Despite unpredictable weather conditions, the Bulls led the competition with a 7-2 record and will advance to the national championship.
Courtesy of USF Athletics
By Max Steele
The University of South Florida women’s sailing team won the South Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association’s (SAISA) Team Racing Championship on April 4 on its home waters of St. Petersburg.
With the victory, the Bulls will advance to compete in the first-ever College Sailing Women’s Team Racing Championship on April 23 and 24 at Brown University.
The Bulls outsailed their opponents — Jacksonville University, College of Charleston and Eckerd College — and claimed the title by a narrow margin of one win. USF finished with a 7-2 record, followed by Jacksonville (6-3), Charleston (5-4) and Eckerd (0-9).
Winds were unpredictable on the day of the event, as “they proceeded to slowly veer from north to east throughout the day, starting at 6-8 knots, building to 8-10 knots and then rapidly fading to under 4 knots,” according to SAISA’s official report.
While four full round-robins — which typically last 9 to 10 minutes each — were originally scheduled, the team’s ended up only sailing for three rounds due to the conditions.
Nonetheless, USF’s skippers Heidi Hicks, Emma Shakespeare, Sydney Monahan and crew Carolina Perez Rovira, Jewel “Min Min” Kelly and Jackie Morrison were determined to win and now look to continue their success on the national level.
