Sailing Competes in Three Regattas

In the three regattas of the weekend, Harvard maintained its impressive and consistent season of performances. In the President’s Trophy, Friis-Marchiando, and Central Series 3, the Crimson placed in eighth, sixth, and twelfth, respectively.

PRESIDENT’S TROPHY

Boston University hosted the women’s intersectional regatta, the President’s Trophy regatta on the Charles River.

Saturday, the winds came with excitement. Northwestern winds are known to produce inconsistent conditions on the Charles; the shifts and auto-tacks produced three capsizes.

Crews navigated constant shifts and choppy waters, both of which led to horizon jobs throughout the afternoon. Later, eastern breezes brought cooler temperatures.

“We sent two of our talented women’s skippers with two new crews—Morgan Russom and Caitlin Watson skippering and Emma Smith and Jaquelyn Cooley crewing for them, respectively,” sophomore co-captain Isabel Ruane said.

Notably, sophomores Watson and Jaquelyn Cooley marked five top-five finishes. With 81 points, the tandem boat placed seventh in the B division.

Sophomore Morgan Russom and freshman Emma Smith represented Harvard in the A division with 97 points for an eighth place finish. Overall, the Crimson women’s squad placed in eighth of 13 teams.

JAN FRIIS/LYNNE MARCHIANDO TEAM RACE

The Friis-Marchiando Regatta is a two-day competition held at both MIT and Tufts. On the first day, pre-seeded teams go to either Tufts to sail in Larks, or to MIT to sail in FJs. The top four teams from each location go to Tufts for the championship Friis race, and the bottom teams go to MIT for the Marchiando consolation race in fireflies.

On Saturday, Harvard generated a record of 6-6. It placed third out of the eight teams, securing a spot in the top four at MIT. Along with Boston College, Roger Williams and MIT, Harvard earned itself a spot in the Friis Trophy.

Sunday brought northwesterlies ranging five to 18 knots on Mystic Lake in Medford Mass. Strong winds paired with Tuft’s flattop mains and larks made for a day of fast racing. The strong trio boat, composed of senior skippers Emily Lambert and Brendan Kopp with freshman Gram Slattery exemplifies the spirit of the Crimson team.

The Crimson compiled a ledger of 4-10 on Sunday, which put them in sixth place out of eight squads.

“We’re a young team overall with some very talented seniors,” said sophomore co-captian Ben Lamont, who did not sail this weekend. “Therefore we’re focused on both winning Nationals this spring and gaining experience for the future. Emily Lambert and Brendan Kopp have led the way as our top two skippers in competition, but have also led the way in preparing the younger members of our team for competition at the highest level.”

CENTRAL SERIES 3

Harvard hosted the Central Series on the Charles River. This regatta, exclusively for New England teams gave less experienced and younger Crimson sailors a chance to get on the water.

After crew shells cleared the basin, the race day began with two to eight knot winds. Throughout the day, breezes turned westward. The frequent and unexpected shifts made for close, competitive races. Sunday, the breeze was northwesterly again, ranging from four to 12 knots in velocity.

Freshman Ansel Duff and junior Jiyan Zang accumulated six top-10 finishes during the weekend for a total of 95 points, landing the duo in 12th place in the division.

Sophomore skipper Michael Lukas and junior crew Nicholas Gordon came in tenth place in the B division with eight top-10 finishes and accrued 91 points.

“We were happy with Mike Lukas, who is a walk-on and got his first regatta.” Harvard coach Michael O’Connor said. “He did pretty well: in the first race he won the start and cross-fleet on the first leg.”

As a team, Harvard finished 12th out of 15 teams at the Central Series 3.

Looking forward, this weekend acts as preparation for the remainder of the season.

“Competition was very good.” O’Connor said. “A lot of teams are using it as a tune-up for the New England Championship, which we are hosting next weekend.”

New England Dinghy Championships will be the first qualifier of the spring. Depending on how the Crimson sails determines if it will move on to National Semifinals at the Navy in mid-May or not.

—Staff writer Kendra F. Rosario can be reached at kendra_rosario@college.harvard.edu.