BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University Sailing team had another busy weekend as they competed in four regattas on Saturday and Sunday. The weekend was highlighted by the performance of Cy Thompson (St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands) and Luke Lawrence (Palm City, Fla.) who finished third and fourth at the New England Men's Singlehanded Championships which were held here at Roger Williams, earning them a spot at the ICSA National Championship in Corpus Christi, Texas next month.
Thompson, the defending national champion, totaled 77 points over the course of the weekend on the waters of the Mount Hope Bay. He never finished lower than tenth during the 19 races, winning twice and finishing in the top three ten times. Lawrence was equally impressive during his 19 races. The freshman rallied off five wins during the weekend to go along with four runner-up finishes.
The Hawks were in action at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy as well competing in the Southern Series 5 on Saturday. A total of 11 races were held in the A and B Divisions with breezes ranging from 8-20 knots. The A Division racers for RWU, Eric Schwarm (Freeport, Maine) and Megan Carlson (New Providence, N.J.), finished in 6th overall for the division. The duo was able to stay in the top five for four of the races, and in the top ten in five of the remaining seven to earn 67 points for the team. In the B Division, Matthew Paige (Mystic, Conn.) and Robert Devens (Niantic, Conn.) earned 63 points which was good for fifth in the division. Paige and Devens were consistent on the day, finishing each race between third and seventh in the 11 races.
The third event on the weekend was the Moody Trophy held at Rhode Island held in Kingston, R.I. The Hawks placed ninth out of 17 teams with a total of 238 points. Fourteen races were held in the A and B Divisions on Saturday and Sunday. The A Division representatives of Jonathan Enright (Bristol, R.I.) and Kelly Stannard (Salem, Conn.) were able to win their division as they placed in the top three in five of the races, winning two of them and earning 83 points. #Alec Anderson# (Tortola, BVI) and Bianca Rom (Amityville, N.Y.) raced in the B Division and finished in the top ten on six occasions, earning 155 points and placing 14th in the division.
The final regatta for the Hawks over the weekend was the Hobart and William Smith Intersectional hosted by Hobart and William Smith Colleges. The field had good conditions, with winds of 5-15 mph which made it possible to complete fourteen races over the two days. The Hawks finished in ninth overall with 220 points. In the A Division, Bjarki Gunnarsson (River Vale, N.J.) and Tyler Wilson (Woodville, Mass.) finished in fourth overall with 89 points. The two never fell out of the top ten in any of the races, and finished in the top five in five of those races. Joshua Saltmarsh (Wayland, Mass.) and John Bankert (Annapolis, Md.) finished in 11th for their division as they placed in the top ten on eight separate occasions.
With their performances, Thompson and Lawrence will be headed to the ICSA Men's Singlehanded National Championship in Corpus Christi, Texas on November 6th as they represent Roger Williams University at the event. The team will be participating in five regattas this coming weekend: the Navy Fall Intersectional at Navy in Annapolis, Md.; the Women's Intersectional at Yale in New London, Conn.; the Captain Hurst Bowl at Dartmouth in Hanover, N.H.; the Great Herring Pond Open at Mass Maritime in Buzzards Bay, Mass.; and the Norm Reid Trophy Team Race hosted by Boston College in Boston, Mass.
