CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard Sailing opened the fall portion of its 2026-27 campaign this past weekend and posted strong performances across the board. The Crimson won the Toni Deutsch Trophy, finished in second place at the Harry Anderson Trophy and Charles Invitational, and came in fifth at the Harvard Invitational.

Toni Deutsch Trophy | Cambridge, Mass.

Harvard paired Zoey Ziskind and Christina Chen, two All-Americans from last season, together in the A-Division, while another All-America duo, Kate Danielson and JJ Drummond, competed in the B-Division at the MIT-hosted regatta. Peyton Hadfield, a 2025 All-NEISA performer in her own right, meanwhile, served as a reserve.
 
Across 20 races (10 in each division), the Crimson did not have a single double-digit finish. Ziskind-Chen began with an impressive 2-5-2 start before winning Race 4. A sixth- and eighth-place finish paused the momentum, but the duo ended with three victories in their last four races (1-3-1-1) to post a division-best score of 30. Danielson and Drummond also recorded four wins (Race 2, 5, 9, 10) and ultimately finished with a final line of 2-1-5-9-1-2-8-7-1-1. Their 10-race total of 37 ranked second in the B-Group (Roger Williams – 29).
 
When the water settled, Harvard was crowed champion with its score of 67, which was well clear of second-place Brown (110) and third-place Tufts (112). The victory marked the Crimson's first at the Deutsch Trophy since 2022.

Harry Anderson Trophy | New Haven, Conn.

What was originally scheduled as a two-day regatta turned into one with a lack of significant wind in the forecast on Sunday. With that, Saturday's results held firm and the Crimson finished in second place with a score of 93, trailing only Brown and its 83. This is the second consecutive year Harvard has finished in second place at this regatta.
 
Getting Harvard to second on the ladder was the A-Division duo of Harrison Strom-Zia Zucker, B-Division sailors Jacob Posner and Amelie Zucker, and reserves Xavier Ayala-Vermont, William Bourell and Michelle Chung.
 
Strom and Zia Zucker were solid in their first four races, going 3-3-5-3 before hitting a speed bump that saw them finish 14-12 in Races 5-6. The duo, however, rebounded with a 6-2-6 to close out the 9-race first day (54). Posner-Amelie Zucker, meanwhile, was even more impressive logging two runner-ups and a victory in their first three races. A 9-11-11 finish line in Races 4-6 stalled their push, but a nice 2-1 performance in Race 7 and 8 had them complete their day on a high note (39). The B-Division was not able to get in a ninth race.

Charles Invitational | Cambridge, Mass.

In a late addition to the schedule, Harvard had two entries in the Bentley-hosted Charles Invitational, which was run out of the Crimson's sailing pavilion. Harvard finished in second place (90) and eighth place (168) at the 15-team regatta. Dartmouth was victorious at the one-day event with a score of 67.
 
Caroline Straw and Catherine Li represented Crimson 1 in the A-Division, while Pax Huybers and Whitney Pickett, both first-years, drew the B-Division assignment. Crimson 2, meanwhile, saw James Bergstrom and Mizuki Yashiro compete in the A-Division, and Grace Naylor and Elizabeth Jacobsson in the B-Division.
 
Straw and Li finished in the top-5 or better in eight of their 10 races, with the two outliers being a sixth-place showing in Race 4 and a ninth-place effort in Race 8. The duo polished off their day with a win in Race 10, while also producing runner-up performances in Races 6 and 9. They ultimately finished with a 39 (5-3-5-6-3-2-3-9-2-1). Huybers-Pickett enjoyed a nice debut, logging nine single-digit finishes and top-10 finishes in all 10 races. Similar to Straw-Li, Huybers-Pickett won Race 10 to punctuate a line of 8-10-2-5-4-2-7-7-5-1 for a score of 51.
 
Crimson 2's Bergstrom and Yashiro raced to six top-10 finishes, highlighted by a third-place result in Race 6. The duo improved as the day went along, turning in three top-8 performances in their last five races to ultimately record a score of 98 (13-9-10-10-13-3-8-8-11-13). Naylor and Jacobsson, meanwhile, had seven single-digit finishes and nine top-10 performances over the course of the day, winning Race 5. The pair turned in a score of 70 (12-8-5-4-1-9-10-4-7-10).

Harvard Invitational | Cambridge, Mass.

The Crimson finished in fifth place at the three-division Sunday regatta with a score of 138. Brown won the event with an 80.
 
Max Wolfensberger and Hanah Youn sailed against the A-Division, while Grace Montgomery-Jacobsson and Louise Martin-Julia Downey competed in the B- and C-Divisions, respectively.
 
Only four races were contested and the duo of Wolfensberger-Youn ended with second-place effort after turning in a line of 13-9-12 to open the day. Montgomery-Jacobsson recorded Harvard's lowest overall score after posting a 6-17-8-3 to finish at 34. Martin and Downey, meanwhile, registered a 68 on the day (18-14-18-18).

Up Next

Harvard is set to compete at the NEISA Singlehanded Championships, Sept. 18-19, in a regatta hosted by Boston College. The Crimson is also slated to sail on Saturday, Sept. 19, at the Hatch Brown Trophy (MIT host), Regis Trophy (Harvard host), and Mystic Lake Invitational (Tufts host).