Sailing Takes Fifth at Home Regatta

The Harvard coed sailing team was back on the water this weekend, competing in four regattas in the northeast area and posting its highest finish in the one in which it hosted, the Central Series Three.

THE CENTRAL SERIES THREE

Hosting its first regatta of the spring season, Harvard placed fifth against 10 other schools within its conference. Junior Rebecca Frankel and freshman Bennett Capozzi finished in first for the A division with 27 points while freshmen David Mende and Nomin-Erdene Jagdagdorj took fifth in the B division.

“What really worked well for us was good communication between the two of us,” Capozzi said. “Keeping our heads in the game with the wind-shifts and what was going on in the course allowed us to sail the best we could as a team.”

The conditions on the Charles River were cold and windy, but the team was happy to be back on the water. Two regattas earlier in the season that were to be hosted by the Crimson had been canceled due to ice.

With the first-place divisional finish, Harvard finished with the highest overall ranking the team would make all weekend.

“[Frankel and I] want to work on being more physically involved,” Capozzi said. “We were a really light boat out there, we worked hard to keep it flat. Although we were mentally all there, physically, we could do more.”

BU TROPHY

Harvard was back on the Charles with another in-conference regatta this weekend, sailing in 420s for the BU trophy. The squad finished up on Sunday in seventh place with 152 points. Northeastern took the win with 106.

“This weekend was pretty good,” freshman Juan Perdomo said. “For me, I thought it was a good experience getting used to double handled boats since I was mostly in lasers last semester.”

Perdomo was joined in his 420 by classmate Priscilla Russo. The pair forced a head-to-head tiebreaker with Tufts, but lost that to fall to 10th with 86 points. The Crimson sent only freshmen to this regatta, with Matthew Mollerus and Olivia Kjorlien competing in the B division and coming in sixth place with 66 points.

“I think that the team as a whole is improving greatly,” Perdomo said. “We’re getting better and better, but we need to stay consistent with or results. We have to make sure the team is competing at the same level every weekend, which largely has to do with how we preform mentally.”

DELLENBAUGH WOMEN’S TROPHY

Four women of Harvard sailing went down to Brown for this intersectional regatta and returned in eighth place with 233 points.

The conditions were poor, with hard rain and cold in Providence, R.I. Eighteen schools competed in 420s.

In the A division, senior Caitlin Watson and sophomore Kristina Jakobson finished in 14th place with 135 points. Junior Ashleigh Inglis and sophomore Sophie Bermudez provided the better finish in fifth place, with 98 points.

MIT took first across the board, finishing up with a total of 134 points and Yale was right behind with 151, after taking third in both A and B divisions.

33RD LYNNE MARCHIANDO REGATTA

The Crimson was back on familiar waters for the third regatta on the Charles this weekend, this one being hosted by MIT. After a later start on Saturday due to a rowing regatta, 16 teams were matched up to begin the two-day round-robin style of competing. The boats being used were mixed, mostly FJs but then Fireflies for tiebreakers.

“The first day we sailed every team 15 times,” junior Michael Drumm said. “With this, there is a high emphasis on staying in control of opponents to help your own team do better. Covering, or getting in front and in control of the other boats on the water, was a strength for us this weekend.”

His twin Brian, classmate Gram Slattery, senior Isabel Ruane, sophomore Jacob Bradt, and freshman Julia Lord accompanied Drumm in this regatta. Harvard finished in ninth place.

“I think our communication has improved a lot, but it’s something to keep working on” Michael Drumm said. “In these races, there are three boats. We need to work together, so communication is a big part of that.”

Heading into next week, the Crimson faces its first qualifying regatta for the spring nationals. There will be many teams competing, but Drumm is confident. Harvard has competed against and beaten each of the teams at least once this year.

“As a whole, the main thing the team is working on is making sure that we compete at the same level every weekend, and that we have the mentality to make sure we do it,” Capozzi said.