NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Roger Williams University Sailing team opened their Spring competition schedule on Saturday, closing out the opening weekend with top three finishes at the Liam O'Keefe Team Race, and Harvard Women's Team Race, while placing fourth and fifth respectively at the McMerrick Cup and Thames River Team Race.
 
At the Liam O'Keefe, the Hawks posted a 5-2 record with skippers Carlos Bermudez de Castro, Kyle Pfrang, and Oliver Stokke helping to guide the Hawks with assistance of crew Carly Kiss, Claire Buckley, and Addyson Fisher to third. 
 
The Hawks took wins over Brown and Dartmouth before dropping a race to Harvard.  The Hawks also added wins over MIT, Tufts, and URI but Yale was able to sale ahead to take the win. Harvard took the top spot, going unbeaten.
 
At the Harvard Women's Team, Roger Williams saw the team of skippers Lucy Meagher, Tavia Smith, and Katie McGagh and crew Maren Matthews, Jancy Grayson, and Elyssa Franklin go 3-6, finishing tied with MIT.
 
The Hawks struggled in the first round, going 1-4 in their round robin, with their lone win coming against Harvard. RWU then rebounded in the second round robbin, defeating both Harvard and MIT, while falling to Yale and Brown.
 
At the McMerrick, the Hawks went 2-3 with Connor McHugh, Jack Crager, Jakub Fuja, and Edward Herman each serving as skippers for the team, while Dawson Chambers-Tartaglino, Caroline Felser, and Ethan Martin each were the crew.
 
The Hawks sailed to a 1-2-3 finish against Connecticut College, while also picking up a win over Tufts, 1-3-6. The Hawks losses came at the hands of Bowdoin, Boston University, and URI.
 
In the final regatta of the weekend, the Hawks placed fifth in the Thames River Team Race, posting a 4-3 record finishing in a three way tiebreak. The Hawks were guided by Drew Mastovsky, Jack Roman, and Tristan McDonald as skippers, while Ruby Hope, Ethan Snyder, and Frankie Sparrow were crew.
 
Roger Williams defeated Bowdoin, but fell to Brown, and both Tufts teams in the round robin. The Hawks picked up wins over Connecticut College, Vermont and Yale in their races.
 
The Hawks will return to competition on Saturday, Mar. 9.