In the second half of its inaugural varsity season, Tulane sailing continues to make waves. Though undoubtedly experiencing some highs and lows, the team has shown consistent improvement heading into the final months of play. Most recently, the Green Wave dominated at the St. Francis Interconference Regatta held last weekend in San Francisco, California.

Facing 21 opponents from 17 different schools, with Stanford University being the only school that Tulane has sailed against this season, and totaling 18 races among the A and B Division teams, the weekend was certainly intimidating. No challenge is too daunting for the Green Wave, however, and the team came up big in the two-day regatta.

On Saturday, the team finished fourth after totaling 81 points in 12 races, only 14 points above first-place Stanford. In the A Division boat, freshmen Ciara Rodriguez-Horan teamed up with seniors Grace Bloomfield and Sophie Ricker to notch two first-place wins in six races for a total of 46 points. The B division team was similarly successful, with sophomores Caelan Watts and Kate Lenhard finishing all races within the top 10. Between both teams Tulane earned top-ten wins in 10 out of the 12 races.

The Green Wave maintained its impressive position in day two of the regatta, totaling 118 points after 18 total races between the A and B Division teams. The team notched another five top-ten finishes and finished in fourth place out of the 22 competitors.

Last weekend’s victories were particularly impressive, as Tulane sailing faced a few tough regattas earlier this month. On March 23-24 at the Admiral Moore Regatta in New York, the team finished in last place with no wins after only one day of play, due to weather conditions. The Green Wave had not fared much better the weekend prior, finishing 17th of 18 teams at the St. Mary’s Women’s Regatta in Maryland. Still, the team showed improvement throughout the regatta, notching four top-ten finishes in its final four races.

With only a few weeks left in the team’s inaugural varsity season, the Green Wave needs to prepare for some difficult upcoming matches. The Green Wave will host its final home regatta on April 20-21 at the South East District of the Interscholastic Sailing Association Team Race and Coed Conference Championships. The home advantage is particularly important given what is at stake that weekend – the winner of the Team Race is guaranteed a spot in the National Championships.

The following weekend, Tulane will finish its season at the University of Texas at the SEISA’s Women’s Conference Championship. Finally, the Inter-collegiate Sailing Association Women’s National Championship, Team Race National Championship and Coed National Championship will be held May 21-31 at Brown University.