The A-division pair of captain Liz Powers and sophomore Marie Appel, moving up to the top bracket for the first time this fall, struggled a bit more, but found a rhythm to close out the regatta. The boat finished seventh overall with 59 points, but earned a spot in the top six through its last four races.

“Marie and Liz have been doing really well, so we wanted to give them a shot at A division,” Jumper said. “They held their own and performed well, especially with the crazy range of conditions we had.”

The pair’s marked improvement throughout the weekend complemented Harvard’s strong effort in the B division and pushed the Crimson ahead of fifth-place finisher Brown by 10 points.

NEW ENGLAND FRESHMAN CHAMPIONSHIP/NICKERSON TROPHY

Five freshmen competed for the Nickerson Trophy over the weekend, earning ninth with consistent showings in the A and B divisions. Ryan Byrne and Alma Lafler manned the A boat throughout the 14-race competition, while skipper Sam Millham paired with crews Sarah McCuskee and Jinyan Zang.

Although the freshmen did not post as strong results as their upperclassman counterparts—earning ninth and eighth, respectively, in the two divisions—Himler emphasized the importance of building on such competitions.

“I think [the freshmen] will be competing at a high level very soon,” he said. “We’ll need them to step up, whether in this year or in coming years, and they got some good experience this weekend to see how they stack up, what to work on, and how to improve. It was a very good experience for them.”

—Staff writer Max N. Brondfield can be reached at mbrondf@fas.harvard.edu.