Jurczak Little was the first William Smith sailor to be named an All-American women’s skipper. She helped the Colleges’ sailing team capture four Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association Championships, including the 1999 MAISA Women’s Dinghy Championship, clinching the program’s first trip to the women’s national championship.
“Chrissy put the William Smith varsity sailing program on the map,” HWS Sailing Head Coach Scott Iklé ’84 said. “She was the best women’s skipper of the era from the mid ’90s through the mid 2000s.”
Jurczak Little made waves as a sophomore, securing the Ady Symonds ’96 Most Valuable Sailing Award.
A team captain as a junior, Jurczak Little sailed in A Division in the women’s national championship regatta in St. Petersburg, Fla., helping the Herons finish ninth overall. Among her other successes that season, she finished third in the MAISA Sloop Championship. Jurczak Little was named an All-MAISA skipper that year and, at the annual Heron Awards dinner, she again took home the Ady Symonds ’96 Award as the team MVP.
In 2000, Jurczak Little again served as a team captain and picked up her third consecutive Ady Symonds ’96 Most Valuable Sailing Award and collected a second All-MAISA skipper honor. The Herons narrowly missed a return trip to the ICYRA Women’s National Championship, finishing fourth in the MAISA Women’s Championship, but she did successfully navigate waters no other Heron had experienced, earning women’s skipper All-American honorable mention.
Jurczak Little graduated with a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies. She returned to her alma mater for the 2000-01 academic year to serve as an assistant sailing coach. Jurczak Little helped HWS win several regattas, including the Hobart and William Smith Fall Invitational and the Atlantic Coast Dinghy Championship, and guided the Herons back to the women’s national championships, where they finished ninth.
Today, the William Smith Sailing Coach’s Award is named in her honor and is presented to the team’s most improved sailor.
Jurczak Little is a regional director of project management for Environmental Remediation and Financial Services.
