Sailing Qualifies to ISCA Women's National Semis, Claims Boston Dinghy Challenge Cup

Qualification complete.

In the final weekend before the beginning of championship season, the Harvard sailing team posted three top-ten finishes in its co-ed events, highlighted by a victory in the 81st Boston Dinghy Challenge Cup. The women’s team continued the trend with a ninth place finish at the New England Women’s Championship, allowing the squad to qualify for ICSA Women’s National Semifinal Championship in May.

“The team performed very well as a whole,” said junior skipper Juan Carlos Perdomo. “We were happy to have won the BDCCC and be in good shape for the qualifiers next weekend. Also, it was great for some of the less experienced individuals to get to start at some of the big inter-sectionals such as the Admirals Cup.”

BOSTON DINGHY CHALLENGE CUP

In the local tri-divisional inter-conference regatta jointly hosted by the Crimson and MIT, the Crimson was able to hoist the trophy for the first time since 2009. Racing in FJs against 16 other competitors, Harvard’s third place finishes in the A and B-Divisions, and fourth place finish in the C-Division were enough to produce the result.

“I think we exceeded expectations,” Perdomo said. “We were able to really sail well at all of our events and feel confident for the end of the season.”

Of the mere 152 total points the team produced, 53 of those came from senior skipper Marek Zaleski and junior crew Julia Lord in the A-Division. In the B-Division, fellow co-captains, sophomore skipper Nick Sertl and junior crew Nomin-Erdene Jagdagdorj posted 41 points, while Perdomo and freshman crew Catherine Tang accrued 58 points in the C-Division. No group had more than two races in which they finished outside the top-ten.

Even though the conditions were far from ideal with ineffectual breezes ruling the weekend, the group was able to manage.

“Conditions were tough, especially on the Charles,” Perdomo said. “We had long periods of wait in hopes of the wind establishing itself. The shifty conditions made for some very tactical sailing.”

Second place Dartmouth and third place Brown were 16 and 17 points behind the Crimson at the competition’s conclusion.

REED TROPHY (NEW ENGLAND WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP)

With the top 11 finishers in the event qualifying for the Women’s National Semifinal Championship, Harvard needed to do better than its 12th place finish last year to receive a berth. The all women’s group of senior crew Sydney Karnovsky, sophomore skipper Taylor Ladd, sophomore crew Kirstin Anderson, sophomore crew Ariana Gross, and freshman skipper Taylor Gavula did just that by finishing ninth in the field of 18 inter-conference schools.

“New England is probably the most competitive district in the U.S. for women’s sailing, so we’re pretty psyched that we were able to do this well at the qualifiers,” Ladd said. “We’re hoping to improve on some things that we messed up this weekend and go make a good showing in San Diego.”

The A-Division crew of Ladd and Anderson posted 159 points on the weekend, never finishing higher than third or lower than sixteenth in any individual races. Gavula, Karnovsky, and Gross totaled 115 points over their sixteen events. The A and B- crews finished 13th and 7th in their respective divisions, helping the team post 274 total points on the weekend.

Conditions were quite variable throughout the weekend with gusts shifting direction and changing in intensity consistently, greater difficulty on all of the sailors.

“I think we sailed well and were really resilient throughout all of the different changes,” Ladd said. “We’re pretty proud of ourselves.”

Coast Guard Academy, Boston College, URI, BU, and Yale were the top-five finishers in the group with a spread of 86 points from top to bottom. The Crimson sat in eighth until the final two races on the weekend as Vermont pulled ahead with top three finishes in both.

ADMIRAL’S CUP

Held at King’s Point, N.Y. by the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, the regatta featured three divisions of FJs, Lasers, and Z420s. With a field of 20 inter-conference schools racing at the event, Harvard barely finished in the top half with its tenth place, 336 point performance.

Nearly all of the competition was completed on Saturday when the conditions were more conducive for racing with northerly breezes of 8-12 knots and light rain throughout the day. The weather did not cooperate on Sunday, however, as a lack of breeze allowed few races to be competed.

The C-Division boat of freshman skipper Andrew Puopolo led the way for the Crimson on the weekend with his fourth place performance. The rookie accrued 73 points over his 11 races, finishing in the top-ten in nine of those events. The A and B-Division crews posted 143 and 120 points, respectively.

The Crimson barely bested fellow Ivy League competitor Penn, whose 337 points were just one shy of Harvard’s mark. St. Mary’s College of Maryland finished victorious with 173 points, finishing in the top two of the first and second divisions.

MORRIS TROPHY

In the second Harvard event on the Charles River Basin on the weekend, the Crimson finished in seventh. Competing in field of 18 inter-conference schools, the squad posted 143 points over 17 FJ races between the two divisions.

The conditions were relatively fair throughout the weekend with winds between four and eight knots from Saturday afternoon into Sunday after Saturday’s morning showers dissipated.

In the A-Division, fellow freshmen, skipper Nicholas Karnovsky and crew Alejandra Resendiz, put forth an eighth place, 80-point performance. The B-Division crew of senior skipper Adam Brodheim and crew Pryiscilla Russo accumulated 63 points over their eight races, good enough for seventh in the division.

Boston College led the way with its 70-point showing, while Tufts, Brown, Coast Guard and MIT rounded out the top five performers.

–Staff writer Jackson M. Reynolds can be reached at jacksonreynolds@thecrimson.com.