CHARLESTON, S.C. – Rollins competed at the SAISA Open Team Race Championship this weekend, hosted by the College of Charleston. The conference championship featured 420s and FJs raced in a team scoring format.
Racing got underway on time following a brief on-the-water postponement, with the fleet settling into a steady 6–8 knot southerly breeze. Conditions built through the afternoon to 10–15 knots, allowing for two full round robins and 42 races to be completed.
Sunday brought another strong day on the water, with an 8–13 knot SSW breeze building into the 20-knot range by the afternoon. The race committee completed a third round robin before getting the fleet ashore ahead of approaching storms to wrap up the event.
The Tars finished fifth overall with an 8–10 record.
Round one featured consistent combinations of
Annie Samis (skipper) with
Jane McKenzie (crew),
Milo Miller (skipper) with
Julia Scott (crew), and
Caleb Kinnear (skipper) with
Adelaide Matzky (crew). Rollins dropped its opening matchups to Jacksonville (3-4-6) and Charleston (4-5-6) before responding with three straight wins, sweeping South Florida (1-2-3) and defeating Miami (2-3-5) and Clemson (1-2-5). The Tars closed the round with a loss to Eckerd (2-4-6).
Round two followed a similar pattern, with early losses to Jacksonville and Charleston before Rollins again swept South Florida (1-2-3). Miami edged the next race, but the Tars closed strong with wins over Clemson (1-2-5) and Eckerd (1-4-5). Samis rotated between
Cameron Kinnear and McKenzie as crew, while Miller/Scott and
Caleb Kinnear/Matzky remained consistent pairings.
In round three, Samis continued rotating with
Cameron Kinnear and McKenzie, while Miller paired with Scott and
Alexander Goldsmith.
Caleb Kinnear also rotated between Matzky and Scott as crew. The Tars dropped early races to Miami (2-4-6), Jacksonville (3-4-6), Charleston (3-5-6), and Eckerd (1-2-5) before closing the regatta with wins over South Florida (1-2-6) and Clemson (1-2-5).
Rollins returns to the water April 10–12 in Tampa for the SAISA Women's Team Race and Fleet Race Championships, hosted by South Florida.
