The coed sailing team divided and conquered this weekend.
Over the weekend, the No. 1 coed sailing team split up over three events, displaying their talents across the Northeast. Two Elis qualified for the ISCA Men’s single-handed National Championships while the other Bulldog squads placed third and fifth at the 32nd Hood Trophy and Salt Pond Invitational, respectively.
Skipper Mitchell Kiss ’17, who placed fourth at the national event last year, qualified for the 2014 finals with a second placed finish at the New England Championship Event. Newcomer Malcom Lamphere ’18 also qualified with a third place finish.
“It felt great on the water,” Kiss said. “I had a lot of confidence but I knew that it was going to be a tough regatta. My experiences last year gave me a lot more confidence in myself and made me more relaxed because I knew what to expect.”
The event, held at Boston College, was hampered by poor wind conditions throughout the weekend and saw a remarkable comeback from Lamphere. While only the top four advance, the rookie skipper sat in sixth place at the end of race day one. By the final race the Lake Forest, Il. native had climbed the ladder, sitting in fourth place, but only five points separated him from three other challengers vying for the final qualifying position.
In the ensuing race, Lamphere vanquished the other captains on the high seas claiming first position and moving up to third place overall in the Championship qualifier.
“I was very impressed with Malcolm’s performance especially because when it came down to the last race, he won and showed us that he can perform under pressure,” Kiss said. “I am very confident that if we continue to train hard together for nationals we will be able to do very well.”
Elsewhere in the Boston area, the Elis placed third overall at Tufts in the 32nd Hood Trophy. Despite terrible wind conditions, which only allowed four faces over the two day event, Ian Barrows ’17 and crew Meredith Megarry ’17 came in third in the A division. In the B Division, skipper Marly Isler ’16 and crew Natalya Doris ’17 ended up in eighth place.
Barrows, who won the New England Singlehanded Championship in 2013 and placed 11th in the National Championships, suffered a knee injury, which kept him out of the competition this year. However, the All-American skipper was still able to compete in the less physically demanding fleet race, winning one and placing second in two of the races over the weekend.
The Bulldogs demonstrated their depth by sending more sailors to the Salt Pont Invitational held at URI. In the A division Eric Anderson ’16 and Sarah Smith ’15 placed eighth. The pairings of skipper Henry Lewis ’16 and crew Amelia Dobronyi ’17 along with skipper Claire Huebner ’18 and Caroline Colwell ’18, split the duties on deck in the B division piling up enough points for a sixth placed finish.
Team Captain Graham Landy ’15 along with fellow All-American Charlotte Belling ’16 took the weekend off from sailing for Yale, participating instead in the US Sailing Team Racing Championships alongside a number of Yale alumni. In addition to Landy, and his non-alum crew, former Yale skippers Chris Segerblom ’14 and Thomas Barrows ’10 along side crews Belling and Marlena Fauer ’14, respectively, made up the Eli dominated fleet. Landy and Belling helped the former Yalies and their fleet, named Hoodrat S.W.O.F [Stuff with Our Friends], finish fourth out of 12 competing teams.
“This was my first time sailing the US Team racing championship,” Landy said. “It offered a nice break in the season and definitely helped improve our skills. There were a ton of great sailors there, both undergrads and recent graduates, and it was nice to sail in a team of mostly alums. Even though I was not with the team this weekend, I was really impressed with the performance of our younger team members. We’ve been practicing really hard and it’s exiting to see their hard work paying off.”
Looking ahead to next weekend, the Bulldogs will further divide the kennel, traveling to four different regattas across the Northeast. The slate includes a trip the Coast Guard Academy where the Elis will attempt to claim the Danmark Trophy for the second straight year.