NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Roger Williams University Sailing team will send their Open Team Race squad and Women's Team Race sailors to the Intercollegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) Open and Women's Team Race National Championship. The Open Team will begin competition on Thursday, Apr. 23 and the Women's Team will begin competition on Sunday, Apr. 26 at Tulane.
The Women's squad has earned their first Nationals selection in program history. However, the Open team is no stranger to the National stage, as they claimed the National title in 2024 for the second time in program history.
The Hawks' open squad enters the championship ranked third nationally, while the women's team heads to nationals ranked 10th nationally.
For the Women's Team Racing squad, RWU will send skippers Maren Matthews (Harbor Springs, Mich.), Lucy Meagher (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), and Tavia Smith (Wilmington, N.C.) to make their national debuts. The crews for the Hawks will also be making their debuts, as RWU will send Elyssa Franklin (St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands), Katie McGagh (League City, Texas), Maggie Fleming (San Diego, Calif.), and Mackenzie Speece (Shelter Island, N.Y.).
For Open Team Racing, the Hawks will see skippers Carlos Bermudez de Castro (La Coruña, Spain) and Kyle Pfrang (Suffolk, Va.) return after guiding RWU to a national championship in 2024 and a third-place podium finish in 2025. They will be joined by skippers Oliver Stokke (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Drew Mastovsky (Marion, Mass.), who will make their Open Team Race Nationals debut.
Joining their skippers will be Addy Fisher (Charleston, S.C.) and Jed Lory (Severna Park, Md.), who similarly to Bermudez de Castro and Pfrang are making repeat appearances after their third-place finish last year. RWU will also see Jakub Fuja (Glenview, Ill.) and Carter Sheehan (Middletown, R.I.) make their debuts. Also making her debut at the Open Team Race is Matthews, who will crew for the Open squad before joining the Women's Team as a skipper.
Roger Williams will head to Tulane University for the Open Team Race Nationals on Apr. 23-25 and Women's Team Race Nationals on Apr. 26-27.
