ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – A roller coaster of a week was concluded on a high note as the 10th-ranked Eckerd College women's sailing program found out it clinched a spot at nationals semi-finals following the weekend home performance at the SAISA Women's District Championship.
Districts represented the last regatta for the nationally-ranked Eckerd women until nationals, set for May 21-22 here in St. Petersburg. For the women, the event is four days long with the first two acting as an elimination semi-finals round.
The Tritons went from unranked to among the top 10 in the nation following
Sailing World's College Rankings sponsored by Sperry Top-Sider latest poll that was released on Wednesday.
“We went into Saturday feeling really good with district championships ahead of us,” said EC Head Coach
Kevin Reali. “It felt deserving that we broke into the top 10 for the first time this year.”
With only five teams in attendance at the regatta, an automatic bid to nationals was on the line for the winning team with a spot in the semifinals at stake for the runner-up.
The Tritons finished third, but after the district was reallocated another spot, new life was breathed into the Tritons' postseason hopes as one of 18 programs heading to a round of elimination in Boca Ciega Bay.
“The girls were ecstatic when we found out,” Reali said. “We will be one of the stronger teams in the postseason; it won't be easy to finish top nine at the semifinals, but we can do it. Without this chance, our season would have been over.”
The College of Charleston, University of South Florida and Eckerd, were all leading at one point during the day, but Reali said a couple of mistakes towards the end was all the difference in a tightly-contested event.
Kaye Siemers and
Rachel Cruz sailed “A” division for the Tritons while
Melany Johnson and
Emily Mitchell anchored the “B” division.
Eckerd will play host to nationals in May. The coed program is heading to Norfolk, Va., this weekend for semi-finals looking to punch their ticket to the EC-hosted nationals.
