Yale sailing split its team in three this past weekend, but its strength remained intact.
The co-ed team beat 18 schools to win the Hatch-Brown Trophy in Boston. Zach Brown ’08 and Grace Becton ’09 took first place in the A division with 46 points, and, with 50 points, Matt Barry ’07 and Adriane Levin ’09 gave Yale another victory in the C division. With 78 points, Yale’s B division pair of Phil Stemler ’07 and Abigail Coplin ’08 earned sixth place. An overall tally of 174 points put Yale 14 points above Brown for the victory.
Becton was impressed with her team’s resilience.
“We pulled it together. We had some bad races, but we made up for them. It was a good team effort overall,” she said.
The team completed its Saturday races, but insufficient wind prevented it from competing again until Sunday afternoon. When the Elis finally got back on the water, they found that the wind varied along the long starting line, a crucial tactical consideration.
“If you don’t identify the varying winds, people will just crush you. It is all about heading out properly, making the right decisions, and communicating,” Stemler said.
While the co-ed team conquered the erratic winds in Boston, the women’s team split itself between two races: the First School at Dartmouth, and the Lake Champlain Open in Burlington, Vermont.
At Dartmouth, women’s captain Emily Hill ’07 and crew Hannah Oakland ’07 took an impressive second in the A division, while Kendra Emhiser ’07 and Marla Menninger ’10 placed eighth in the B division. Together, the foursome earned third place, behind Harvard and Georgetown.
Calm waters on Sunday kept the four women from sailing, making each minute on the water crucial.
“We only sailed four races, so we really had to be consistent,” Hill said. “I thought Hannah and I learned from our mistakes this weekend. We were able to make the necessary changes right away. This weekend was a good start, but I think we are eager to practice and race more.”
Meanwhile, at the Lake Champlain Open, A division competitors Jane Macky ’09 and Hilary Shapiro ’08 and B division sailors Kate Hagemann ’09 and Lynn McGregor ’08 took third place overall.
“I was really pleased with our performance and our consistency over the races,” said Macky, who sailed for the first time this season at the Lake Champlain Open. “We made good progress throughout the regatta which is promising for the upcoming weekends.”
Next weekend, the team will split up again to race in the Hood Trophy, the Southern Series III, and the Chris Loder Trophy.