BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University Sailing team was in four regattas over the weekend after christening the team’s new fleet on Friday evening. The Hawks were in action at the Central 6 at BU by UVM where they placed third, the Oberg Trophy where they came in fourth, and the Women’s Stu Nelson Trophy where they came in 14th.
On Friday evening the team members, coaches, alumni, friends, family and supporters gathered around the waterfront with President Nirschel and some honored guests to christen the new fleet of boats and help kick-off the weekend.
At the Central 6 which was held in Boston, Mass. there were seven races held in both the “A” and “B” Divisions. The Hawks scored 68 points en route to a third place finish, 39 points in the “A” Division and 29 in the “B”. The pairing of Andrew Tamblyn (Little Silver, N.J.) and Carleton Huntsberger (North Port, Maine) raced in the “A” Division and finished fourth overall with 39 points. The duo had four top-five finishes including one second place finish in the seven races to earn points towards the overall score. The “B” Division was run by Eric Schwarm (Freeport, Maine) and Megan Carlson (New Providence, N.J.) who also placed fourth in the division, and earned 29 points towards the team score. Schwarm and Carlson raced quite consistently, finishing in the top-three on four occasions, and only going out of the top-five once. The team’s score was good for third place, three points behind Salve Regina and fourteen points off the winners from Tufts.
The team also sailed at the Oberg Trophy which saw the Hawks finish in fourth place behind the University of Vermont, Salve Regina, and the winners from Dartmouth. The team scored 263 points in three divisions on the weekend. Twelve races were run in each division for a total of 36 on the day. In the “A” Division, Alec Anderson (Tortola, BVI) and Tyler Wilson (Woodville, Mass.) finished in third overall with 68 points as they won three of the races and only fell out of the top-ten twice. The “B” Division saw Joshua Saltmarsh (Wayland, Mass.) and Alyssa Seifert (Duxbury, Mass.) finish in fourth overall with 79 points. The two finished in the top-five in half of the races including one victory in the 12 races. In the third and final division for the regatta, George Saunders (San Diego, Calif.) and Robert Devens (Niantic, Conn.) scored 116 points towards the team score and finished in 13th overall for the division. Saunders and Devens finished in the top-ten in six of the 12 races and were able to win one as well in a competitively grouped “C” Division.
The third regatta on the weekend was the Sherman Hoyt Trophy hosted by Brown University. Conditions were good for racing with strong Southern winds Saturday and shifty Northerly winds Sunday. A total of 14 races were held in two divisions, and the Hawks were able to place seventh out of 18 teams competing with 237 points. The “A” Division was run by Jonathan Enright (Bristol, R.I.) and Kelly Stannard (Salem, Conn.) who were able to accumulate 124 points and place ninth in the division. The two were able to get six top-five finishes, and a total of nine finishes in the top-ten. The “B” Division saw Sean Bouchard (Bermuda), Adrienne White (Duxbury, Mass.), and Ryan McHorney (Southboro, Mass.) earn 113 points and place seventh overall in the division. McHorney ran races 5-8 while White raced the first four and races 9-14 as well. The trio were victorious in three of the races and placed in the top-five three additional times.
The fourth and final race on the weekend for the Hawks was the Women’s Stu Nelson Trophy at Connecticut. There were eight races held Saturday and six on Sunday for a total of 14 races in the “A” and “B” Divisions. The Hawks were up against strong competition and finished in 14th overall. The regatta was won by the team from Dartmouth. In the “A” Division Haley Powell (St. George, Bermuda) and Bianca Rom (Amityville, N.Y.) finished in 11th place as they scored 134 points for the team’s overall score. They had a finish as high as second and eight in the top-ten on the weekend. The “B” division was run by Emerald Epke (Tiverton, R.I.) and Chelsea Maguire (Duxbury, Mass.) who finished in 15th in the division with 179 points as they had two finishes in the top-ten.
The Sailing team will be in action this coming weekend at the Women’s Victory Coffee Urn in FJ’s at Harvard, the Schell Trophy at MIT in FJ’s and Tech’s, andthe NE Frosh Champs Nickerson Trophy at Boston University. In addition to these events that they will be traveling to, the team is hosting the Team Racing Series Two in FJ’s on the Mt. Hope Bay Sunday starting at 9:30 a.m.