TAMPA, Fla. – Rollins competed at the SAISA Women's Championships this weekend, taking part in both the team race and fleet race conference championship regattas. Friday featured FJs raced in a team scoring format, followed by the fleet race championship in a two-division format on Saturday and Sunday.
Four teams hit the water Friday under sunny skies with temperatures in the upper 70s and an ENE breeze at 10–12 knots. As the day progressed, the breeze began to fade while a strong outgoing current built a choppy, unsettled sea state. Three full round robins were completed, with the middle set seeing winds hover near the minimum before building slightly to 6–7 knots for the final round. Races ranged from 9 to 17 minutes, depending on the shifting pressure.
Rollins finished 3–6 in the team race event. The Tars dropped their opening three races of round one to Charleston (3-4-5), South Florida (3-4-5), and Jacksonville (2-4-5). In round two, Charleston again took the opening matchup (4-5-6), but Rollins responded with back-to-back wins over South Florida (2-3-4) and Jacksonville (1-3-4).
Round three saw Charleston take the first race (4-5-6) before South Florida answered in the next (3-4-5). The Tars closed the regatta with a win over Jacksonville (1-2-4) to finish the event.
Rollins maintained consistent pairings throughout the day, with
Annie Samis (skipper) and
Jane McKenzie (crew) racing together in every round.
Adelaide Matzky and
Julia Scott also remained paired throughout, while
Margaret Burnham crewed alongside
Shay Bridge in round one and
Katherine Hamner in rounds two and three.
Great conditions on Tampa Bay set the stage for the SAISA Women's Fleet Race Championships and the Ann Boyd Trophy over the remainder of the weekend. Saturday brought an ENE breeze ranging from 8–13 knots with gusts up to 18, paired with warm temperatures in the low 80s and moderate seas that challenged upwind legs while opening up fast downwind runs. Eight races per division were completed on W4 courses.
Sunday delivered similar conditions, with an ENE breeze around 13 knots to start before easing to near eight knots in the afternoon. Racing began promptly in the morning, allowing the fleet to complete the final set of races and close out the championship.
Rollins finished third overall with 68 total points (36 in A Division, 32 in B). In A Division, the Tars recorded 11 top-five finishes.
Julia Scott (skipper) and
Adelaide Matzky (crew) sailed 10 races together, finishing inside the top five in nine of them, including a win in race seven.
Shay Bridge and
Margaret Burnham competed in the remaining races, adding two more top-five finishes.
In B Division,
Annie Samis (skipper) and
Jane McKenzie (crew) posted top-five finishes in all 10 of their races, including a win in the opening race. Samis also added two more top-five results while sailing with
Soleil Aurignac as crew in the remaining races.
Rollins returns to the water April 18–19 for the SAISA Spring Open Fleet Race Championship in St. Petersburg, Florida.
