Yale Athletics

Despite an agonizing finish at the Schell Trophy regatta, the Yale sailors fought hard to close out their fall season. 

On Saturday and Sunday, 18 teams vied for the Schell Trophy, which was hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on the Charles River. 

Harvard jumped out to an early lead through the first six rounds of racing. The Bulldogs, however, clawed their way out front through a series of seven consecutive top-five finishes. As a result, Yale stood atop the podium at the end of Saturday’s racing by a razor-thin, 3-point margin. 

Sunday’s conditions shifted continuously, making for a complex competitive environment. The leaderboard was similarly dynamic, with five lead changes occurring over the span of 12 total races. Yale held a two-point lead entering the final race, but the difference in finishing positions between Harvard and Yale was just enough for the Crimson to edge the Bulldogs by a single point, the final tally being 127–128.

At the same time, the second half of Yale’s team was competing in the Victorian Urn Trophy regatta, hosted by the other half of Harvard’s squad. Carly Kieding ’29, Sarah Moeder ’26, Elle Sykes ’27 and Ella Benedetto ’29 dealt with similarly variable weather as they competed further up the Charles. 

“The Charles River provides for volatile conditions, so keeping your head out of the boat, having good skipper-crew communication, and resetting after every race was very important,” Sykes explained. 

Yale finished fourth in the event.

The weekend marked the end of the fall doublehanded season, but Audrey Foley ’28 and Mathias Reimer ’27 will represent the Bulldogs in the Singlehanded National Championship, which will take place Nov. 7 and 8 at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.