BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University Sailing team was in action at three events over the weekend that was highlighted by Cy Thompson (St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands) and Luke Lawrence (Palm City, Fla.) who were in Corpus Christi, Texas for the ICSA Men's Singlehanded National Championships. The team was also racing at the Crews Regatta at MIT and the R.I. State Championships hosted by Salve Regina University.
Thompson and Lawrence earned a spot at the National Championship after finishing third and fourth at the New England Men's Singlehanded Championships last month. The two traveled to Corpus Christi for races on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and a shot at a second consecutive National Championship for Thompson. Both sailors raced well as Thompson finished in fifth overall and Lawrence placed eighth. A total of 18 races were held on the weekend, and third through sixth place was only separated by six points when it was all over with. Thompson finished in the top-five on ten occasions, which included one victory and four second place finishes. Lawrence finished 39 points behind Thompson with a total of 147 which put him in eighth overall. He had five top-five finishes but was really set back after he received a penalty in the fourth race costing him crucial points. The event was won by Juan Maegli from the College of Charleston, followed up by two of the other racers representing the NEISA, Frederick Strammer from Brown and Chris Barnard from Yale.
The team was also in action at the Crews Regatta at MIT where they recorded a ninth place overall finish. The Hawks finished with 90 points, just ahead of the tenth place team from Tufts. The style of the regatta is such that those who are regularly crew members get the chance to skipper the boat. In the “A” Division, Kyle Riviezzo (Huntington, N.Y.) and Alex Feldman (West Nyack, N.Y.) scored a total of 68 points and finished in 16th overall in the division. The “B” Division saw Dan Goldman (Bradenton, Fla.) and Jeremy King (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.) finish in fifth overall with 22 points as they stayed in the top six finishers for each race.
The last regatta the team participated in on the weekend was the Rhode Island State Championships hosted by Salve Regina University where the Hawks finished in 10th place overall. The team scored a total of 229 points in the “A” and “B” Divisions over 12 races on the weekend. In the “A” Division George Saunders (San Diego, Calif.) and Robert Devens (Niantic, Conn.) competed and scored 100 points for the team, finishing eighth overall. Teammates Zack Shapiro (Darien, Conn.) and Megan Carlson (New Providence, N.J.) scored 129 points towards the total and finished in 13th place overall.
The Sailing Team will continue on with their lengthy season this upcoming weekend as they will be participating in the Atlantic Coast Championships at Harvard on Saturday and Sunday, beginning at 9:30 a.m. The Hawks qualified for this event after finishing second at the Erwin Schell Trophy on Halloween weekend.
