Sailing Competes In Four Regattas

With spring break now in the rear-view mirror and second semester kicking into high gear, the Harvard sailing team competed in the busiest weekend so far of its young spring campaign this past Saturday and Sunday. The co-ed squad took part in three regattas and the women’s contingent also hit the waters for one competition.

The co-ed team challenged some of New England’s best programs in two major regattas over the two-day span, finishing with matching fourth place team efforts at the 70th Owen, Mosbacher & Knapp Trophies race at Brown and the 81st Boston Dinghy Club Cup on the Charles River.

“This weekend we were really able to show the depth of our team,” junior skipper Colin Santangelo said. “While most teams sent all of their best sailors to just one regatta, we split up our top pairs and came away with great finishes at two big competitions.”

The women’s squad, meanwhile, made the short trip to the waters of Bostonian rival Tufts to participate in the 31st Women’s Duplin Trophy team race. Since the squad was one sailor short, the Crimson teamed up with another local foe, Boston University, to take home fifth place in the team standings.

A Harvard co-ed contingent also competed over the weekend at the Dorchester Bay Invitational, as part of the Central Series of races at Boston College, where a Crimson team finished second overall in the team race.

70TH OWEN, MOSBACHER & KNAPP TROPHIES

The top portion of the co-ed squad traveled down to Providence to compete at the 70th Owen, Mosbacher & Knapp Trophies race at Brown University, where Harvard finished a respectable fourth place out of the 16-team field.

Leading the way for the Crimson was A division junior skipper Alan Palmer, who teamed up with junior crew Meghan Wareham, senior crew Michelle Konstadt, and fellow fourth-year crew Winston Yan to finish second in the division after 12 races over two days.

Third-year skippers Teddy Himler and John Stokes split time taking care of the skipper duties in the B division, as junior crew Quincy Bock, freshman crew Ryan Byrne, and Yan each worked four races in the division, where Harvard finished in ninth place.

81ST BOSTON DINGHY CLUB CUP

Another co-ed contingent stayed closer to home to take part in the 81st Boston Dinghy Club Cup on the Charles River, as the Crimson helped host the event and finished in fourth place out of 18 teams.

“Tufts, BU, and Brown, the three teams that beat us, all brought their best sailors,” Santangelo said, “and there were teams from Florida, Michigan, and Maryland there, so our team finish was a great performance for us.”

Sophomore skipper Brendan Kopp led Harvard’s efforts on the river, as he paired up with freshman crew Alma Lafler to win the B division by a wide margin of 22 points over the course of 17 races.

“Brendan did a great job out there,” Santangelo said. “It was very cold both days and the wind was very shifty, so the conditions were challenging. Luck played a big part in how the races played out, as you could quickly go from first to last place as winds changed directions.”

Stokes and Konstadt teamed up in the A division and finished seventh, while Santangelo and sophomore crew William White brought home eighth place in the C division.

31ST WOMEN’S DUPLIN TROPHY TEAM RACE

The women’s team competed in the 31st Women’s Duplin Trophy team race over the weekend, where the Crimson were forced to team up with sailors from BU in order to field a complete squad and finish fifth out of six teams.

“It was challenging working through some of the communication with the BU sailors,” sophomore crew Alexandra Jumper said. “We had no experience sailing with our third skipper, so we just tried to use it as a learning experience for the rest of the season.”

Senior skipper Liz Powers paired up with sophomore crew Marie Appel, while the duo of second-years skipper Emily Lambert and Jumper also competed on the weekend.

“This is our only team race in either the fall or spring seasons,” Jumper said, “so it was nice to take a break from fleet racing and just try to keep our momentum, energy, and optimism going.”

DORCHESTER BAY INVITATIONAL, CENTRAL SERIES TWO

The co-ed squad also sent a group to the Dorchester Bay Invitational at Boston College as part of the Central Series. Harvard finished second out of nine teams at the local event.

—Staff writer Thomas D. Hutchison can be reached at tdhutch@fas.harvard.edu.