In breezy, cold conditions along the Atlantic and with Ancient Eight bragging rights on the line, Bulldog sailors fell short of No. 8 Harvard in a battle of Ivy League sailing.
The No. 7 Yale coed sailing team finished second in the Owen, Mosbacher and Knapp Trophy on Sunday in Kings Point, N.Y. with 141 points to the Crimson’s 118. Other Eli sailors placed eighth at the Szambecki Trophy, 14th at the Southern Series Two, and 16th at the Boston Dinghy Cup.
The Mosbacher Trophy serves as the de facto Ivy League title because an official title does not exist. The
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Owen Trophy is awarded to the top overall finisher, while the Knapp trophy goes to the best finish among Harvard, Yale and Princeton.
Cameron Cullman ’13 skippered in the A division with crews Amanda Salvesen ’14 and Blair Belling ’11. Cullman and Amanda Salveson ’14 got off to a fast start in the 420 boat on Saturday, as the duo claimed three firsts and a second in the first six races.
However, Sunday proved more challenging. Cullman, who skippered with Belling, finished in the top five in only three of eight races, leading to a second place finish in the A division.
In the B division, skipper Emily Billing ’13 and crew Rafael Fernandez ’13 worked together on Saturday en route to claiming two race wins and no finish below seventh among the 19 teams.
“Saturday was very windy, which was exacerbated by the fact that King’s Point has flat top mains,” Billing said in a press release. “It was the first time that I had ever sailed with flat top mains, which made it quite tricky. We worked really hard to be consistent and to avoid taking big risks.”
In lighter conditions on Sunday, new skipper Joseph Morris ’12 and crew Salvesen, who took over the B division boat, tore through the first six races, finishing with four race wins, a second and a fourth. Billing resumed her role as skipper for the last two races and, despite closing out the final two contests for a second-place B division finish, could not supplant the Harvard Crimson, which bested Yale for all three trophies.
Meanwhile, Chris Segerblom ’14, Elizabeth Brim ’11, Claire Dennis ’13, Heather May ’13, Max Nickbarg ’14 and Anna Han ’14 made the long trip to Norfolk, Va. for the Szambecki Trophy, a team racing event. The Bulldogs were forced to battle through heavy winds and sleet that cloaked the competition. In the two-round, head-to-head format, the Bulldogs struggled to a 1–13 finish against the seven other schools, with their lone win coming over Old Dominion in the second round.
“Since we’re so young, we’re still putting different people in for the team race team and learning how to work with each other,” May said. “It just takes some time to put the pieces toether. It’s definitely a work in progress.”
Down the road in Rhode Island, Emily Farr ’14, Maddy Yozwiak ’14, Nace Cohen ’14 and Will Feldman ’14 worked together for a 14th place finish in the Southern Series Two. The A division boat grabbed 16th while the B division boat took 11th.
“No matter how many layers you put on, you’re still going to be cold,” Yozwiak said in an interview. “As the day goes on, it just becomes harder and harder to do everything as well as you were doing at the beginning of the day.”
A pack of Bulldogs also made the trek to Massachusetts for the 82nd Boston Dinghy Cup, the oldest trophy in collegiate sailing. In the A division, Rob Struckett ’12 and Isabel Elliman ’12 grabbed two third-place finishes and 11th place in the division. Skipper Marlena Fauer ’14 and crew Eugenia Custo Greig ’14 combined for five top-fives and 13th in the B division. Nathan Stevens ’11 and Sinead O’Brien ’13 finished 18th in the C division.
This weekend, the coed team will compete at the 14th Southern New England Team Race Intersectional, the BU Trophy and the Mystic Lake Team Racing Invitational. The women’s team will resume competition at the 25th Women’s Brad Dellenbaugh Trophy.