After one of its best fall seasons in recent memory and a winning spring, Harvard sailing is poised to conquer the continent as the team travels to compete in the Inter-Collegiate Yacht Racing Association (ICYRA) North American Championships in early June.

Triumphant performances in district competition qualified Harvard to participate in the women's, coed and dinghy championship events. The ICYRA Championships signify the culmination of the college sailing year, which spans both the fall and spring seasons.

"The ICYRA North Americans are a showcase for sailing's best collegiate talent," said ICYRA Executive Director Mike Horn, "and provide a window on the future of the Olympics, the America's Cup and other world-level regattas."

1999 senior co-captains Christian Taubman and Sarah Levin led an outstanding fall season.

In October, the coed team captured the Schell Trophy and the New England Fall Championship. At the Schell, the duo of Taubman and Levin placed third in the A division while sophomore Sean Doyle joined with freshman Michelle Yu and junior Kyung Byun to win the B Division.

Among a string of strong fall performances for the women's team was a second-place finish in the Victorian Urn Trophy.

Senior Lauren Toretta, junior Alex Beale and the sophomore pair of Margaret Gill and Susan Bonney consistently sailed well throughout the season.

Along with Yu, a new crop of promising first-years proved themselves by winning the Nickerson Trophy for the New England Freshman Championship title.

The dawn of spring was accompanied by high expectations and a string of weekends with treacherous weather, but a solid spring break training week allowed Harvard to emerge as the team to beat in the competitive New England region.

Led by Doyle and Beale, who were named captains for the 2000 calendar year, the Crimson kept the pace up in the spring. During a busy spring, the coed team captured both the Boston Dinghy Cup and the Friis Trophy, while the women's team took home the Emily Wick Trophy.

The freshmen proved their mettle by finishing first at the Priddy Trophy held at Dartmouth. Freshmen Clay Bischoff and Lema Kikuchi, who is also a Crimson editor, narrowly edged out a team of Tufts sailors to win the Priddy in shifty conditions.

Berths for the ICYRA Championships came as no surprise to the Crimson.

The women were the first to qualify by sailing to a respectable third-place finish at the Reed Trophy. Close wins at the New England Team Race Championships and the New England Dinghy Championships clinched the other two berths.