WINTER PARK, Fla. – Great conditions greeted the fleet on Lake Virginia for the Bud Morrow Open Team Race, a promotional team race regatta sailed in FJs. Nine teams, eight from SAISA, along with Kings Point, completed a full round robin in an easterly breeze ranging from 8–12 knots. While the direction held steady, shifts across the course kept teams on their toes throughout the day. A few equipment issues forced three races to be re-sailed late in the afternoon.
Charleston remained undefeated through the round robin, with Miami, Jacksonville, and Rollins also advancing to Sunday's final four. The remaining teams moved into a bottom-six round to determine the rest of the standings.
Sunday brought lighter conditions from the south, with breeze ranging between 4–10 knots. The shifty wind across the lake created tight racing, with many matchups staying close through the finish. Charleston ultimately claimed the event with an undefeated record, while Jacksonville and Miami rounded out the podium in second and third. Rollins fielded two teams in the regatta, with one squad finishing fourth at 6–6 and the other placing seventh with a 7–7 record.
Round one for the Tars opened with
Jack Adderley,
Milo Miller, and
Caleb Kinnear as skippers alongside
Alexander Goldsmith,
Soleil Aurignac, and
Margaret Burnham as crew. Those combinations raced against Miami, Charleston, the other Rollins squad, and two South Florida teams. Later matchups against Kings Point and Jacksonville saw Burnham joined by
Katherine Hamner as skipper.
Rollins earned its first win over Clemson with finishes of first, third, and fourth. Miami took the next race (2-3-4) before the Tars responded with two wins over Kings Point (1-2-5 and 1-2-4). Jacksonville swept the next matchup before Charleston took the following race. Rollins bounced back with a victory over South Florida (1-2-5) and closed the round robin with wins over South Florida again (1-2-6) and the other Rollins squad (1-3-5) to secure a place in the final four.
The Tars rotated additional combinations in the championship round, with
Milo Fleming (skipper) and
Sam Frushone (crew) stepping in as a pairing.
Matthew Sexton and
Noah Belson each saw time as a skipper with Aurignac as crew. Rollins fell narrowly to Charleston (2-3-6) before dropping races to Miami (3-5-6) and Jacksonville (3-4-6) to finish fourth overall.
The second Rollins squad opened with a 2-3-4 win over South Florida before the Bulls responded in the next race. The Tars then fell to Clemson (2-4-6) and Miami (2-4-5) before bouncing back with two wins over Kings Point (1-2-5, 1-2-5). The round robin concluded with races against Jacksonville (3-4-6), Charleston (3-4-6), and the other Rollins team (2-4-6).
That group moved into the bottom-six round, splitting with the two USF teams (1-2-5 and 3-4-6) before closing the regatta with three straight wins over Kings Point (1-2-3), Clemson (1-2-3), and Kings Point again (1-3-5).
The second squad maintained a consistent rotation with
Annie Samis (skipper) and
Jane McKenzie (crew),
Adelaide Matzky (skipper) and
Julia Scott (crew), and
Shay Bridge (skipper) paired with
Mollie Wood (crew).
Rollins returns to action March 28 at the SAISA Women's Top 9 in Coral Gables, Florida.
