HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i women's sailing team will make its return to Florida for the Intercollegiate Sailing Association's (ICSA) Women's Fleet Race National Championship, hosted by the University of South Florida on May 15-18. UH will compete on the waters off the coast of St. Petersburg, Fla. for the second time this season. It will enter the competition ranked 27th.
The field of 36 schools from across the nation will be split into two even groups of 18. The semifinals will take place over the first two days of competition, with the top-nine schools of each group moving on to the final round. The 18-team finals, which will take place over the last two days of competition, will determine the winner and title holder of Women's Fleet Race National Champion.
The Rainbow Wahine qualified for nationals after receiving an at-large bid on April 28 from the National Championship Selection Committee. The bid comes after the 'Bows finished third at the Pacific Coast Collegiate Sailing Conference (PCCSC) Women's Fleet Race Championship, just outside of the top-two school automatic qualifying threshold.
UH's selection marks the fifth consecutive year that the Rainbow Wahine have qualified for the national championship tournament, and 23rd overall in program history.
Representing UH in Florida will be All-Conference selections Martha Schuessler, Stella Taherian, and Amanda Turner, joined by Elin Reigstad, Kahlia Bailey, and Ann Tokoyoda. After nearly advancing following an 11th place result in last year's fleet race national championship semifinal round, Hawai'i will continue to eye a finals round appearance for the first time since the 2012 season.
Just over two months ago, the 'Bows made the trip to Florida to compete in the South Florida Team Race, putting forth a strong effort towards a runner-up finish. Using its familiarity with these waters, sailing in two team race regattas over the last two seasons, the Rainbow Wahine will look to turn its previous success into a strong postseason performance.
Over the nearly three decades of women's sailing at the University of Hawai'i, the Rainbow Wahine sailors have displayed incredible consistency, missing nationals just five times, excluding the cancellation of the 2020 event due to COVID-19. The Rainbow Wahine captured their only national championship 25 years ago in the 2001 season.
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