Weekend Regatta Report:
Week 6
South Points 6
Navy Fall

While the October 13-14 weekend featured USF sailors in only 2 regattas, many team members were involved.

South Points 6: Close to home, USF fielded two teams for the final SAISA South Points regatta for the Fall season, hosted by Eckerd College. For the varsity team, which finished 2nd overall, beating both Miami and Florida, junior transfer student from Boston University Paul Perry performed above and beyond the call of duty, rotating between three different crews, all of whom were competing in their first regatta ever. Sailing with Nicole Santana, Nathan Abernathy, and Young Jo, Paul managed 2nd in A division, winning 3 of the 10 races in the process! In B division, Colleen Hartman sailed with Candice Stewart, and they celebrated Candice's birthday by tying for 2nd in B div, including victories in 2 races, the only all-women entry in the varsity standings.

USF also entered an all-women's team in the regatta, and they competed against the other varsity teams as equals, finishing 8th overall out of the 10 teams entered. Sara Simon and Reba Campbell sailed to 6th place in A division, and in an amazing performance, Lauren Youngerman and Devin Hansen sailed to 8th place in B division, competing in their first college regatta ever.

It was quite windy on Saturday, gusting to 20+ knots, and special thanks go to Zac Oppenheim and the USFSP Waterfront for having the USFSP safety boat available and ready to go. It proved quite beneficial in helping to rescue the numerous capsized boats during the event.

Navy Fall: At the Navy Fall Regatta in Annapolis, MD, the nationally ranked Bulls team finished 9th overall out of 18 teams, including many of the top teams in the country. Will Stocke and Dominique Wright were a bit disappointed in their 12th place in A division, but it was their first regatta together, and they are well-positioned to improve as the season approaches it's climax at the ACC's in November. Freshmen Fernando Monllor and AJ Degen teamed up in B division, finishing a very strong 8th, the only two freshmen sailing together. For Fernando, he was 3rd place of the freshman skippers in the division.

In the singlehanded Laser and Radial divisions, Chris Stocke finished 7th in C division, scoring the only bullet among the Bulls sailors, and Abby Featherstone finished 11th in D division, 5th placed girl. These finishes bode well for Chris and Abby, who will be sailing the ICSA Singlehanded National Championships in Long Beach, CA next month.

Looking Ahead: Looking ahead to next weekend, USF sailors will head to Charleston, SC for the SAISA Conference Match Racing Championships, while USFSP will be hosting the Great Oaks Championships High School Qualifying Regatta.