About the SAISA Sailors of the Week
Each week of the season, we’ll recognize outstanding performances by sailors across SAISA, as well as by SAISA sailors in competition out of conference. The selection process includes a nomination period each week ending on Sunday. A committee of SAISA coaches from both divisions selects sailors from the nominations received and will announce the SAISA Sailors of the Week early each week following the close of the nomination period. If you’d like to submit a nomination, email the sailor’s name, school, position, and what events or circumstances they demonstrated outstanding performance to SAISAsotw@gmail.com. Nominations close on Sunday at midnight EST and selections will be based on performances for the preceding week and that weekend. Selection categories may include co-ed skipper, co-ed crew, women’s skipper, women’s crew. Pairings or individual sailors may be nominated or selected.
Fall 2023 – Week 7
ST. PETERSBURG, FL., (October 27-29, 2023) – Sunny skies and great breeze welcomed sailors to St. Petersburg, Florida for the 2023 SAISA Women’s Fall Conference Championship hosted by the University of South Florida. Featuring the top 11 women’s teams in the conference, racing was tight from the very start of the event. With several lead changes across the two days of racing, the final standings came down to the final leg of the final race of the regatta with the host USF Bulls protecting a one-point lead to win. The Bulls were led by Emma Shakespeare (Sr., St. Petersburg, FL), Min Min Kelly (Sr., New Orleans, LA), Kay Brunsvold (Jr., Sarasota, FL), and Kalea Woodard (Sr., San Diego, CA) who earned SAISA Women’s Sailors of the Week honors for Week 7, Fall 2023.
Following completion of the women’s event, teams traveled across town to Eckerd College for the 2023 SAISA Fall Open Conference Championship for the Robert L. Armstrong Trophy where blue skies and great breeze continued to allow for quality racing and champagne SAISA conditions. With racing on Saturday afternoon and Sunday, the College of Charleston Cougars outpaced the field of 18 SAISA teams for the regatta victory, earning a podium position on all but five of the 22 races held including seven first-place bullets. Winning the Robert L. Armstrong Trophy, the College of Charleston’s Noah Zittrer (So., Clear Falls, TX), Lucy Klempen (Sr., Kingshill, USVI), Ben Dufour (So., Geneva, CH), and Noel Owen (Sr., Severn, MD) earned SAISA Sailors of the Week honors for Week 7, Fall 2023.
Fall 2023 – Week 6
ANNAPOLIS, MD., (October 21-22, 2023) – A full weekend of blustery westerly breeze on the Severn River greeted sailors to the 2023 Atlantic Coast Tournament where the University of Miami Hurricanes surged on Sunday morning with low scores to overcome four MAISA and PCCSC teams to secure first place for the overall regatta. Congratulations to Atlee Kohl (Jr., St. Croix, USVI), Natalie Elder (Jr., Newton, MA), Magnus Weissenberger (Jr., Villanova, PA), Aiden Dennis (Jr., Kemah, TX), Ana Stewart (Fr., Minnetonka, MN), and Dom Canonico (Sr., Tampa, FL) for winning the ACT and earning SAISA Open Sailors of the Week for Week 6, Fall 2023.
Facing fierce competition at the 2023 Yale Women’s Regatta, the College of Charleston Women stepped up to the task as the Cougars’ A-Division finished six of the twelve races on the podium against the deepest women’s field in the country, completing the event in fourth overall after losing a tiebreak. Sailing A-Division for the 7th ranked College of Charleston was skipper Emma Tallman (Sr., Torrance, CA), Clara Murphy (Fr., Norfolk, VA), and Rowan Schanley (Sr., Manchester, MA), earning SAISA Women’s Sailors of the Week for Week 6, Fall 2023.
Fall 2023 – Week 5
CAMBRIDGE, MA., (October 7-8, 2023) – Gusty and wet conditions greeted sailors to the Charles River for the Atlantic Coast Championship Open Qualifiers at Harvard and MIT, but this didn’t stop the College of Charleston squad from delivering competitive finishes and qualifying for a spot in the ACC Finals. Congratulations to the Cougars’ Noah Zittrer (So., Clear Falls, TX), Lucy Klempen (Sr., Kingshill, USVI), Emma Tallman (Sr., Torrance, CA), Aidan Iaconis (So., Greenwich, CT), Ben Dufour (So., Geneva, CH), Chloe Hudgins (Sr., Jensen Beach, FL) and Garrett Grenauer (Sr., Buffalo, NY) on securing SAISA Open Sailors of the Week with their strong performance.
Back in SAISA in the shadow of the USS Yorktown, the Charleston Fall Women’s Interconference welcomed sailors from SAISA, MAISA, and the MCSA for a combined division event. With two days of outstanding conditions, plenty of current, sunshine, and tight racing, NC State’s women took the lead on Sunday morning and never looked back earning the regatta victory. Congratulations to the Wolfpack’s Olivia Sowa (Sr., Hollywood, MD), Abby Scudder (Sr., Swansboro, NC), Isa du Plessis (Sr., Ft. Lauderdale, FL), and JC Minchew (Jr., Clinton, NC) on the win and earning SAISA Women’s Sailors of the Week honors.
Fall 2023 – Week 4
Fall 2023 – Week 3
CHARLESTON, SC., (September 22, 2023) – On Weekend 3 of the Fall 2023 Season, SAISA held Match Race Conference Championships hosted by the College of Charleston where the Cougars secured a hard-fought regatta win over eight conference teams. The Cougars will represent SAISA at the ICSA Match Race National Championships in November. Congratulations to Axel Stordahl (Sr., Gig Harbor, WA), Lucy Klempen (Sr., Kingshill, USVI), Garrett Grenauer (Jr., Buffalo, NY), and Lawson Levine (Sr., Chicago, IL) for earning this week’s SAISA Open Sailors of the Week for week 3.
Further south at Eckerd College, the top 12 women’s teams in SAISA met to compete at the SAISA Top 12 Women’s Invite where NC State Wolfpack sailors Olivia Sowa (Sr., Hollywood, MD) and Shea Hoffacker (Fr., Wilmington, NC) delivered an outstanding performance winning a very competitive A-Division with six first place bullets over 11 races, helping their team to an overall second-place finish. In B-Division, USF Bulls sailors Eden Nykamp (Jr., Holland, MI) and Janie Powell (Jr., Annapolis, MD) dominated a talented field starting the regatta with a picket fence of first place finishes through day one, eight total firsts over the 11-race event, and no finish off the podium over the course of the regatta, helping to propel the USF Bulls to an overall regatta victory. Congratulations to Sowa, Hoffacker, Nykamp, and Powell for earning SAISA Women’s Sailors of the Week for week 3.
Fall 2023 – Week 2
MELBOURNE, FL., (September 16, 2023) – On Weekend 2 of the Fall 2023 Season, SAISA held its conference Singlehanded Conference Championships in both women’s and open divisions, this year hosted in Melbourne, Florida by Florida Tech. Jacksonville University’s Emily Allen (Sr., St. Petersburg, FL) won the SAISA Women’s Singlehanded Championship over a field of the conference’s ten best women’s Laser/ILCA sailors, earning SAISA Women’s Sailor of the Week honors. In the Open division, the College of Charleston’s Benjamin Dufour (So., Geneva, CH) won the SAISA Open Singlehanded Championship against 17 of the conference’s best Laser/ILCA sailors and earned SAISA Open Sailor of the Week honors. Additionally, the USF Bulls team of Emmy DiGiacomo (Sr., Tampa, FL), Eden Nykamp (Jr., Holland, MI), Andreas Keswater (Sr., Torrance, CA), and Melissa Janes (So., Eustis, FL), traveled to the MCSA where they dominated a field of 17 teams over the course of the two day, 12-race Fall Fury Regatta event finishing every single race on the podium including seven bullets across the two divisions.
Fall 2023 – Week 1
CHARLESTON, SC., (September 9, 2023) – The College of Charleston’s Noah Zittrer (So., Clear Falls, TX) and Chloe Hudgins (Sr., Jensen Beach, FL) are the SAISA Open Sailors of the Week after placing first in A-Division at the SAISA Fall Top 9 Invite Regatta and helping the host Cougars earn the regatta win this past weekend. The pair earned podium finishes in five of the six races in a combined 18-boat fleet featuring the top 9 teams in SAISA including securing two first place “bullets.” Also at the SAISA Top 9, the University of South Florida Bulls’ sailors Eden Nykamp (Jr., Holland, MI) and Brilan Christopher (Sr., Miami, FL) earned recognition as the SAISA Women’s Sailors of the Week for their performance finishing 5th overall in the event, but more importantly helping to qualify the USF squad for a return trip to the ICSA Open Atlantic Coast Championships later this season.
Also of note, congratulations to the University of Florida and Duke University for securing a berth to the SAISA Fall Open Conference Championship Regatta with their strong finishes at the SAISA South and North Fall Tournaments respectively.
Spring 2023 – Week 7
NEW LONDON, CT., (April 1-2, 2023) – The cold and damp New England spring wasn’t enough to keep the Embry Riddle University keelboat squad at bay this past weekend at the USCGA J/70 Invite as they faced a full spectrum of breeze from light to nuclear. The Eagles, led by skipper Mitchell Quinn (Jr., Little Silver, NJ) and teammates Jocelyn Nester (Jr., Springfield, IL), Andrew Lam (Fr., Annapolis, MD), and Kevin Martin (Jr., Seaside Park, NJ) and coached by Mario Avila, started slowly but by the third race of the event, started to dial in podium finishes. Over the course of the two day regatta against a very talented field of competitors including the host Coast Guard Academy, Tufts, URI, and Kings Point, the Embry Riddle team earned 8 overall podium finishes out of the 14 races including a bullet in race 8. Embry Riddle secured the final podium spot with a 2nd place finish in the final race on Sunday overtaking the Tufts squad for third place overall at the event and earned this week’s SAISA Sailors of the Week! Congrats!
Spring 2023 – Week 6
KNOXVILLE, TN., (March 25-26, 2023) – This past weekend in SAISA featured state championship regattas in the Carolinas, Florida, and a combined Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia event, the first such events under the new, revised SAISA schedule. Hosted by the University of Tennessee after a late venue change, the Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia “TAG” Trophy regatta was won in impressive fashion by the Sewanee Tigers. Led by Heyward Main (Sr., Charleston, SC), Michael Edge (So., Raleigh, NC), Graham Cosby (Fr., Charleston, SC), and Kendall Buck (Jr., Fairhope, AL), the Sewanee Tigers delivered a perfect regatta with picket fences (all first-place finishes) in every race in both divisions. They even carried bullets into the 5th race of the regatta in A-Division before conditions deteriorated and B-Division was unable to complete a matching rotation. Winning both A and B-Divisions, and the overall regatta, the Sewanee squad secured the first TAG Trophy, debuted undefeated in college sailing, and earned SAISA Open Sailors of the Week!
In Newport News, Virginia, fourteen SAISA and MAISA squads squared off at the annual Hanbury Trophy Regatta hosted by Christopher Newport University. In a competitive coed fleet, the NC State Wolfpack duo of Isa du Plessis (Jr., Ft. Lauderdale, FL) and Olivia Sowa (Jr., Hollywood, MD), started strong with podium finishes in the first set, took control of the lead in B-Division by the 5th race, and didn’t let go of the lead for the remainder of the two day event. With 4 bullets (first-place finishes) and nine podium finishes out of 14 races, du Plessis and Sowa won B-Division by 13 points over the closest rival, helped their Wolfpack team earn a 2nd place finish in the overall regatta, and earned SAISA Women’s Sailors of the Week honors! Congratulations to both the Sewanee Tigers and NC State Wolfpack sailors!
Spring 2023 – Week 5
ANNAPOLIS, MD., (March 18-19) – This past weekend at the Navy Spring Women’s Fleet Race, NC State University skipper Isa du Plessis (Jr., Ft. Lauderdale, FL) and crew Annika Milstien (So., Tampa, FL) overcame bitter cold and challenging conditions on the Severn River to win B-Division at the competitive interconference event. With three bullets and five podium finishes across the two-day event, du Plessis and Milstien propelled the Wolfpack to an overall 8th place finish at the event hosted by the USNA, and earned this week’s SAISA Women’s Sailors of the Week honors.
Further south in far more amenable conditions at the Lake Norman (NC) Open Regatta, the College of Charleston squad of Harrison Thomson (Fr., Norfolk, VA), Brylie Schaubach (Fr., Norfolk, VA), Elliot Raison (Fr., Thonon-les-Bains, FR), and Paige Lubrano (Fr., Chatham, NJ) won the regatta in impressive fashion winning both A and B divisions with thirteen first place finishes in sixteen races and no finishes worse than 2nd across the one-day event. With the regatta win, the Cougars squad earns this week’s SAISA Open Sailors of the Week honors. Congrats to both groups for outstanding performances representing SAISA!
Spring 2023 – Week 4
CHARLESTON, SC., (March 11-12, 2023) – At this past weekend’s Bob Bavier Team Race hosted at the College of Charleston, the University of Miami team race squad put together an outstanding regatta securing wins over nationally ranked teams en route to an appearance in the final round and a 4th place overall finish, top amongst SAISA competitors at the event. The Hurricanes squad of Aidan Dennis (So., Kemah, TX), Dom Canonico (Sr., Tampa, FL), Atlee Kohl (So., St. Croix, USV), Natalie Elder (So., Boston, MA), Marshall McCann (Sr., Houston, TX), James Nappo (Jr., Chicago, IL), Steven Hardee (Fr., St. Croix, USV), and Teddy Bueres (Sr., Miami, FL) delivered a great performance over the two-day event and earned this week’s SAISA Open Sailors of the Week honors.
In-conference competition continued this past weekend with the Tiger Town Trophy at Clemson where the home team secured a regatta win on the efforts of skippers Nilah Miller (So., Jackson, MS), and Sam Bialek (Jr., Metamora, MI) who finished the regatta with a combined three bullets and just one finish off the podium at the event. Miller and Bialek’s strong showing and the regatta win moved the Clemson Tigers into the SAISA Top 5 and earned this week’s SAISA Women’s Sailors of the Week. Miller was also recognized as SAISA Women’s SOTW last week. Congratulations to this week’s SAISA Sailors of the Week!
Spring 2023 – Week 3
ST. PETERSBURG, FL., (March 4-5, 2023) – The College of Charleston’s team race team dominated the 2023 Mendelblatt Team Race winning the event and losing only one race during the entire event. By winning the Mendelblatt, the Cougars squad of skippers Axel Stordahl (Jr.), Jack Howard (Sr.), Brandon Geller (Sr.), and crews Noelle Owen (Sr.), Lucy Klempen (Jr.), and Anna Sherry (Sr.) secured top seed at the Bob Bavier Team Race, the second event in the SAISA Team Race League, as well as earned SAISA Sailors of the Week honors for Week 3. The Cougars were also supported by crews Aidan Iaconis (Fr.) and Garrett Grenauer (So., Buffalo, NY). Following this strong showing, the Cougars received votes in the Sail1Design ICSA Open Team Race national rankings. Meanwhile in Wilmington at the UNC-W Trophy Regatta, Clemson University skipper Nilah Miller (So., Jackson, MS) fought breezy conditions and a competitive fleet to earn the A-Division win, scoring three bullets and a podium finish in all but one of the ten races on the day. Together with crew Sam Heighway (So., Westerville, OH), Miller’s performance helped her Tigers secure a podium third-place finish at the event and with the outstanding performance, earn SAISA Women’s Sailor of the Week honors. Congratulations to this week’s SAISA Sailors of the Week.
Spring 2023 – Week 2
ST. PETERSBURG, FL., (February 25-26, 2023) – Florida State University skipper Mateo Rodriguez (Sr., Winter Haven, FL) and crew Avery Harris (So., DeLand, FL) are the SAISA Open Sailors of the Week after leading the Seminoles to a victory at the Eckerd Interconference Regatta this past weekend, as well as posting the low score for the regatta, winning A-Division with a scoreline nearly half of the second place Princeton Tigers. Out of 16 races across two days, Rodriguez and Harris earned 9 bullets, 6 second-place finishes and no finishes worse than 4th on the weekend. Across the peninsula in Daytona Beach at the SAISA South Spring Tournament for the Gregg Popp Trophy hosted by Embry Riddle, Jacksonville women’s skipper Ella DesChamps (So., Wilmington, NC) and crew Payton Ruth (Fr., South Bend, IN) earned SAISA Women’s Sailors of the Week honors after winning B-Division and helping the Fins secure second overall in the regatta. DesChamps and Ruth started the event with three bullets, undefeated in the first rotation and earned podium finishes in two of the final three races and no finish worse than 4th for the event. Congratulations to this week’s SAISA Sailors of the Week!
Spring 2023 – Week 1
ST. PETERSBURG, FL., (February 18-19, 2023) – Skipper Adam Larson (Sr., Charlotte, NC) and crew Jacob Friend (Jr., Raleigh, NC) are the SAISA Open Sailors of the Week after placing first in A-Division at the SAISA Spring Open Top 18 Invitational Regatta at Eckerd College and helping the NC State University Wolfpack earn the overall regatta victory. The pair finished in the top 3 positions in seven of the ten races sailed, secured three bullets (first-place finishes) and finished no worse than 7th in any race during the weekend. In similar fashion, skipper Isa du Plessis (Jr., Ft. Lauderdale, FL) and crew Olivia Sowa (Jr., Hollywood, MD) are the SAISA Women’s Sailors of the Week after placing first in B-Division at the SAISA Spring Open Top 18 Invitational Regatta and posting the low-score for the regatta with just 26 points over 10 races. With no finish worse than 5th, seven podium finishes, and three bullets in 10 races, du Plessis and Sowa helped the Wolfpack secure the overall regatta victory.
Fall 2021 – Week 6
CHESTNUT HILL, MA., (October 16-17, 2021) – From the start of the first race at the Savin Hill Invite regatta hosted by Boston College, NC State University junior skipper Adam Larson and sophomore crew Isa du Plessis, took their position at the front of the fleet and didn’t let go all day. Choppy, breezy conditions on Dorchester Bay and sailing with little or no break were no deterrent to the Wolfpack on the blustery New England Saturday. With three bullets and no score worse than 8th in the seventeen boat fleet, Larson and du Plessis secured the A-Division win and overall low score for the regatta. With their teammates’ tie for 1st in B-Division, the Wolfpack pair helped their team win the overall Savin Hill Invite regatta and earned SAISA Coed Sailors of the Week honors for Week 6.
Across town at the Atlantic Coast Tournament at MIT racing on the Charles River lived up to its reputation as being wicked shifty with insane puffs, but University of South Florida sophomore skipper Emma Shakesperare, senior crew Carolina Perez Rovira and sophomore crew Brilan Christopher were unfazed. Their ability to manage the race when they started well and to move forward through the fleet after a bad start was key to their success. With teams frequently being auto-tacked or capsizing in helicopter gusts, the Bulls shifted gears and maintained their speed to best the fleet. The USF women took the lead in A-Division in the third race of the day and defended for the division win helping the Bulls to an overall 2nd in the ACT regatta. With an outstanding performance including 4 bullets and no score worse than a 9, Shakespeare, Rovira, and Christopher earn SAISA Women’s Sailors of the Week Honors for week 6. Congratulations to all of the SAISA SOTW winners.
Fall 2021 – Week 5
DAYTONA BEACH, FL., (October 9-10, 2021) – Week five brought outstanding sailing conditions to the east coast and SAISA sailors were ready to shine. In the final South division event of the fall season, a pair of Eckerd College freshmen, skipper Eden Nykamp and crew Anna O’Reilly stepped up to decisively win B-division at SAISA South Points #5 hosted by Embry Riddle and secure the regatta win for the Tritons. With the regatta win, Eckerd solidified it’s standings at the top of SAISA South, winning the regular season division title, and securing SAISA Coed Sailors of the Week honors with the overall low score on the day.
In SAISA North, women’s teams from SAISA and MAISA gathered in Raleigh for the SAISA/MAISA Women’s Regatta hosted by NC State where the home team Wolfpack ladies delivered a nearly perfect picket fence across both divisions over the course of the two-day event. Despite close racing, Sophomore skippers Olivia Sowa and Isa du Plessis found ways to win and carried the no-hitter through day one and well into day two. Eventually winning both divisions, and securing the regatta win, Sowa and du Plessis also earned SAISA Women’s Sailors of the Week honors with special acknowledgement of their crews throughout the regatta, senior Josey Buescher, junior Weatherley Tripp, sophomore Abby Scudder, and freshmen Annika Milstien and Magnolia Smith.
A special SOTW nod to USF’s Kay Brunsvold and Luke King who finished 1st and 2nd respectively in the Nacra 15 class, while teammate Humberto Porrata secured 3rd place in Laser full rig at this past weekend’s US Sailing 2021 US Youth Championships held in North Carolina. Congratulations to all of the SAISA Sailors of the Week honorees and SAISA sailors representing our conference outside of college sailing, too.
Fall 2021 – Week 4
KINGS POINT, N.Y., (October 2-3, 2021) – With the arrival of week 4 in college sailing, interconference competition gets underway pitting SAISA sailors against other teams across the country. At the Kings Point Dinghy Open hosted by the United Merchant Marine Academy, Jacksonville University sailors Matt King and Liz Johnson delivered an outstanding performance winning B-division in a field of 22 teams, positioning the Fins in second place overall just ten points back from the overall win, and earning Week 4 SAISA Sailors of the Week honors in the process. King and Johnson sailed a very consistent event averaging a third place finish over the course of an eleven race series, including two bye races due to a larger fleet than anticipated. Kings Point’s notorious trapezoid course put a premium on a successful first beat in which King and Johnson were able to round the top mark in the top third of the fleet nearly every race. Great downwind positioning in pressure coupled with strong boat handling allowed the Fins team to chip away into the top three finishers in seven of their nine races sailed. Congrats to Matt and Liz for earning this week’s SAISA Sailors of the Week.
Fall 2021 – Week 3
ST. PETERSBURG, FL., (September 25-26, 2021) – Week three in the fall college sailing season brought very light conditions to regattas all over the US east coast and it was no different in St. Petersburg or Charleston. It also signaled a return to hosting duties for two long-time SAISA hosts, Eckerd College, and The Citadel for Saturday’s divisional points regattas.
Off the Eckerd waterfront, SAISA Coed Sailors of the Week, Jacksonville University freshman skipper Emily Allen and sophomore crew Piper DeSantis, were able to outpace the fleet and win A-Division at SAISA South Points #3 including two bullets, keeping the Fins in the hunt for the SAISA South title. Bonus round: Emily Allen would continue her strong showing on Sunday in Charleston finishing 2nd in A-Division at the SAISA Women’s Open.
On Sunday, The Citadel made history (in a good way this time) and fielded its first-ever women’s team and hosted its first-ever women’s regatta with the 2021 SAISA Women’s Open. Sailing right off The Battery, the fall SAISA Women’s Open brought 10 of the conference’s best women’s teams to race in Charleston Harbor. With ample current, light breeze, and a patient race committee, teams were able to complete nine races despite having to drop the last A-Division set without B-fleet races to match. From the very first mark rounding in, SAISA Women’s Sailors of the Week, NC State’s sophomore skipper Olivia Sowa and senior crew Josey Buescher, found a groove in the challenging conditions and delivered a bullet to start the regatta. With two more to follow on the course of the day, Sowa and Buescher secured the A-Division win and brought their Wolfpack into a tie for third on the day. Congrats to this week’s SAISA Sailors of the Week!
Fall 2021 – Week 2
CHARLESTON, S.C., (September 18-19, 2021) – Week two of the college sailing season saw all of SAISA turn attention to singlehanded competition with SAISA Singlehanded qualifiers hosted by the College of Charleston. With outstanding competition and tight racing in challenging conditions, it was clear that there’s a deep bench of Laser talent in SAISA. Rising above it on this weekend, it was all picket fences for both SAISA Sailors of the Week, Week 2 of Fall 2021.
Jacksonville University senior skipper Charlotte Rose found the front of the fleet from the very start of racing on Saturday and never looked back. As conditions improved over the course of the day and the chop of Charleston harbor began to become a factor, Rose felt right at home and her finishes reflected it.
On day two of SAISA Singlehanded qualifiers, University of Miami senior Marshall McCann put in a dominating performance at the SAISA Men’s Singlehanded championship last Sunday, posting bullets in each of the 8 races sailed. Conditions were breezy and choppy on Charleston harbor making it a grind for all of 17 competitors in the event. McCann’s strong showing signals a return to singlehanded collegiate competition since finishing 2nd at the 2019 ICSA Singlehanded Nationals.
By winning their respective qualifiers, Rose and McCann earn the SAISA automatic berth to the ICSA Singlehanded Nationals to be held in Annapolis, Maryland on November 6-7th. Congrats to both sailors and Go SAISA!
Fall 2021 – Week 1
CHARLESTON, S.C., (September 11-12, 2021) – Saturday marked the start of the fall 2021 regatta season with the full conference Fall 2021 SAISA Coed Open Regatta hosted by the College of Charleston. Teams were met with light breeze and aggressive currents on Saturday morning with racing north of the USS Yorktown near the marsh. After a brief break, racing moved to Crab Bank where the afternoon filled in providing good but somewhat unpredictable conditions for the second half of Saturday and Sunday morning. Sunday racing wrapped up around 1:30 as the breeze died while the current did not.
Through all conditions, this week’s SAISA Coed Sailors of the Week, Florida State University seniors skipper Matteo Rodriguez (Winter Haven, FL) and crews Meghan Tilton (Middletown, DE) and Breanna Brobst (Madison, CT) found their way to the front of the fleet. After reaching the podium in the sixth race of the day, the Seminoles squad took a hold of the lead in A-Division and never looked back. Rodriguez and crew consistently found the balance of leveraging current, managing the shifts and surviving crowded roundings with clean air. Matteo, Meghan, and Breanna’s strong SOTW showing in A-division helped propel Florida State into fifth overall for the fall coed season opener.
With women’s squads representing Jacksonville and USF in the mix this past weekend, Jacksonville University’s senior skipper Charlotte Rose (Houston, TX) and freshman crew Rori Bywater (Arlington Heights, IL) survived early light and fluky conditions and as soon as the breeze filled in by race six, started to deliver podium finishes. The Lady Fins’ Rose and Bywater, sailing together for the first time competitively, found good chemistry fast, earning this week 1’s SAISA Women’s Sailors of the Week. The Jacksonville pair finished the regatta with low scores no higher than a 7th to secure 2nd overall in A-Division and put the Lady Fins into 2nd overall for the regatta. Congratulations to all of week 1’s SAISA Sailors of the Week! See you all in Week 2!
Fall 2019 – Fall Championships
SANTA BARBARA, C.A., (November 21, 2019) The 2019 season has come to a close in SAISA and our sailors finished up the fall semester with a bang. Of the three national championships decided in the fall, SAISA sailors took one title and two podium finishes. For the final Sailors of the Week for 2019 we recognizing the Kennedy Cup winners and ICSA Keelboat National Champions from College of Charleston, as well as two star laser sailors from Jacksonville University and the University of Miami for their outstanding performances at ICSA Singlehanded Nationals.
For the Cougars, skipper Jordan Wiggins and teammates Willy Comerford, Sam Tobio, Chance Slack, Emily Essi, Graham Post, Burke Anvari, and Emily Potter proved their dominance in keelboat competition at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD on Navy 44 sloops during the first weekend of November. Conditions were light and spotty as racing began, but Charleston stayed sharp and kicked off the regatta by winning the pin end of the first start and making a beeline to the favored left side. The second race kept spectators on the edge as Charleston rounded the windward mark last out of nine boats. Late race heroics enabled the Cougars’ comeback as the College of Charleston recovered, making their way to a second place finish to cap off the day. On Sunday conditions improved and the Cougars kept control of the fleet delivering a solid scoreline, distancing themselves from their nearest competitor by 7 points, and earned the 2019 ICSA College Sailing Keelboat National Championship.
In Santa Barbara, California, sailors Charlotte Rose of Jacksonville University and Marshall McCannn of the University of Miami found the groove against a stacked field of competitors from across college sailing at ICSA Singlehanded Nationals. Arriving to glassy conditions, patience paid off and breeze filled in, averaging at 10-12 kts with a peak of 15 for the day. The Canes’ Marshall excelled as the wind grew stronger, trading the lead with the Coast Guard Academy throughout the event, finishing day one tied for first.
In the women’s division, Jacksonville’s Charlotte Rose made it clear from the start she was there to win when she took bullets in races two and three, and ended the day tied for first with third place just one point behind after nine races. Sunday conditions were less than optimal as light air and shifty conditions made for a drastically different experience. It was anyone’s game, and an exciting one at that. In the end, Jacksonville University’s Charlotte Rose claimed third place and University of Miami’s Marshall McCann took home second. Congratulations to Charlotte and Marshall for incredibly impressive sailing across a variety of conditions and for representing SAISA on the national stage.
Fall 2019 – Week 8
WILMINGTON, N.C., (October 31, 2019) – With conference championship season in full swing, teams from SAISA gathered at Carolina Yacht Club on Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, this past Saturday to compete in the SAISA Women’s Fall Championships. Warm breeze moving from the east to the northeast, and an active current greeted sailors on Banks Channel, conditions that would hold or build as the event continued. From the first race, the Cougars of the College of Charleston grabbed the lead with a 1-2 first set from Alie Toppa and Laura Masterson, dueling finishes with the Jacksonville Fins. As B-division took the water, the Cougars would put distance on their lead in what develop into an outstanding showing for Marian Williams and Natasha Morton. Overall, Charleston’s success continued in very close and competitive races throughout the full rotation. With four bullets in A-Division and no score worse than a 4th, Williams and Morton just sent it all day earning 6 bullets on the day and no finish off the podium en route to a dominant B-Division and low total of 11 points in 8 races for the regatta. In their successful effort to win the SAISA Women’s Fall Championship, Toppa, Masterson, Williams and Morton have earned SAISA Sailors of the Week honors for week eight.
Fall 2019 – Week 7
RALEIGH, N.C., (October 24, 2019) – Annapolis harbor welcomed teams from across the eastern seaboard for the annual Small Keelboat Invitational hosted by the US Naval Academy. Sailed in Navy’s fleet of Colgate 26s, this event is a highlight of the fall for many programs with limited keelboat opportunities.
After a challenging first race, the Georgia Tech Yellowjackets began their scorecard ascent. This was Georgia Tech’s first year participating in the event and the gusty, windy conditions were initially challenging for the Lake Lanier-based program. Dueling race by race throughout the weekend with fellow SAISA squad Clemson, and Queens College, a Canadian competitor, the Yellowjackets showed great form dialing in 4 bullets on the day, four additional podium finishes, and no score worse than their first race, an eighth. A late challenge by the Tribe of William & Mary kept Georgia Tech on their toes, but the Rambling Wreck finished the regatta with a 1-1-2 over the last quarter, securing first place overall and the regatta win. With their outstanding performance, Georgia Tech’s Megan Ploch, Miller Goldenberg, Nicholas Brittain, and Robert Beauchamp earn this week’s SAISA Sailors of the Week honors.
Also of note, Georgia Tech’s Ploch was one of three female skippers at the event out of the twelve programs, while the remaining two women at the helm also hail from SAISA programs (NC State and UGA), a great representation of our conference and the growing strength of women’s sailing in SAISA.
Fall 2019 – Week 6
RALEIGH, N.C., (October 18, 2019) – The breeze on the Severn wasn’t the only thing ready to go at 10AM on Saturday as College of Charleston’s Ali Toppa and Hannah Kinder started the Jen Harris Women’s Showcase Finals with a bullet and a second putting the Cougars in the early lead. At the top fall showcase finals for women’s sailing, the fleet was extremely deep and talented with some of the best women sailors in college competing. Charleston’s Toppa and Kinder took the regatta lead into the first rotation and kept pace with the talented field finishing the event with their Cougar teammates just four points south of the podium in fifth. With the outstanding performance in Annapolis, Toppa and Kinder earn women’s Sailors of the Week for Week 6.
In their first appearance at the Storm Trysail Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta hosted at Larchmont, New York, the Jacksonville University Fins took home first place in the very competitive J/109 division of this annual keelboat regatta and fall tradition. With Telmo Basterra on the helm, and teammates Sam Baker, Grace Benzal, Logan Brickhouse, Ian Hunter, Jarret Monroe and Stephen Streater aboard the J/109 Guardian J, the JU squad started the event with a 1st place finish. Fighting with URI Rams and USCGA Bears for the remainder of the event, the Fins dialed in a bullet to finish the regatta and secure the J/109 division win, and this week’s SAISA co-ed Sailors of the Week.
Fall 2019 – Week 5
RALEIGH, N.C., (October 10, 2019) – Without just a few conference events on the schedule, college sailing is focused this week on interconference events and ICSA Showcase co-ed regattas. On the Thames River at Connecticut College, women’s teams from across the US competed for the famed Stu Nelson Trophy in what could be considered a preview of the upcoming Women’s Showcase events in MAISA. In nearly perfect conditions, the Bulls of the University of South Florida started strong in A-Division led by skipper Marina Barzaghi, and crews Carolina Rovira and Samantha Kappaz, this week’s SAISA women’s Sailors of the Week. Finishing day one on the heels of the Stanford Cardinal, the Bulls returned for Sunday driving for a podium finish. Barzaghi, Rovira, and Kappaz delivered six top-3 finishes during the regatta including 2 bullets and brought a third-place A-Division rank and an overall regatta fourth for the event back to St. Petersburg against a stacked field of competitors.
In the ICSA co-ed Showcase and Truxtun Umstead Trophy regatta at Navy, the Cougars of the College of Charleston delivered a strong showing in B-Division with SAISA co-ed Sailors of the Week Jack Brown, Katie Lounsbury, Hunter Skinner, Noelle Owen finishing their division just points away from the win in second. Finishing day one with the division lead, the Cougars returned to hold near the front of the fleet for the remainder of the day. With 8 podium finish races and 2 bullets for the event, Brown et. al., finished B-division in second and helped the College of Charleston secure an overall third place finish in the Showcase against some of the best teams in the country. With this finish, the Cougars also advance to the final round of the ICSA Showcase held at the Fiske Harriman Sleigh Trophy regatta at Connecticut College later this season.
Fall 2019 – Week 4
RALEIGH, N.C., October 4, 2019 – As the fall regular conference season draws to a close, teams in SAISA North and SAISA South hit the water at the final division points regattas this past Saturday with championship qualifications in the balance. In the South Eckerd College secured the division title despite a late surge and points event win from USF. In the North Division, NC State won in Wilmington, earned the division title for the first time in program history, and are recognized as this week’s SAISA Sailors of the Week.
NC State sophomore skipper Scott Harris and sophomore crew Olivia Gregg started their day by winning the start line, controlling the fleet from the starboard tack and not looking back. The pair dialed in back to back podium finishes with a win to start the regatta and a close second in the next race. When NC State’s B-fleet began its set, freshman skipper Adam Larson and junior crew Robbie Dubman kept the rally going with a pair of bullets. As the afternoon sea breeze filled in, NC State continued to drive hard but faced a surge from the College of Charleston. In the final set, Larson and freshman crew Weatherley Tripp held the Cougars at bay and the Pack finished the day with a wire-to-wire, five-point overall regatta victory and division title.
As the regular conference season ends, the top 6 teams from both divisions have qualified for SAISA Conference Co-Ed Championships scheduled for November 2-3 at Georgia Tech. Final conference standings are online: North (http://bit.ly/SAISAstandingsNF19); South (http://bit.ly/SAISAstandingsSF19).
Fall 2019 – Week 3
RALEIGH, N.C., September 26, 2019 – This past weekend’s SAISA Match Racing Conference Championships qualifier was “one of the largest and deepest fleets compiled to qualify for match race nationals out of SAISA,” according to host and PRO Kevin Jewett. In a fiercely competitive event, Eckerd College and Jacksonville University teams survived the first round robin with only one loss. As the day progressed, this week’s SAISA Sailors of the Week, the Eckerd College Tritons match race squad secured key wins down the stretch and bested charges from both College of Charleston and Jacksonville University to win their first match race qualifier since 2015. The Tritons came into the event well-prepared having trained for weeks in advance of the match competition and making it a team priority.
Returning from a fourth-place finish in the 2018 qualifier, Eckerd’s Connor Ratcliff, Cam Douglas, and Evan Langford were joined by Charleston native Caroline Puckette to take top spot on the podium this year. Triton’s head coach Greer Wattson credits the hard work preparing for the regatta and factoring in local knowledge on current as the difference makers this year. “The starts kinda aligned for us,” said Wattson.
The Eckerd Tritons and the Jacksonville University Dolphins both qualify to represent SAISA in Marblehead, Massachusetts later this fall for the ICSA Match Racing Championships at Corinthian Yacht Club on November 1-3, 2019. Congrats to both squad and this week’s SAISA Sailors of the Week.
Fall 2019 – Week 2
RALEIGH, N.C., September 19, 2019 – Although it was week two of the conference season with points events in both divisions underway, the spotlight for this week’s SAISA Sailors of the Week is on Miami where the U hosted both Men’s and Women’s SAISA Singlehanded Conference Championships, qualifier for the 2019 ICSA LaserPerformance Singlehanded National Championships held later this year. The week leading up to the event saw forecasts all over the place, but when the men took to the water on Saturday it was pretty glassy and racing was abandoned until the afternoon. When the wind did show up, it really showed up and the College of Charleston’s Steven Leuck was there for it. Leuck last competed in SAISA Singlehanded in the fall of 2016 finishing 5th in that contest behind a slate of fellow Cougars that year. In his return Leuck took the lead from the first race, put distance between himself and the field early, and held on until the end for the regatta win despite a late charge from host Miami’s Marshall McCann. Conditions were definitely a factor in the outcome of this regatta and Leuck adapted well to the building breeze to win a tough event in a very talented field. Congratulations to Leuck on earning this week’s SAISA co-ed Sailor of the Week. He will be joined by Miami’s McCann, and Charleston’s Benn Smith to represent SAISA at singlehanded nationals.
On Sunday, SAISA women took to the water to take their turn with strange conditions in Miami. After waiting for wind until nearly noon, the wind showed up and the indefatigable race committee was able to get in 6 races for the women in Lasers. In those races, Jacksonville University’s Charlotte Rose picked up right where she left off last year leading the 2019 regatta wire to wire with 7 points overall and her only second place finish to Fins teammate Maartje van Dam. Rose, a sophomore who finished just one point from first in last year’s ICSA College Sailing Singlehanded Championships, was right at home in the breezy conditions and showed championship form from dominant starts to expertly managing huge shifts and varying wind strength throughout the day en route to the regatta win. Congratulations to Charlotte Rose for earning this week’s SAISA women’s Sailor of the Week honor. Rose and van Dam will represent SAISA in Santa Barbara for Nationals later this fall.
Fall 2019 – Week 1
RALEIGH, N.C., September 13, 2019 – Sunny skies welcomed sailors to the Eckerd College waterfront to kick off the Fall 2019 college sailing season this past weekend with the SAISA Women’s Open and the SAISA Coed Open regattas. Both events were competitive and as conditions changed over the course of the weekend, several sailors delivered outstanding performances.
Leading off the weekend with a bullet in the first race, SAISA Women’s Sailor of the Week, USF Bulls’ sophomore crew Carolina Perez-Rovira guided skipper Marina Barzaghi and her team to a regatta victory and the low score on the day in a competitive combined fleet. Shifty conditions put crews across the fleet to the test and Rovira was up to the task. At the conclusion of the Women’s Open, Rovira joined her teammates already racing in the Coed Open where she made an immediate impact on the USF scoreline in the very competitive A fleet. The Bulls and Rovira made a strong push on day 2 of the coed regatta earning the final podium spot in 3rd, as well as qualifying for the ICSA Coed Showcase Semi-finals held later this season.
On the coed side, this week’s SAISA Sailors of the Week recognizes the efforts of Connor Ratcliff and Camryn Kennedy of Eckerd College. Sailing in their home venue in front of a host of spectators, the pair delivered the low regatta score on the day with just 31 points including 3 bullets and no worse than a 6th for the event. Ratcliff and Kennedy kept day two of the event to propel their Tritons team into the regatta lead and hold on to it for the win. The two Eckerd sailors have not raced together regularly in the past, but clearly the pairing shows promise. The regatta win earned the Eckerd Tritons a berth to the ICSA Coed Showcase Semi-finals being held in a few weeks. Congratulations to Connor, Camryn, and Carolina!
Spring 2019 – Week 12
RALEIGH, N.C., April 23, 2019 – This past weekend’s SAISA Women’s Conference Championship regatta brought the top women’s teams in the conference to the Eckerd College waterfront where they were greeted by strong wind with gusts over 25. Conditions were challenging, but provided some sailors with the opportunity to make things happen on the race course. Dotted with past SAISA Sailors of the Week, this year’s women’s field was especially strong. With a bullet out of the gate, and then a long wait for improved conditions, Jacksonville University’s Charlotte Rose and GiGi Arias were in a good position. As teams returned to the water after the hiatus, Rose and Arias found themselves in the middle of the fleet at the start of the second race. Through impressive downwind boat speed, and a healthy mix of smart and lucky decisions upwind, they were able to outpace the field for the race win. From there Rose and Arias, and later veteran JU sailor Ana Carrasco would finish the regatta with a wire-to-wire A-Division win securing this week’s SAISA Women’s Sailors of the Week. Rose, Arias, and Carrasco deliver the regatta low score with 9 points over 8 races, giving up the picket fence to the hometown Tritons on the last race of the day. With their teammates securing the B-Division win, the Jacksonville Fins punched their ticket to Newport and win SAISA Women’s Conference Champs for the first time in their program history. Congratulations to Jacksonville, as well as the women from the College of Charleston, Eckerd College, and the University of South Florida who will also represent SAISA in Newport at the ICSA Women’s National Championships.
Spring 2019 – Week 11
RALEIGH, N.C., April 17, 2019 – With an off week between Co-Ed Championships and SAISA Women’s Champs teams hit the road to regattas in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, as well as a SAISA favorite in North Carolina. In the nascent and competitive Women’s Team Race National Invitational in Providence, RI, USF carried the SAISA banner, while the Eckerd College women grabbed a podium spot at the President’s Trophy at Boston University. At Navy Spring, SAISA women stepped up to the co-ed plate. SOTW regulars Alie Toppa and Annabelle Carrington of the College of Charleston staged a strong comeback falling just points shy of the B-Divison win, but the tally for SAISA Women Sailors of the Week went in favor of an inspired performance by Jacksonville University’s Charlotte Rose and GiGi Arias at the SAISA/MAISA SailPack Oriental Intercollegiate.
After securing the regatta lead with two bullets to start the regatta, Rose and Arias faced a brief setback as the weather moved in and the breeze dropped off on Saturday afternoon leaving room for hosts NC State to grab the lead. The back and forth continued on Sunday as the Fins finished the second rotation with two bullets and fought off another late charge by the Wolfpack and a surging CNU squad. In one race, Rose and Arias were over early at the start, and over the course of the next three and a half legs, moved from 18th in the fleet to within reach of the top group. A gamble on course left on the final downwind paid off and the Fins finished the race in 3rd, eventually securing the Jacksonville A-Division win.
Also at this past weekend’s SailPack Oriental Intercollegiate, we find this week’s SAISA Co-Ed Sailors of the Week, the NC State B-Division squad who combined late heroics to grab and protect the Division lead, as well as making enough gains in a fiercely contested B-Division to propel their team to an overall regatta victory. Wolfpack sailors Hogan O’Donnell and Olivia Gregg began the regatta near the top of the fleet and kept NC State in the hunt while their A-Division boat battled it out, neck in neck, with Jacksonville. Their early success delivered momentum for the squad to hit the water Sunday morning with gusto and veteran skipper Travis Tucker and first-year crew Sam Marcom made the best of a building southerly. Despite a dramatic capsize near the finish of one of the last races of the regatta, the NC State B-Division sailors did what they needed to do to hold off the charging JU Fins and win the division, leading their team to the overall regatta win.
With the spring season drawing to a close, all eyes turn to Eckerd College for this upcoming weekend’s SAISA Women’s Championships, and beyond to ICSA Nationals.
Spring 2019 – Week 10
RALEIGH, N.C., April 11, 2019 – Week 10 in SAISA means championship week – at least for Team Racing and Co-Ed Fleet Racing (Women’s Fleet Racing Champs is on Week 12) – and some teams were also carrying the SAISA banner competing out of conference. As team racing kicked off from Wrightsville Beach on Saturday morning, it was clear that Jacksonville University was in the mix for an invite to Nationals. As the regatta progressed, the Fins were able to hold strong and qualify for one of the two team racing berths for SAISA at ICSA Team Racing National Championships in Newport, Rhode Island later this spring. This is the first time in program history that Jacksonville University has earned a team race berth. Congratulations to JU and this week’s co-ed Sailors of the Week, the JU Team Race Squad of Alfonso Garcia Bringas, Andre Guaragna, Ana Carrasco, Caroline Bourgeois, Daniel O’Farrill, and Stephan Verhulst.
In women’s sailing, the Emily Wick Trophy hosted by the US Coast Guard Academy on the Thames River. Against some serious talent including 7 of the top 10 ranked women’s teams in the nation, the dynamic duo from the College of Charleston Alie Toppa and Annabelle Carrington once again find the SAISA Sailors of the Week spotlight with a hard-fought and determined win of A-Division despite a late charge by Brown and MIT. Their win in A-Division helped the College of Charleston women earn a 6th place overall finish for the Cougars. Great work ladies!
Spring 2019 – Week 8
RALEIGH, N.C., March 28, 2019 – When Saturday conditions in New England forced a the Duplin Team Race off the water on Saturday, it left the already-traveling USF Bulls women’s squad with an open Saturday. It didn’t matter to the USF ladies who just came to Massachusetts to sail fast, so with quick work and some cross conference correspondence, the Bulls found an open berth at the Central Series Two regatta hosted by Mass Maritime in chilly Onset Bay. Starting the regatta with a bullet and never looking back, USF’s Katie Bornarth and Rachel Yannelli earned this week’s SAISA Women’s Sailors of the Week honors, and helped their team earn the regatta win out of territory.
Meanwhile the squads sailing at the final regular season conference regatta South Points #5 regatta at St. Petersburg, Florida where conditions were far more comfortable and competition was fierce. Sailing in combined fleet, the Jacksonville University squad of Telmo Basterra and Mia Porter showed their strength in variable and shifty conditions building an early overall lead, challenged mostly by the Fins’ A-division entry. Basterra and Porter combined for 4 first place wins on the day and otherwise consistent podium finishes leading to the Jacksonville University regatta win, securing final regular season standing for the Fins, while earning SAISA Co-Ed Sailors of the Week honors for week 8.
Week 8 also signals the end of the regular conference schedule with the top 6 teams from each division earning an invite to the SAISA Spring Co-Ed Conference Championships, the qualifier for ICSA Nationals. Congratulations to Jacksonville University and College of Charleston for winning SAISA South and SAISA North divisions respectively, as well as Clemson University, NC State University, UNC-Wilmington, University of South Carolina, Georgia Tech, University of South Florida, Eckerd College, University of Florida, University of Miami, and Florida State University all qualify and will compete in Wilmington, NC on April 6-7th.
Spring 2019 – Week 7
RALEIGH, N.C., March 22, 2019 – Despite chilly conditions in much of the country during week 7, team racing is heating up across the ICSA including the Graham Hall at Navy, and the Southern New England Team Race regatta. In women’s fleet racing, the St. Mary’s Spring Women’s regatta was top interconference billing, however both this week’s women’s and co-ed SOTW honors were earned at the two conference regattas held in Atlanta and Gainesville.
With a win in A-Division at North Points #4, Georgia Tech’s veteran squad of Megan Ploch and Zoe Genet earn SAISA Women’s Sailors of the Week recognition. The Yellowjacket team of Ploch and Genet grabbed the division lead by the second race and held on putting distance between them and the rest of the field with finishes that included two bullets and no finishes worse than 4th on the day.
In SAISA South, we find this week’s SOTW selection delivering a dominant performance in B-division at South Points #4 as Jacksonville University’s Ben Mckissick-Hawley and Liz Johnson earn a division win, contributing to their team’s regatta win and return to the top of SAISA South standings. The Fins’ McKissick-Hawley and Johnson were only one race away from a picket fence scoring 7 points in 6 races, half the total of their nearest competitor. Congratulations to both squads!
2019 – Week 6
RALEIGH, N.C., March 12, 2019 – Weekend 6 was a busy one for SAISA teams competing in seven different regattas across the spectrum from co-ed and women’s fleet racing in the mid-Atlantic and southeast to team racing in New England to keelboat racing in southern California. With so many teams and sailors on the water, there were numerous Sailors of the Week nominations making this week’s selection challenging. In co-ed fleet racing, the annual Charleston Spring Intersectional was especially competitive this year with teams from all over the nation descending on the South Carolina Lowcountry for sailing in excellent conditions. With current ripping as usual, smart sailing paid off for teams adapting early and Jacksonville University sailors Alfonso Garcia Bringas and Ana Carrasco set the pace for A-Division from the very beginning. Earning a win in nearly half the races on the day, Garcia Bringas and Carrasco dialed in seven bullets on the day and numerous other podium finishes throughout the regatta. Their performance secured the SAISA Co-Ed Sailors of the Week nod, and together with a Fins’ win in B-Division, earned Jacksonville University the regatta win.
At the high-profile Navy Spring Women’s Regatta, some of the best female sailors in the country hit the water in Annapolis. Early in the regatta neck in neck with squads from MIT and Yale, the College of Charleston Cougars A-Division boat of Alie Toppa and Annabelle Carrington soon pulled ahead, secured the division lead by the sixth race of the regatta and never let go. With only two races outside of the top 4, Toppa and Carrington keep pace with their outstanding performances in the fall fleet racing season earning the Week 6 SAISA Women’s Sailors of the Week. Overall, the College of Charleston finished the regatta in second overall on the strength of their A-Division win and a competitive finish in B-Division. Toppa and Carrington have proven to be one of the Cougars’ most successful parings this season and this week’s award builds on four SOTW awards earned in the fall semester.
Although outside the norm for the SAISA Sailors of the Week, this week SAISA recognizes the performance of the College of Charleston Offshore Team and awards the big boat Cougar squad SAISA Sailors of the Week honors for their win at the 2019 Port of Los Angeles Harbor Cup Regatta. Led by skipper Jordan Wiggins, the Cougar team of Willy Comerford, Burke Anvari, Emily Essi, Emily Potter, Graham Post, Sam Tobio, and William Hundahl grabbed the regatta lead by the 4th race of the weekend and held fast for the remainder of the weekend fending off a late charge by the Cal Maritime Keelhaulers. With the win, the Cougars bring the Port of Los Angeles Harbor Cup back to SAISA for the first time since their 2016 regatta win.
2019 – Week 5
RALEIGH, N.C., March 8, 2019 – SAISA teams competed in a strong slate of regattas this past weekend including two of the top three intersectionals hosted in SAISA with the Bob Bavier Team Race at Charleston and the Eckerd Interconference in St. Petersburg. Several SAISA teams had women racing at the ODU Women’s Interconference in Norfolk, and points events in both North and South rounded out the week 5 calendar. For this week’s SAISA Co-Ed Sailors of the Week we received several nominations including some new names and faces. At the top of the ticket was the strong performance of sailors Leah Harper and Katie DeLisser of the University of Miami Hurricanes at the Eckerd Interconference. This all-female pair placed third overall in A-division just a few points out of 2nd, and throughout the day Harper and DeLisser were in the mix at the front of the fleet. With two bullets on the day and solid finishes otherwise, the Miami sailors helped their team secure fifth place overall in the competitive regatta.
Sailing in what could be described as a completely different season than the one being experienced in St. Petersburg, cold and rainy conditions greeted sailors to the ODU Women’s in Norfolk. Building on their SOTW performance in week 4, College of Charleston Cougars Marian Williams and Elizabeth Mignon once again earn SAISA Women’s Sailors of the Week winning A division by ten points and leading a Cougar comeback with a string of bullets mid-regatta propelling Charleston into a fierce three-way battle with the Naval Academy and fellow SAISA sailors Charlotte Rose and GiGi Arias of Jacksonville University for tops in A-division. Williams and Mignon’s contribution also helped the College of Charleston secure the overall regatta win, their first Women’s interconference win since the 2018 Sperry Women’s Western Semifinal last May.
2019 – Week 4
RALEIGH, N.C., FEBRUARY 26, 2019 – Team racing and women’s sailing take center stage with this week’s SAISA Sailors of the Week nominations with squads from both SAISA North and South taking on team race competitors from other conferences at the Frank I. Mendelblatt Team Race regatta hosted by Eckerd College, and the Phebe Corkran King Women’s regatta at the College of Charleston. In St. Petersburg, several titans of team racing squared off in close competition. After a challenging start in Round 1, the host Tritons went on a tear in rounds 2 and 3 with wins over crosstown rivals USF, and avenged first round losses against SAISA rivals Charleston and Jacksonville. For their efforts leading the Tritons’ surge to within reach of the regatta win, Raz Sayre and Camryn Kennedy earn recognition as this week’s SAISA Co-Ed Sailors of the Week.
In women’s sailing, several SAISA teams competed at the Phebe Corkran King Women’s regatta at the College of Charleston where cooler temperatures and moderate breeze welcomed sailors at the mouth of the Wando River. With initial racing in the shadow of the USS Yorktown, Charleston’s Marian Williams and Elizabeth Mignon earned their first bullet of the day in race three and never looked back from there, leading the division for the remainder of the regatta. Williams and Mignon together delivered four first place finishes on the day while defeating their nearest competitor, the Stanford Cardinal, by nine points, earning this week’s SAISA Women’s Sailors of the Week honors.
2019 – Week 3
RALEIGH, N.C., FEBRUARY 23, 2019 – Week three marks the beginning of conference points competition in SAISA with the SAISA Spring Co-ed Open hosted in sunny St. Petersburg, Florida. Conditions at the Open were excellent with temperatures in the high 70s, consistent, building breeze between 10-15 kts both days, and there are few places in college sailing better to spend an early February weekend than the Eckerd College beach. From the first race of the day, College of Charleston Cougars Will Martens and Keely Gregg set the pace for the day dialing in a bullet and then continuing to lead a very competitive A-fleet through the remainder of the regatta. Fending off a late surge by the host Tritons, winning their division by 10, Martens and Gregg earn SAISA Co-ed Sailors of the Week honors for week three. There were several outstanding performances at this year’s SAISA Spring Open and it stands as one of the most close and competitive SAISA Open regattas in the past few years. Thanks to each of you who submitted nominations this week.
Across town at USF, several SAISA teams were in the mix at the USF Women’s Spring Intersectional regatta, as well as teams from the mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and Pacific coast. Picking up where she left off in the Fall, USF skipper Marina Barzaghi found her place at the front of the combined fleet event and stayed there throughout the day consistently. Her showing with crews Darby Capelin, Shani Scwartz, and Samantha Kappaz, secured a first place A-division, helped the USF Bulls earn the regatta win, and earned Barzaghi SAISA Women’s Sailor of the Week honors.
2019 – Week 2
RALEIGH, N.C., FEBRUARY 22, 2019 – Although officially week 2, the first weekend of college sailing in SAISA offered a nice runway into the spring season with just a few events on the calendar. Attending their first out of conference regatta in a few years, the revitalized Tars of Rollins College delivered a strong showing on behalf of SAISA at the Harris Kempner Memorial Regatta hosted by Texas A&M Galveston. Led by a dominant performance in B-fleet by the first 2019 SAISA Co-Ed Sailors of the week, skipper Teagan Walsh, and crews Corinne Keogh and Cooper Anderson, Rollins College earned a 14-point win in B-division, outpacing the Texas Longhorns, as well as other teams from SEISA including host TAMUG. Walsh, Keogh, and Anderson marked the outstanding performance for SAISA sailors with no race finish worse than 4th, an average of 2.1 on the day and 4 bullets in route to the division and regatta win. Congratulations Teagan, Corinne, and Cooper.
2018 – Week 10
RALEIGH, N.C., NOVEMBER 13, 2018 – Weekend 10 was relatively quiet in college sailing with only a few events on the schedule, but that didn’t keep SAISA sailors from delivering some impressive performances on the water. Sunny skies, mild temperatures and sustained 10-15 mph winds welcomed teams and sailors from SAISA and MAISA to coastal Oriental, North Carolina on Saturday for the StormPack Hurricane Relief Regatta and Community Clean-up.
Racing in a combined fleet, NC State’s skipper Scott Harris and crew Conor Murphy quickly secured the regatta lead and held on for the remainder of the day. The Wolfpack pair delivered a dominant showing, scoring just 10 points in 9 races and earning this week’s SAISA Co-Ed Sailors of the Week honors. A first-race, second-place finish was the only blemish on what would have been a picket fence day for the home team pairing. Harris and Murphy were also commended in this week’s nominations for sportsmanship, fielding questions from some newer competitors who found themselves at the back of the large fleet throughout the day. Harris and Murphy’s performance helped NC State secure the final podium spot for the event.
With no dedicated women’s sailing events on the weekend, we turn to the performance of SAISA women at the co-ed StormPack Hurricane Relief Regatta where University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill sailor Ann Burns Morrison earned this week’s SAISA Women’s Sailor of the Week. Morrison, and teammate Matthew Chenard, finished second overall in the competitive 18-boat combined fleet. A highlight of the day for Morrison and Chenard included a late surge of three final race finishes of 3-2-4 with Morrison at the helm helping to push the Tar Heels in front of William & Mary and rivals NC State and securing the overall regatta win for UNC. Morrison, vice-president of the UNC club, was also commended in the nomination for her efforts to organize her team and prepare them to put forth a competitive effort in the regatta.
2018 – Week 9
RALEIGH, N.C., NOVEMBER 7, 2018 – Weekend 9 is National Championship weekend for three key concentrations in college sailing, men’s singlehand, women’s singlehand, and offshore. Great conditions and big waves greeted Laser sailors on Lake Michigan on Saturday, with Sunday bringing solid breeze and flat water to both the Women’s Singlehanded National Championships, and the Men’s Singlehanded National Championships, hosted in Holland, Michigan by Grand Valley State University and Hope College. After a 7-6-8 to start the event, Jacksonville University’s Charlotte Rose went on a tear at Women’s Singehanded Nationals and by the fifth race was tied for first, dialing in mostly ones and twos for the remainder of the regatta including a streak of firsts and seconds for the final six races of the regatta. Rose continued battling it out with Stanford’s Christina Sakellaris and Boston College’s Sophia Reineke for top spot on the day. Rose outperformed eventual regatta-winner Sakellaris 2:1 over the final six races in the event, but fell just one point short of the tiebreaker (which she would have won!). That showing definitely earned Rose several nominations and this week’s recognition as SAISA Women’s Sailor of the Week.
Jacksonville University’s Charlotte Rose & College of Charleston’s Gerald Williams
In co-ed sailing, SAISA men were racing Lasers on Lake Michigan and the College of Charleston offshore team was carrying the torch at the Kennedy Cup, however Cougars’ Gerald Williams earned this week’s co-ed Sailor of the Week with a strong showing at Men’s Singlehanded Nationals, also held in Holland, Michigan. Williams earned a strong 7th place overall finish with consistent improvement race to race, and several podium finishes in races throughout the two-day regatta.
2018 – Week 8
RALEIGH, N.C., OCTOBER 31, 2018 – Weekend 8 was Championship Weekend in SAISA with both Women’s and Co-Ed events on the calendar hosted on the St. Johns River by Jacksonville University. Saturday’s Women’s event tested sailors in some seriously gnarly conditions with wind, waves, and current, all ripping. In the Co-Ed event, raced late on Saturday afternoon and reconvened on Sunday, sailors faced lighter, shiftier breeze while the aggressive current remained a major factor. Through their performance in both the Women’s and Co-Ed championship regattas, the South Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association recognizes Alie Toppa and Annabel Carrington of the College of Charleston, and Marina Barzaghi and Darby Capellin of the University of South Florida as the Week 8 Sailors of the Week for both Women’s and Co-Ed competition. These talented sailors finished Women’s Champs 1-2 in the A-division helping their teams to an overall podium finish for the event in first and third place respectively. The two squads also earned bullets in 8 of the 10 races held in the division.
After a full day of racing in Women’s, the pairs of Toppa and Carrington, and Barzaghi and Capellin kept their strong performance going in B-division of the Co-Ed Championships regatta. The two pairs finished yet again 1st and 2nd for the event, combining for bullets on more than half the races held in their division throughout the event. They averaged 2nd and 4th place on the day and had no finishes above 4th or 7th respectively throughout the regatta. Their strong performance in Co-Ed helped the College of Charleston and the University of South Florida finish the regatta yet again on the podium with first and third place overall respectively for the event. Both Toppa and Carrington, and Barzaghi and Capellin were recognized earlier in the season as SAISA Sailors of the Week, as well.
2018 – Week 7
RALEIGH, N.C., OCTOBER 24, 2018 – It’s a Cougars’ sweep for SAISA Sailors of the Week. In week 7 of the fall sailing season, the South Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association recognizes co-ed sailor Augie Dale of the College of Charleston for his outstanding performance at the Fiske-Harriman-Sleigh Trophy Coed Showcase Regatta hosted by St. Mary’s College of Maryland. With a strong start in blustery conditions, Dale and crews Katherine Lounsbury, Carter Cameron, and Oliver Parsons held the A-division lead for all but three races and won the division overall by 7 points over the Polar Bears of Bowdoin College. Dale finished 8 of the regatta’s 18 races with a first place bullet. Dale and crew’s win in A-fleet helped the College of Charleston Cougars secure an overall 7th place finish for the last of the fall season’s Showcase regattas.
In Women’s sailing, the Sailors of the Week nominations and recognition once again find Alie Toppa and Annabel Carrington of the College of Charleston delivering the strongest performance of the weekend at Yale Women’s. Big breeze and waves were no match for the Cougars who finished 2nd in the division and took 3rd in the regatta overall, besting teams from NEISA, SAISA, and SEISA. Carrying or sharing the division lead for most of the day, Toppa and Carrington returned to SOTW status on the strength of their Saturday sailing as races on Sunday were called off due to gale force winds and gusts over 40 knots on Long Island Sound.
2018 – Week 6
RALEIGH, N.C., OCTOBER 17, 2018 – The South Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association recognizes co-ed sailors Cameron Douglas and Camryn Kennedy of Eckerd College for their outstanding performance at SAISA South Points #4 in St. Petersburg, Florida. Douglas, captain of the Eckerd College Tritons and Kennedy worked hard to make the best of light conditions and delivered a wire-to-wire A-fleet division win for the home team. Together with a second-place finish in B-fleet, the pair secured the regatta win and vaulted the Tritons to first in SAISA South over both Jacksonville and Miami for the top spot.
In women’s sailing, Clemson University sailors Jenn Casey and Hannah Oswalt won the B-fleet division at SAISA North Points #4 hosted by Georgia Tech on Lake Lanier. With three race wins and no finishes greater than 2nd for the entire event, Casey and Oswalt delivered the low-score for any pairing in either division and contributed to the wire-to-wire regatta win for the Tigers. With the solid finish and regatta win, Clemson earned 2nd overall place in SAISA North for the fall season and qualified for SAISA Conference Championships.
Congratulations to all of the teams who qualified for SAISA Conference Championships: SAISA North: College of Charleston, Clemson Univ., NC State Univ., Univ. of South Carolina, Georgia Tech, and the Univ. of Georgia. In SAISA South: Eckerd College, Jacksonville Univ., Univ. of Miami, Univ. of South Florida, Univ. of Florida, and Florida State Univ.
2018 – Week 5
RALEIGH, N.C., OCTOBER 9, 2018 – This week’s outstanding performance by South Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association sailors is a case of déjà vu as we witnessed another dominant performance from College of Charleston sailors Alie Toppa and Annabel Carrington, who were named SAISA Week 4 Sailors of the Week. This week, the pair was nominated and selected for winning the A-fleet division at the Stu Nelson Women’s Showcase Regatta hosted by Connecticut College. Toppa and Carrington finished the regatta with a 13 point lead over Yale. The Cougars’ experience and acumen in current proved beneficial in a strong Thames River ebbing tide and their A-division win helped propel the College of Charleston to second place overall in the regatta.
In co-ed sailing, SAISA recognizes College of Charleston offshore sailor William Comerford who led his team to a five-race “picket fence” win in the J/105 class of the Storm Trysail Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta held at Larchmont, NY this past weekend. With Comerford at the helm, the Cougars team of Key Becker, William Hundahl, Graham Post, Frances Schulte, and Samuel Tobio secured the lead and went wire-to-wire to win their class and deliver the best performance of any of the nearly 50 collegiate teams in the competition across six one-design and PHRF divisions.
This week, SAISA would also like to recognize women’s sailor Katie Lawless of Vanderbilt University. Lawless, a Larchmont, New York native, skippered the aptly-named Commodores to a second-place finish in the very competitive J/105 class at the Storm Trysail Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta. With local knowledge and experience in both keelboat and dinghy racing, the Vanderbilt team captain kept her squad in the mix and delivered improving finishes throughout the event as well as a five-point lead over third-placed Webb Institute. Together with teammates Blake Andreou, William Franke, Chris Keller, Maddi Nystrom, and Harrison Vandervort, Lawless continues to strengthen Vanderbilt’s presence in collegiate offshore racing.
2018 – Week 4
RALEIGH, N.C., OCTOBER 2, 2018 – The South Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association recognizes co-ed sailor Alfonso Garcia Bringas of Jacksonville University for an outstanding performance at the helm during this past weekend’s SAISA Match Racing Conference Championship Regatta. Together with Jacksonville teammates Andre Guaragna, Telmo Basterra, and Ana Carrasco, Bringas completed the first and second round with wins over fellow SAISA South division rivals Florida State, U. Miami, Univ. of South Florida, and Eckerd College, as well as SAISA North’s Vanderbilt. Sailed in J/70s and hosted by St. Petersburg Yacht Club, the St Petersburg Sailing Center and University of South Florida, this year’s event was especially competitive in challenging, light conditions. Finishing with a 7/2 record, Bringas led the Fins to qualify for ICSA Match Race National Championships for the first time in program history. They will be joined by the College of Charleston, representing SAISA on November 1-3, 2018 hosted by Corinthian Yacht Club of Marblehead, Massachusetts.
In women’s college sailing, SAISA recognizes the pair of skipper Alie Toppa and crew Annabel Carrington of the College of Charleston. Competing in the first women’s showcase of the fall season, the Jen Harris Women’s Showcase Regatta hosted by the United States Naval Academy, Toppa and Carrington were near the front of the fleet in what would be the best wind of the weekend early on Saturday, and as the breeze died down on the Severn River, they solidified their lead in a very talented and competitive A-fleet division. Over the course of the two-day regatta, Toppa and Carrington earned 4 race win bullets and no race finished higher than 6th for the event, winning their division by a comfortable 12 point lead. The Cougars finished the regatta in 5th overall.
2018 – Week 3
RALEIGH, N.C., SEPTEMBER 29, 2018 – The South Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association recognizes Gerald Williams of the College of Charleston for his performance in this past weekend’s SAISA Singlehanded Conference Championship Regatta. After securing first place in the regatta after race 2, Williams continued to dominate delivering eight race wins and a score no lower than second throughout the day. Williams earned a berth to the 2018 Laser Performance College Sailing Singlehanded National Championships to be held November 2-4, 2018 in Holland, Michigan. Williams will be joined by his College of Charleston teammate Malcolm Benn Smith, and Jacksonville University sailor Jack Gower.
In Women’s sailing, SAISA recognizes the pair of skipper Marina Barzaghi and crew Darby Capellin of the University of South Florida. Together this dynamic pair participated in the 2018 Allstate Sugar Bowl Regatta hosted by Tulane Sailing and the Southern Yacht Club in New Orleans, Louisiana. With their strong showing, securing the low point total for a women’s competitor, as well as outstanding sportsmanship, Barzaghi and Capellin were also awarded the Rees Trophy awarded by the Allstate Sugar Bowl Committee.
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