GALVESTON, Texas - Navy junior Gary Prieto placed ninth in the 18-member field of the Intercollegiate Sailing Association Laser Performance Men's Singlehanded National Championship this past weekend in Galveston, Texas.

"Gary sailed extremely well over the course of the weekend, competing hard and expecting to win throughout," said head coach Ian Burman. "I know he'll take this forward into his future events and we'll be better for the experience. This year's fleet might have been the toughest we've seen in a while. There were two Olympians and three former winners of the event in attendance - none of whom would end up on the podium here."

The racing was tight throughout the weekend and the slightest error proved extremely costly. The event was held out of the new Sea Scout Base Galveston, which is a fantastic facility that is home to many sailing activities. The sailing conditions were near perfect as well, with temperatures in the 70s, flat water and moderately shifty winds at 10-15 knots.

Prieto was excited for the conditions and the competition, but perhaps a little too anxious as he was called over early and forced to restart race one, leading to a 13th place finish. After that, he settled down and found a groove, posting a string of solid finishes throughout the day on Saturday. He got as high as one point out of first at the midway point of the regatta, but faded a bit, falling to third overall with only three races remaining but within within striking distance of the lead.

His game plan was to remain aggressive and play for the win, rather than trying to defend the third place position. Unfortunately, the plan did not pay off and Gary was called over early at the start and forced to restart in all of the last three races, recording three weak finishes and dropping to ninth overall.

Boston College's freshman Scott Rasmussen won the singlehanded championship, Charleston's Gerald Williams was second and Yale's Nicholas Baird was third.