BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University Sailing team was in action at three regattas on the weekend, the Erwin Schell Trophy, the Nickerson Trophy and the Victorian Urn in which they turned in finishes of second place, fourth place, and thirteenth place respectively. With their performance at the Erwin Schell Trophy, the team secured a spot at the NEISA Atlantic Coast Championships in two weeks.
Hosted by MIT, the Erwin Schell Trophy was held on Saturday and Sunday on the Charles River where there was a 20-30 knot breeze the first day, and a lighter 5-8 knot wind on the second. A total of 20 races were held in Techs and FJ’s in two divisions. The Hawks “A” Division team of Cy Thompson (St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands), Kelly Stannard (Salem, Conn.), and John Bankert (Annapolis, Md.) scored 100 points and won the division. Stannard raced heats 1-4 and 13-20 while Bankert took over for races 5-12. The trio were in the top-five boats in 14 of the races run, and were able to win six of those. The “B” Division team also put in a strong effort, scoring 176 points which was good for 6th in the division. The team of Jonathan Enright (Bristol, R.I.), Alyssa Seifert (Duxbury, Mass.), and Tyler Wilson (Woodville, Mass.) finished in the top-five on seven occasions, and the top-ten and additional four times. Seifert ran races 1-6 and 13-20 while Wilson participated in races 7-12. When it was all said and done the Hawks sat in second behind the winners from Yale, and had earned a spot at the NEISA Atlantic Coast Championships.
The second regatta for the Hawks was the NE Freshman Nickerson Trophy hosted by Boston University. A total of 14 races were completed over the two days, and the Hawks earned a fourth place finish with 167 points overall in two divisions. The Hawks’ Alec Anderson (Tortola, BVI) and Sophie Bellacosa (Winchester, Mass.) finished in fourth overall for the “A” Division by finishing in the top-five in seven of the 14 races held, winning two and placing second in three. In the “B” Division the Hawks scored 84 points with seven top-five finishes of their own and five of them were in the top-three. Freshman Andrew Tamblyn (Little Silver, N.J.) skippered while classmate Adrienne White (Duxbury, Mass.) handled the crew responsibilities.
The third event for the Sailing team was the Victorian Coffee Urn at Harvard on Saturday and Sunday. High winds on Saturday made for an interesting day, while Sunday’s weather was much more suitable for racing. A total of eight races in two divisions were held and the Hawks scored 184 points and finished in 13th place. Haley Powell (St. George, Bermuda) and Bianca Rom (Amityville, N.Y.) finished in 10th overall in the “A” Division as they stayed in the middle of the pack for each race, but had a disqualification in one race to give them a total of 82 points. In the “B” Division Emerald Epke (Tiverton, R.I.) and Chelsea Maguire (Duxbury, Mass.) finished in 15th and scored 102 points for the team.
Next weekend the Hawks are participating in five different events. Luke Lawrence (Palm City, Fla.) and Thompson will be travelling to Corpus Christie, Texas for the ICSA Singlehanded Championships. The team will be in four separate regattas, the Hap Moore Trophy Team Racing Intersectional at Boston College, the R.I. State Championships Narragansett Bay Open at Salve Regina, the No-Ringer Invite at MIT and the Crews Regatta, also at MIT.