In a weekend filled with regattas for both the co?ed and women's sailing teams, the Jumbos came away with a mixed bag of results.
The biggest event of the weekend was the Jan T. Friis Trophy co?ed team race, hosted by the Jumbos on Mystic Lake on Saturday and Sunday.
In the qualifying round on Saturday, which was split between two venues, the Jumbos blitzed the competition, picking up wins over Brown, Dartmouth, St. Mary's, Rhode Island and Vermont, while losing only to Yale, albeit in both rounds of qualifiers.
With a 9?3 record, the team was tied for second place at Mystic Lake heading into the second round on Sunday, when the top eight teams met for another two rounds of competitive sailing. But despite having a "home?lake" advantage, the Jumbos finished with just seven wins and seven losses against the heightened competition, good for fifth place overall.
"In general, we were a little disappointed with our performance," junior co?captain Will Hutchings said. "On paper, we know we can beat the teams that finished ahead of us. Looking back, at least [Sunday], we had some bad luck that we couldn't control."
Despite the discouraging team race results, the co?ed fleet racing teams continued their excellent season, highlighted by a first?place performance at the in?conference Admiral Alymer's Trophy held at Mass. Maritime. Juniors Mackenzie Loy and John Meleney represented the A?division team and tied with Brown University for first in the division at 35 points apiece. The B?team received a collaborative effort from sophomores Sara Makaretz and Charlie Proctor along with freshman Alejandro Ruiz?Ramon, who clinched the tiebreaker in their division, giving the Jumbos a narrow victory.
"Our team is deep and talented," Hutchings said of the co?ed fleet racing teams' performance. "Other teams know we're a threat. We'll keep working at it and hopefully execute when it counts."
In addition to the Admiral Alymer's Trophy, the co?ed fleet team finished second at both Harvard's Central Series 3 regatta and the Coast Guard's Kruger Cup. In the former, sophomores Solomon Krevans and Eliza White of the A?division and freshmen Dan Nickerson and Jamie Maffeo of the B?division managed 65 and 23 points, respectively, en route to an 88?point finish, second only to Salve Regina University. At the Kruger Cup, which was single?division only, the Jumbos' A?division team, led by sophomores Viktor Wettergren, Cameron Barclift, David Liebenberg and Margaret Bacon and freshman Grace Olsen, finished with 23 points, only narrowly surpassed by first?place winner Maine Maritime Academy.
Meanwhile, the women's sailing team hit a rough stretch at the President's Trophy intersectional regatta, hosted by Boston University over the weekend. Junior skipper MarielMarchand and sophomore Barbara Murray sailed in the A?division, while freshman Kate Levinson along with senior Emily Shaw raced in the B?division. The foursome combined for a total of 192 points across 24 total races, finishing in ninth place overall.
Despite the final placement, Marchand is optimistic about the team's prospects.
"I think that we were a little disappointed, but this is always good practice for [national] qualifiers," she said. "We're learning things every week and getting better, and I think by the time of qualifiers we'll get to finish ahead of other schools."
For both squads, qualifiers and national competitions are quickly approaching, and their performances in the next few weeks could make or break their seasons.
