LA Harbor Cup 2010- USC plays it cool to win first Harbor Cup

by Rich Roberts on 15 Mar 2010 USC skipper Chris Vetter, having learned from heartbreaking experience, wrote a different script for his crew before racing started in the Port of Los Angeles 2010 Harbor Cup/Cal Maritime Invitational Intercollegiate Regatta.

'We have a little more time in the boat than previous years,' Vetter said. 'Hopefully, it's going to give us the speed to make a difference, and I should have a better feel for the boat to just sail consistently.'

With 10 college and academy teams from the East Coast to Hawaii sailing Catalina 37s chartered from the Long Beach Sailing Foundation, the Trojans won only one of the 10 races over three days but had no finish worse than sixth, which nobody else could say. That erased bitter memories of finishes behind Maine Maritime Academy the first two years of the event.

But they never led until the next-to-last race Sunday.

'And going into [Sunday] we were in second place,' Vetter said, sensing that same old sad result coming on.

But when Cal Maritime, the leader through seven races, stumbled to ninth place in the next-to-last race as USC placed third, the Trojans suddenly had a six-point cushion, and all they had to do as the Keelhaulers scored their third win---tops in the regatta---was to follow their rivals from Vallejo home in second place.

Vetter said, 'We just wanted three finishes in the top three today, and that's what we did.'

Racing moved back outside off Point Fermin Sunday after escaping rough seas by going behind the harbor breakwater Saturday, and the fleet enjoyed winds to 13 knots with smooth seas.

Only Vetter, a senior from St. Petersburg, Fla., and headsail trimmer Andrew Nunn will not return to sail for USC next year, but the rest of the crew will be intact, with bowman Alex Brock Kraebel, floater Maddie Thompson, pitman Erik Samuels, main trimmer Kelsey Rupp and trimmer Danny Kivlovitz.

The Trojans train out of the U.S. Sailing Center in nearby Long Beach under Mike Segerblom, a USC alum and the center's executive director.

Jim Morgan, race chairman for the Los Angeles Yacht Club, said, 'They may have lost [football coach] Pete Carroll but they still have Mike Segerblom.'

Crew member Danny Kivlovitz said, 'We picked up the slack for the football team,' which did not have one of its better seasons last year.

Kraebel added, 'We also want to say thanks to the Los Angeles Yacht Club and the Port of Los Angeles and Cal Maritime for putting on this regatta. It's an event we really look forward to.'

Results (10 races; skippers noted)
Results
(10 races; skippers noted)

1. USC, Chris Vetter, 5-3-2-6-1-6-3-3-3-2, 33 points.
2. California Maritime Academy, John Gray, 4-8-1-2-6-2-1-4-9-1, 38.
3. Chapman Univ., Max Moosman, 2-2-4-5-8-4-8-1-4-7, 45.
4. U.S. Naval Academy, James Prieto, 1-1-6-3-4-11-6-5-6-3, 46.
5. Maine Maritime Academy, Matt Bourque, 3-4-5-7-3-1-4-3-4-4, 40.
6. Univ. of Hawaii, William Petersen, 7-5-7-4-5-3-5-2-5-8, 51.
7. U.S. Coast Guard Academy, Eric Johnson, 6-7-3-8-2-6-5-8-1-6, 52.
8. Cal State U. Channel Islands, Nick deRoulhac, 8-6-8-1-7-7-2-7-7-4, 57.
9. U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Gary Taylor, 9-10-9-9-9-8-7-6-2-9, 78.
10. Univ. of California at Davis, Chris Hagerman, 10-9-10-10-10-9-10-10-9-10, 97.

The Teams

Maine Maritime Academy
Matt Bourque, skipper; Jonathan Kovach, John Joseph, Jake Newton, Chris Poole, Willy Leathers, Matt Butcka.

Cal Maritime Academy
John Gray. skipper; Sean Kelly, Tom Steele, Thor Prouly, Evan Wanamaker, Sebastien Laleau, Kyle Vanderspek. Alternate: Sara Himes.

Chapman University
Max Moosman, skipper; Aaron Krugman, Colin Camisasca, Elizabeth Nihill, Grant Laten, Taylor Forster, Kevin O'Such.

Cal State U. Channel Islands
Nick deRoulhac, captain; Ignacio Mendiguren, helm; Kevin Schaller, Andrew Domingos, Cameron Demaranville, Andrew Healy, Hayley Bracken.

UC Davis
Chris Hagerman, skipper; Michael Lazzaro, Ryan Sandy-Lee, Liz Thome, Eric Erico, Chelsea, Haddock, Brittany Hirsch.

Univ. of Hawaii
William Petersen, skipper; Zachary Hestes, Craig Schiffuns, Hannah Tuscion-Tuner, Matthew Wenner, Jackie McLoughlin, Ryan Wild.

U.S. Naval Academy
James Prieto, skipper; Peter Gibbons-Neff, Kenneth Endicott, Alisa Albrecht, Ted Dempsey, Emily Frost, Graham Tyson.

USC
Chris Vetter, skipper; Alex Brock Kraebel, Andrew Nunn, Maddie Thompson, Erik Samuels, Kelsey Rupp, Danny Kivlovitz.

U.S. Coast Guard Academy
Eric Johnson, skipper; Stephen Hills, Dan Langston, Tony Burley, Alex Lloyd. Breanna Hite, Stephanie Mewes.

U.S. Merchant Marine Academy
Gary Taylor, skipper; Daniel Gillis, Misty Harris, Amos London, Alex Nielsen, Jake Rugland, Timothy Stacy.

The Port of Los Angeles is the sponsor, California Maritime Academy of Vallejo, Calif. the inviting school and Los Angeles Yacht Club is the host and organizing authority.

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