Crimson Qualifies for ACCs

As November brings low temperature and swirling winds to the Charles River, the average person might be hesitant to get on the water. But the Harvard sailing team is more than happy to stay on the river for another two weeks.

Forced to overcome biting, difficult conditions this past weekend at three regattas, the Crimson stepped up in its biggest races, notching a fourth-place team finish at the Erwin Schell Trophy to qualify the co-ed squad for the Atlantic Coast Championships at home on Nov. 14.

“We were very pleased,” junior skipper Teddy Himler said. “The top seven teams qualify [for ACC’s]. Just to qualify is quite an accomplishment, but to get above that was even more satisfying.”

The women’s and rookie boats also posted strong showings for Harvard in less-than-ideal conditions, taking fourth place at the Victorian Coffee Urn and ninth in the Nickerson Trophy freshman regatta, respectively. With the fourth-place finish, the women also qualified for the Women’s Atlantic Coast Championship at Brown in two weeks.

Rather than complain about the driving wind that hampered all squads, Himler saw the weekend as preparation for the challenges ahead.

“Throughout the weekend we really progressed as a team, and individual sailors also honed their skills,” the skipper said. “We expect to do well at ACCs, especially because the conditions will be similar to what they were this weekend.”

ERWIN SCHELL TROPHY

The Crimson struggled early at the 68th Erwin Schell Trophy, but Himler and fellow junior skipper Alan Palmer righted the ship, helping the squad to solid performances across the board. In the A division, Palmer led his boat to a fifth-place showing, pairing primarily with senior Winston Yan on Saturday before junior Grace Charles took over as crew on Sunday. The second duo notched four top-five finishes to lower the boat score to 148 points.

Himler shouldered the bulk of the skipper duties in the B division, pairing with crews senior Michelle Konstadt and sophomore Annie DeAngelo en route to a fourth-place finish. After finishing last in the second race of the competition, Himler and Konstadt adjusted to the conditions, rattling off three straight victories in the fourth through sixth races.

“The first day was wild,” Himler said. “It was 20 knots (25 mph winds), and it was a bit cold and wet. People weren’t used to those conditions, but we handled them extremely well.”

Indeed, the B boat finished no worse than ninth in the 20-team field for the rest of the day. Although DeAngelo and Himler did not fare as well on Sunday, the team’s solid effort kept the score at 144 and propelled Harvard to a crucial top-seven finish.

Yale had perhaps the most impressive showing at the regatta, edging Roger Williams for the team’s first Erwin Schell trophy since 1976.

VICTORIAN COFFEE URN

The Crimson women also braved difficulties to earn fourth over the weekend. The B boat—skippered by sophomore Emily Lambert and crewed by classmate Alexandra Jumper—shined for Harvard, suffering only one poor race over eight attempts. The boat failed to finish in its second contest, but went on to post sixth or better among the 16-team field in all other races—good enough for 40 points and third overall.

“We got a pretty extreme range of conditions this weekend on the river,” Jumper said. “Our first race was a first-place finish, and then our second race we capsized and couldn’t finish...If we finished the race, we did pretty [well]. We were able to hold our own, and it was good practice in that breeze.”

The A-division pair of captain Liz Powers and sophomore Marie Appel, moving up to the top bracket for the first time this fall, struggled a bit more, but found a rhythm to close out the regatta. The boat finished seventh overall with 59 points, but earned a spot in the top six through its last four races.

“Marie and Liz have been doing really well, so we wanted to give them a shot at A division,” Jumper said. “They held their own and performed well, especially with the crazy range of conditions we had.”

The pair’s marked improvement throughout the weekend complemented Harvard’s strong effort in the B division and pushed the Crimson ahead of fifth-place finisher Brown by 10 points.

NEW ENGLAND FRESHMAN CHAMPIONSHIP/NICKERSON TROPHY

Five freshmen competed for the Nickerson Trophy over the weekend, earning ninth with consistent showings in the A and B divisions. Ryan Byrne and Alma Lafler manned the A boat throughout the 14-race competition, while skipper Sam Millham paired with crews Sarah McCuskee and Jinyan Zang.

Although the freshmen did not post as strong results as their upperclassman counterparts—earning ninth and eighth, respectively, in the two divisions—Himler emphasized the importance of building on such competitions.

“I think [the freshmen] will be competing at a high level very soon,” he said. “We’ll need them to step up, whether in this year or in coming years, and they got some good experience this weekend to see how they stack up, what to work on, and how to improve. It was a very good experience for them.”

—Staff writer Max N. Brondfield can be reached at mbrondf@fas.harvard.edu.