Although it was week two of the conference season with points events in both divisions underway, the spotlight for this week's SAISA Sailors of the Week is on Miami where the U hosted both Men's and Women's SAISA Singlehanded Conference Championships, qualifier for the 2019 ICSA LaserPerformance Singlehanded National Championships held later this year. The week leading up to the event saw forecasts all over the place, but when the men took to the water on Saturday it was pretty glassy and racing was abandoned until the afternoon. When the wind did show up, it really showed up and the College of Charleston's Steven Leuck was there for it. Leuck last competed in SAISA Singlehanded in the fall of 2016 finishing 5th in that contest behind a slate of fellow Cougars that year. In his return Leuck took the lead from the first race, put distance between himself and the field early, and held on until the end for the regatta win despite a late charge from host Miami's Marshall McCann. Conditions were definitely a factor in the outcome of this regatta and Leuck adapted well to the building breeze to win a tough event in a very talented field. Congratulations to Leuck on earning this week's SAISA co-ed Sailor of the Week. He will be joined by Miami's McCann, and Charleston's Benn Smith to represent SAISA at singlehanded nationals.
On Sunday, SAISA women took to the water to take their turn with strange conditions in Miami. After waiting for wind until nearly noon, the wind showed up and the indefatigable race committee was able to get in 6 races for the women in Lasers. In those races, Jacksonville University's Charlotte Rose picked up right where she left off last year leading the 2019 regatta wire to wire with 7 points overall and her only second place finish to Fins teammate Maartje van Dam. Rose, a sophomore who finished just one point from first in last year's ICSA College Sailing Singlehanded Championships, was right at home in the breezy conditions and showed championship form from dominant starts to expertly managing huge shifts and varying wind strength throughout the day en route to the regatta win. Congratulations to Charlotte Rose for earning this week's SAISA women's Sailor of the Week honor. Rose and van Dam will represent SAISA in Santa Barbara for Nationals later this fall.
Each week of the season, we’ll recognize outstanding performances by sailors across SAISA, as well as by SAISA sailors in competition out of conference. The selection process includes a nomination period each week ending on Sunday. A committee of SAISA coaches from both divisions selects sailors from the nominations received and will announce the SAISA Sailors of the Week early each week following the close of the nomination period. If you’d like to submit a nomination, email the sailor’s name, school, position, and what events or circumstances they demonstrated outstanding performance to
SAISAsotw@gmail.com. Nominations close on Sunday at midnight EST and selections will be based on performances for the preceding week and that weekend. Selection categories may include co-ed skipper, co-ed crew, women’s skipper, women’s crew. Pairings or individual sailors may be nominated or selected.
