After a change of venue from Upper Mystic Lake to the self-proclaimed "sailing capital of the world" this past weekend, the nationally ranked No. 10 co-ed sailing team had a little hiccup, but for good reason.
Though the Jumbos as a team finished 17th out of 17 teams at the Moody Trophy hosted by Roger Williams University in Bristol, RI, senior tri-captain Andrew Criezis was busy doing work at the New England Men's Singlehanded Championship.
Unfortunately for Criezis, who qualified for nationals in his sophomore year, he was unable to earn one of the top four qualifying spots for the National Championship later in the fall. But fifth place out of 21 of the best collegiate singlehanded sailors in the country wasn't too shabby, either.
"It was a little disappointing to miss qualifying for nationals by one spot because it seems so close, but in reality the top four sailors had a large lead ahead of me and everyone else points-wise," Criezis said. "The top four are basically pro/world-class sailors and their main job is sailing the Laser at an international level. So to be able to compete with world class sailors and Olympians [such as Yale senior Thomas Barrows, who won the event] and give them a run for their money at times felt good."
Criezis finished with 145 points over 19 races, while the fourth-place finisher, freshman Luke Lawrence from Roger Williams, finished with 98. The winner, Barrows, accumulated only 55 points, finishing outside of the top five finishers only once.
It would have taken quite a performance to beat Barrows, the two-time defending champion of the Singlehanded National Championship. A sailor who's already accumulated a hefty number of accolades, including winning the Laser North American Championship in 2007, garnering numerous All-American awards and earning a 21st-place finish while representing the U.S. Virgin Islands at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the Laser Class, Barrows is a formidable opponent for any world-class sailor, let alone a collegiate one.
Still, Criezis believes he has the talent to beat Barrows, as he did in several races throughout the weekend. It ultimately came down to consistency, and Criezis was just one step behind the top four sailors throughout the day in that department.
"He wasn't untouchable; I could beat him," Criezis said. "But consistently over almost 20 races, yeah he was untouchable. He also sailed in the Olympics and got mid-fleet, so I don't feel so bad."
Criezis was joined by three other Jumbos, including freshman Albert Nichols, who finished 13th, freshman William Hutchings, who placed 15th, and junior Jamie Altreuter, who rang in at 16th.
One of the difficulties the sailors met was the strength of the breeze on Saturday. A steady 15-to-20 knot breeze with gusts up to 30 caused some fatigue, as the Laser is one of the toughest boats to keep flat in a strong breeze because it lacks a trapeze apparatus and is only a singlehanded boat. This meant that, on top of the steering the boat, trimming the sails and concerning themselves with their positioning, the sailors were using every ounce of strength in their abdominal section to hike out and keep the boat flat and fast.
"It was definitely survival mode on Saturday," Criezis said. "Sunday was more manageable with winds around 15, so I did better.
"To be in the top four I should have trained in the Laser all summer and traveled to as many national and international laser regattas as possible ... A more intense workout plan would have been key," he added.
All told, Criezis had a very successful singlehanded campaign and will be rejoining the team's intersectional racing next weekend. But without Criezis or fellow senior Tomas Hornos, who accompanied him to Roger Williams, it was up to five sophomores to hold down the Tufts fort at the Moody Trophy.
But it didn't go so well for the up-and-coming Jumbo stars. In the A division, skipper Nicolas Russo-Larsson and a combination of Jordana Hanselman and Emily Shaw as crew sailed to a 16th-place finish out of 17 teams with 176 points over 14 races. Massimo Soriano skippered the B division boat with Shaw and Adam Weisman splitting time as crew, where they also came in 16th of 17 with 171 points. Combined, though, the Jumbos accumulated a bloated score of 347 points, 28 points behind the 16th-place Fordham Rams.
"It was unfortunate that both boats had a rough weekend, leading to a very poor finish overall," Russo-Larsson said.
"Jory [Hanselman] and I started off OK in the A division, with three top-10 finishes in the first four races, but quickly lost momentum," he added. "It is difficult to bounce back mentally after a few poor finishes. We essentially dug ourselves into a hole."
Fortunately for the Jumbos, they have ample time to recoup and work out some of the issues they've been having before Atlantic Coast Championships on Nov. 14-15.
"The breeze was great on Sunday," Russo-Larsson said. "The real problem was [that] we were either sacrificing speed or positioning ... On the bright side, these problems can be worked out."
