ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Fourth-seeded Harvard Sailing rallied on the second day of the 2026 ICSA Women's Fleet Racing National Championship to finish in third place. The Crimson, which opened Monday in seventh place, climbed the team standings and ended with a 161, trailing only No. 1-seed Stanford (113) and second-seeded Yale (128).
Harvard, which finished in third place 12 months ago, has now registered top-3 performances in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2004 (2
nd) and 2005 (1
st). Prior to '04-'05, the Crimson last produced top-3 performances in consecutive seasons in 1972-73 (2) and 1968-70 (3).
After getting through six races on Sunday, the field of 18 endeavored to get through eight on Monday. A lengthy delay due to a lack of wind, however, allowed for just six. Competing for Harvard in the A-Division was
Zoey Ziskind and
Christina Chen, with
Kate Danielson handling skipper duties in the B-Division. The sophomore was joined by
JJ Drummond after the junior split crew responsibilities with
Amelie Zucker on Sunday.
The Crimson was impressive over Monday's first four races, allowing for a massive jump in the team standings. Ziskind-Chen opened with a finish line of 7-4-4-2 in Races 7-10, respectively. Danielson-Drummond, however, one-upped their teammates, going 3-2-2-1 vs. their B-competitors.
As the day grew old and not knowing what was in store, Ziskind-Chen continued to churn out single-digit finishes. The duo placed ninth in Races 11-12 to finish with a regatta total of 91, which was the sixth-best score in the A-Division. Danielson-Drummond hit a speed bump in Race 11, coming in 13
th place, but responded with a third-place performance in Race 12 to end with the division's second-best score (70).
The Crimson has now finished in the top-5 of both the ICSA Women's Team and Fleet Racing National Championships for the second straight season. The 2025 Harvard women's team came in third place in both regattas and followed that with a fourth- (team race) and third-place performance (fleet race) this year. This is the first time the Crimson women have accomplished this specific feat.
Harvard's top-seeded open squad begins its quest for an ICSA Open Fleet Racing National Championship on Tuesday when the semifinals begin. The Crimson, which finished in fifth place in 2025, is looking to capture its second national title in three years and is coming off its third team racing national crown in four years when it emerged victorious last month.
