After three days of racing on Long Island Sound, the Harvard Crimson took first place in The Open Team Race National Championship out of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. The final day of the Championship delivered more challenging conditions with shifting breeze and large swells and winds starting out of the north from 10-15 knots.
“Winning feels amazing, especially coming in freshman year and having an amazing support system, coaches, and senior role models,” said Mitchell Callahan ‘26, skipper for Harvard University. “I think that really helped us peak at the right time. Our strategy was to take one race at a time, keep our heads down, and block out all the noise. We had to focus, do our jobs, and communicate.”
Race committee got a full round-robin for the Top 8 teams, with St. Mary’s University of Maryland finally winning against Stanford and disrupting their undefeated record in a 1, 2, 4 combination. Teams had to keep their heads out of the boat, with boat speed critical as sailors balanced their pairs and created mark traps in the chop. The Stanford Cardinal then took three more losses to Harvard, Roger Williams, and Dartmouth in the Top 8 round-robin, knocking them to second place and moving Harvard University to first place. The Final 4 welcomed Harvard in 1st, Stanford in 2nd, Yale in 3rd, and Dartmouth 4th after intense sailing with teams battling it out for spots 3 and 4. Unfortunately, the breeze had different plans for the Top 4 round-robin as it shifted 180 degrees when the sea breeze filled. The race committee did their best to complete a full round-robin by 5 pm, but the wind continued to present challenges with huge oscillations and ultimately prevented any sail-offs. Harvard University won the Open Team Race National Championship, Stanford University took 2nd, Yale University claimed 3rd, and Dartmouth College rounded out the Top 4.
“If we made history this weekend, it’s because the women on our team are some of the best sailors in the nation,” said Stanford’s Head Coach, Chris Klevan, about the seven women of eight total athletes they fielded in the Team Race Championship. “They all are warriors and they proved it over the weekend. I could not be more proud and I know without question the whole team left it all on the water. Congratulations to Harvard- they went out and took the event today with exceptional sailing. I’m glad to stand second to them this time.”
Check out the final results and the live-stream broadcast from Day 3.
Tomorrow kicks off Open Fleet Race National Semifinals at 10:00 am ET to determine who will go to the Open Fleet Race National Finals starting June 1st. Tune in with Chris Love Productions and FlyPack, NY to watch all pre-show, live-stream, and post-show events - click here. Don’t miss out on a variety of camera angles to bring you the front-row viewing experience including drones, on-course cameras and audio, live tracking, and more!
Photos and social media provided by Media sponsor US Sailing / Lexi Pline and Ashley Dart.
