USF has a chance to win its first national title in program history.
By Dominic Feo
In the familiar currents of St. Petersburg, the University of South Florida Women’s sailing team placed second at the South Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association (SAISA) Women’s Team and Fleet Championship Races on April 12.
The regatta secured USF a spot in the College Sailing Women’s Fleet National Championship, which USF St. Petersburg will also host from May 15-18.
Before the competition, USF’s Division A Fleet Race starters Kailey Warrior and Madisen Hamai told The Crow’s Nest about the advantages of sailing in local waters.
“A lot of these teams are coming from up north where they have to sail in dry suits every practice,” Hamai said. “But coming down here, it’s going be really hot, and we’re used to practicing in this kind of weather, so hopefully that gives us a little bit of an edge.”
Warrior was thankful for not having to travel for the national championship.
“Normally, when we travel for a national championship, we take six to eight people and we’ve got that little squad, but we’re going to have our whole team there, all of our coaches, lots of faculty, and our own vets,” Warrior said.
Photo by Kendall Bulkiewicz | The Crow’s Nest
Teamwork is one of the many values head coach Allison Jolly has taught each team since taking the job in 2004. Warrior, however, believes this year’s team chemistry grew off the water.
“In previous years, the team has been a little bit more separated into different groups, but I think that we’re all close enough to be able to talk to one another and support one another with whatever we’re going through,” Warrior said.
After winning gold at the 1988 Summer Olympics in South Korea, Jolly — a St. Petersburg native — returned home to coach USF.
Her combined experience as an athlete and coach earned Jolly a spot in the U.S. National Sailing Hall of Fame in 2019.
“She’s told us all that she was really bad at starting as a sailor, but she obviously is a gold medalist, and she got through that,” Warrior said. “If you do really bad at the beginning, it’s hard to come back, but she’s taught us to be resilient.”
Photo by Kendall Bulkiewicz | The Crow’s Nest
Four years after joining the team as a walk-on, there is nowhere else Hamai would rather end her collegiate career.
“[The National Championship] is going be really pretty, and it’s really nice that I get to end my college sailing career like with a home regatta,” Hamai said.
