in their fifth race and earning 83 points overall.

Captain and skipper Liz Powers and sophomore crew Marie Appel placed 14th in the B division with 93 points. Harvard’s total score of 176 was uncompetitive, as the top three schools posted scores below 120. Boston College won with 107 points.

The sailors faced brutal weather during their races. While Saturday’s downpour was bad, the light wind on both days proved worse.

“Both days it was light wind, which was unfortunate for us, because we had practiced 420s in heavier wind,” Lambert said.

But the team expected more from itself despite the poor weather conditions.

Humbled but motivated by its performance, the team still holds to its ultimate goal of qualifying for nationals.

“It was an overall disappointing weekend for the women’s team that highlighted how much work we have to do in the spring to prepare for nationals,” Lambert said.

CO-ED ATLANTIC COAST CHAMPIONSHIPS

Harvard hosted the co-ed division of the ACCs this weekend, where the Crimson took eighth place over 10 races. Junior captain and skipper Alan Palmer and classmate crew Grace Charles dominated the A division, placing fifth overall and posting both a first- and second-place finish.

The pair’s strong performance kept them in the upper half of the competition in all but two races, and they accumulated just 71 points.

In the B division, Himler and sophomore crew Annie DeAngelo finished 11th. Their 97 points gave the Harvard contingent a total of 168 points, a far cry from top finisher Boston College’s 99 points but still a solid result for a young team.

The Crimson also fell short of rival Yale, who placed fourth.

“We always want to beat Yale, of course,” Himler said. “They bested us this time, but we’ll have our vengeance.”

The co-ed races were hampered by a cold and rainy nor’easter on Saturday and no wind on Sunday—which meant no races that day. With the cancellation of Sunday’s races, the team lost a valuable opportunity to move up in the standings after a night of recuperation and evaluation of Saturday’s races.

“We were pumped to sail the second day, but the wind didn’t cooperate,” Himler said, “We would’ve moved up in the standings, and it’s unfortunate that it didn’t work out—but that’s sailing. We’re completely dependent on the weather.”

Given the weather and results, the co-ed team came away from the championships motivated by its performance.

Himler said that the team, especially Palmer, “did a great job, facing adversity with courage and proving what they had learned over the past couple of months.”

Both the co-ed and the women’s teams felt the ACCs highlighted the importance of training in the coming months to prepare for the spring season. The team looks to focus on consistency in racing as well as in training, which includes grueling daily four-hour practices and drills.

“Putting in genuine effort throughout the limited hours we have really pays off in the end,” Himler said. “[Team] members who have shown that will reap the benefits.”