CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard Sailing captured its fourth consecutive NEISA Open Fleet Racing Championship/Coast Guard Alumni Bowl this past weekend in Rhode Island. The Crimson also finished in third place at the NEISA Women's Fleet Racing Championship in Connecticut and competed in a pair of one-day regattas on the Charles River – the Boston Dinghy Cup Fleet Race on Saturday (11^th place, MIT host) and the Morris Trophy Fleet Race on Sunday (10^th place, Boston University host).

Boston Dinghy Cup Fleet Race | Cambridge, Mass.

Harvard finished in 11^th place on Saturday at the MIT-hosted event on the Charles River. Harrison Strom and Michelle Chung competed in the A-division, with James Bergstrom and Mizuki Yashiro handling the B-division. Over in the C-division, which featured singlehanded racing, was Xavier Ayala-Vermont. Waiting in the wings as reserves were Skyler Reading and Theresa Straw.
 
Strom-Chung opened with a 10^th-place showing, but then quickly got into a rhythm, posting nine consecutive top-5 finishes to register a final score of 38, which was third-best in the division. Among those nine straight top-5s were victories in Race 2 and 5, and a runner-up in Race 8. Bergstrom-Yashiro, meanwhile, had a pair of top-10 efforts, placing ninth in Race 2 and seventh in Race 4. Ayala-Vermont won Race 4 and went on to record top-7 performances in Race 5, 6, 8 and 9.
 
The Crimson finished with 247 points and was just six points shy of US Coast Guard Academy, which came in 10^th place (241). Tufts won the regatta with a final score of 139.

NEISA Open Fleet Racing Championship/Coast Guard Alumni Bowl | Cranston, R.I.

Harvard retained the Coast Guard Alumni Bowl for a fourth straight season behind the performance of A-division sailors Justin Callahan-Jacob Posner and B-division athletes Mitchell Callahan-Rosella Irfan. Christina Chen and Aidan Pesce were ready as reserves.
 
The Crimson rallied from behind on Saturday and eventually ended atop the leaderboard with 80 points after eight races. J. Callahan-Posner started fast, going 2-1-1-4 in their first four races. The duo squeezed a third-place effort between two 10s, but won their final race of Day 1 to end on a high note. A slow start from M. Callahan-Irfan (9-12-10) held the Crimson back initially, but the pair rallied in a big way, closing with five straight top-6 performances (2-3-1-5-6) to vault Harvard to the No. 1 position entering Sunday.
 
Sub-optimal weather conditions in New England allowed just two races to be contested on the final day. The Crimson A-boat went 3-9 in Race 9 and 10, respectively, while the B registered a fourth- and a second-place finish. In the end, Harvard posted a final score of 98 (A – 44, B – 54) to win its seventh open regatta in eight spring weekends and earned NEISA's automatic bid to the ICSA Open Fleet Racing National Championship in Tampa, Florida (May 19-22). Brown came in second place with a 103.

NEISA Women's Fleet Racing Championship/Reed Trophy | New London, Conn.

The Crimson registered its fourth straight top-5 performance at the NEISA Women's Fleet Racing Championship and its second consecutive third-place showing. Zoey Ziskind-Amelie Zucker competed together for all 12 A-division races. Kate Danielson (1-6) and Sophia Montgomery (7-12), meanwhile, split skipper duties against the B-division, with JJ Drummond (1-6, 9-12) and Hanah Youn (7-8) both seeing action as crew.
 
Harvard found itself in third place after Saturday's action. Ziskind-Zucker completed the eight Day-1 races with eight top-8 finishes, including six inside the top five (and a win in Race 1). Danielson and Drummond were strong as well, posting a line of 4-3-1-4-1-11 in their six outings. A disqualification in Race 7 stunted the Crimson's progress, but it rebounded with a fifth-place effort to close the day.
 
The regatta finished with four races on Sunday. Ziskind-Zucker opened with a 13^th-place finish, but answered in their final three races (8-2-7) to finish with a final score of 60. Montgomery-Drummond closed their time in Connecticut with a 3-2-7-15, to put a lid on the Crimson B-boat's 72. All told, Harvard ended with a 132, finishing behind Yale (99) and Brown (105).

Morris Trophy Fleet Race | Boston, Mass.

In another one-day regatta, this time hosted by Boston University, Harvard finished in 10^th place. Ayala-Vermont teamed with Reading on Sunday to compete in the A-division, while Caroline Straw paired with Antonia Kolb. Emily Chamish served as the reserve for both boats.
 
Weather was a factor as rain tumbled from the sky. Ayala-Vermont and Reading were only able to get three races in, finishing in sixth, 10^th and ninth to post a 25. C. Straw-Kolb, meanwhile, turned in a two-race line of 11-7—18. The Crimson ended with a final score of 43. Coast Guard won the weather-shortened regatta with a 15.

Up Next

Harvard will look to defend its national title when it competes at the ICSA Open Team Racing National Championship, April 23-25, in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Crimson women will also be on hand, sailing at the ICSA Women's Team Racing National Championship, April 26-27.