1st Place Overall - (Left to Right) Harvard University made up of Matthew Cabot '24, Justin Callahan '26, Lachlain McGranahan '24, Aidan Pesce '26, Kennedy Leehealey '26, Marbella Marlo '24
St. Mary's City, MD (Oct. 23, 2023) – Harvard University took the win at the 2023 Open Atlantic Coast Championship (ACC) Finals hosted by the St. Mary’s College of Maryland after two days of competitive racing on the St. Mary’s River. The Open Atlantic Coast Championship was the second event of a two stage series which began with two evenly seeded events hosted by NEISA. The top nine teams from each qualifying regatta moved on to the finals. The Open ACC Finals is the strongest open fleet racing event of the season, and saw very competitive and tight racing. The podium was swept by the Ivy League with Brown University and Dartmouth College rounding out the top three.
“I am very proud of our team. Everyone has worked hard to get us to this point,” said Harvard University Head Coach Mike O’Connor. “Over the last few weeks we have focused on consistently starting well. We knew that there would be little margin for error against the best teams in the nation.”
2nd Place Overall - (Left to Right) Brown University made up of Cam Spriggs '27, Connor Nelson '24, Liam O'Keefe '26, Savannah Young '25, Helen Horangic '25, and Vera Allen '27
3rd Place Overall - (Left to Right) Dartmouth College made up of Ryan Satterberg '27, Robert Bragg '23, Maddie Hawkins '24, James Paul '23, Elise Donovan '24, Yumi Yoshiyasu '24, Reese Bragg '25
Conditions on both days were extremely difficult with a strong West-northwesterly breeze in the mid to upper teens and classic horseshoe bend gusty, shifty conditions. Ten races were completed in each division on Saturday, leaving only four races per division to be raced on Sunday to complete the regatta.
Racing in A division was extremely tight with only four points separating the top three teams. Brown University’s team of Connor Nelson, Savannah Young (1-10) and Vera Allen (11-14) got off to a great start building a commanding 16 point lead in their division after the first five races of the series. Over the course of Saturday afternoon, the field gained ground on the Brown Bears and by the end of the first day the battle for A-Division had heated up with the top 7 teams all easily within striking distance of the lead. Nelson and Allen closed out the event strongly on Sunday with a few great finishes that helped cement their victory in A Division, and a second place overall team finish.
“On Saturday, it was windy with gusts from 15-20 knots. Our game plan was to have a good start and hike hard to make it to the left side which was predominantly favored,” said Connor Nelson about the racing conditions. “On day two, the first set had variable wind and we focused on good starts and taking every shift without thinking about a favored side of the course. In the second set, we were over in the first race and then had a good last race. The conditions, race committee and competitors were exceptional all weekend.”
1st Place A Division: (Left to Right) Brown University - Savannah Young '25, Connor Nelson '24, and Vera Allen '27
1st Place B Division: (Left to Right) Harvard University - Aidan Pesce '26, Justin Callahan '26, Kennedy Leehealey '26
Winning the first race in B-Division and never looking back, Harvard University’s team of Justin Callahan and crews Kennedy Leehealey and Aidan Pesce helped secure victory for the Crimson. Their lead was the largest just after the midway point of the regatta, leading the division by 26 points after the first eight races with an average of just over two points per race.
“The regatta this weekend was definitely challenging. Super windy, but plenty of shifts to pay attention to as well. Because of the strong winds, communication became so important in the boat. I think the key to the weekend was staying in phase, even if it meant taking the bad lanes,” said Justin Callahan. “We are super happy to come away with the win and definitely recognized a lot of things that we still need to work on. The main target is nationals in May so our goal is to keep getting better regardless of the conditions. It was a great team effort from the sailors at St. Mary’s, teammates back home, and all three of our coaches.”
Sailing for Harvard University: Lachlain McGranahan '24 (A Skipper), Marbella Marlo '24 and, Matthew Cabot '24 (A Crews), Justin Callahan '26 (B Skipper), Kennedy Leehealey '26, and Aidan Pesce '26 (B Crew)
Sailing for Brown University: Connor Nelson '24 (A Skipper), Savannah Young '25, and Vera Allen '27 (A Crews), Liam O'Keefe '26 (B Skipper), Cam Spriggs '27, and Helen Horangic '25 (B Crews)
Sailing for Dartmouth College: Robert Bragg '23 (A Skipper),Yumi Yoshiyasu '24, and James Paul '23 (A Crews), Maddie Hawkins '24 and Ryan Satterberg '27 (B Skippers), Reese Bragg '25, Elise Donovan '24, and James Paul '23 (B Crews)
Final Results:
1. Harvard University
2. Brown University
3. Dartmouth College
4. U.S. Coast Guard Academy
5. Roger Williams University
6. Yale University
7. Stanford University
8. Georgetown University
9. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
10. College of Charleston
11. U.S. Naval Academy
12. Bowdoin College
13. University of Rhode Island
14. Tufts University
15. Tulane University
16. Boston College
17. University of Pennsylvania
18. Cornell University
The ICSA’s Atlantic Coast Championship series has been sailed in this format since 2018 with the venue rotating between NEISA and MAISA. The ICSA’s Fall season wraps up over the course of the next several weekends with most conferences holding their Open and Women’s Fleet Race Championships this upcoming weekend and both the Singlehanded and Match Race National Championships the first weekends in November.
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