Sunny skies welcomed sailors to the Eckerd College waterfront to kick off the Fall 2019 college sailing season this past weekend with the SAISA Women's Open and the SAISA Coed Open regattas. Both events were competitive and as conditions changed over the course of the weekend, several sailors delivered outstanding performances.
Leading off the weekend with a bullet in the first race, SAISA Women's Sailor of the Week, USF Bulls' sophomore crew Carolina Perez-Rovira guided skipper Marina Barzaghi and her team to a regatta victory and the low score on the day in a competitive combined fleet. Shifty conditions put crews across the fleet to the test and Rovira was up to the task. At the conclusion of the Women's Open, Rovira joined her teammates already racing in the Coed Open where she made an immediate impact on the USF scoreline in the very competitive A fleet. The Bulls and Rovira made a strong push on day two of the coed regatta earning the final podium spot in 3rd, as well as qualifying for the ICSA Coed Showcase Semi-finals held later this season.
On the coed side, this week's SAISA Sailors of the Week recognizes the efforts of Connor Ratcliff and Camryn Kennedy of Eckerd College. Sailing in their home venue in front of a host of spectators, the pair delivered the low regatta score on the day with just 31 points including 3 bullets and no worse than a 6th for the event. Ratcliff and Kennedy kept day two of the event to propel their Tritons team into the regatta lead and hold on to it for the win. The two Eckerd sailors have not raced together regularly in the past, but clearly the pairing shows promise. Congratulations to Carolina, Camryn, and Connor!
# # #