By Sarah Sell, University Communications and Marketing
The USF sailing team competes nationally, benefitting from year-round training at the St. Petersburg campus located on Tampa Bay. The team consists of a women's varsity team and a coed sailing club with students from all three USF campuses.
The women's team is coming off a strong season that took them to the national championships in May. The team qualified for the College Sailing Women's National Fleet Racing Championship by placing 2nd at the South Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association (SAISA) Conference Women's Championships.
At the 2023 College Sailing Nationals hosted by the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in New York, the USF women’s sailing team finished 15th among 36 teams.
"We were super stoked about it when they got selected," said Dre Keswater, president of the coed sailing club. “We're always very supportive of each other, and we are a very mirrored program, so when they succeed, we succeed."
Led by head coach Allison Jolly, a former USA Olympian and 2016 Florida Sports Hall of Fame inductee, the USF sailing program has reached the national finals in nine of the last ten years.