Russom used a strong second day to move into ninth-place at
the NEISA Women's Singlehanded Championship Sept. 29-30 (Photo:
Justine Agaloos).
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Junior Morgan Russom finished ninth in the NEISA
Women's Singlehanded Championship at Connecticut College, and while
the remainder of the Harvard coed sailing team battled challenging
weather conditions in a 14th-place effort at the Danmark Trophy
hosted by the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.
Russom started slow on day one of the singlehanded championship,
sailing to three consecutive double-digit finishes before cracking
the top-ten by placing eighth in the fourth race of the regatta.
Russom's best result came in the seventh race, when she placed
second behind the eventual champion, Boston College freshman Erika
Reineke. Russom tallied five single-digit finishes and 131 points,
nine ahead of Northeastern sophomore Tasha Greenwood, who finished
10th.
"We were really pleased with how Morgan responded after
struggling on the first day," head sailing coach Mike O'Connor
said. "She became more comfortable in the boat as the weekend went
on, and it showed."
Freshman Andrew Mollerus skippered the B division boat,
while Alma Lafler and Brian Drumm served as crew, as Harvard placed
11th in the B division at the Danmark Trophy. The Crimson finished
just outside the top-10 with 90 points, while Tufts tallied 86 to
secure 10th. With Lafler as crew, Harvard got off to a good start,
notching second and fifth in the first and second races of the
regatta, respectively. Harvard earned one more single-digit finish,
seventh, in the fifth race with Drumm as crew.
Sophomore skippers Gram Slattery and Michael Drumm teamed up with crew members,
Drumm and Lafler, to tally 127 points en route to a 16th-place
finish in the A division at the Danmark Trophy. Drumm and Lafler
finished ninth in the seventh race and seventh in the eighth to
account for the boat's two single-digit finishes. The Crimson
registered 217 points to edge SUNY Maritime by three points
overall, and Brown won the Danmark Trophy with 119 points.
In other sailing action, Harvard finished first in the Tufts
Central Series Three, as junior captain Benjamin Lamont and sophomore Emma Smith achieved the low point of the
regatta, 36 points, to earn first in the B division. Junior Ames
Lyman and sophomore Rebecca Frankel won the last race of the
regatta in the A division to seal the victory.
Harvard will next compete for the Moody Trophy, a coed regatta,
Oct. 6-7 at the University of Rhode Island.
