{"id":396769,"date":"2026-09-11T10:54:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T10:54:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/396769\/"},"modified":"2026-09-11T10:54:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T10:54:13","slug":"south-florida-sailing-starts-2026-27-season-with-a-pair-of-events-this-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/396769\/","title":{"rendered":"South Florida Sailing Starts 2026-27 Season with a Pair of Events This Weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"

TAMPA, FLA. (SEPT. 10, 2026) \u2013 The University of South Florida Sailing team will begin its 2026-27 season this weekend with a pair of events in Florida.
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\nHighlighting the weekend will be competition at the South Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association (SAISA) Singlehanded Conference Championship in Miami.
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\nSouth Florida top skipper Ghislaine van Empel<\/a> returns for her senior season. Van Empel will represent USF in the ILCA 6 class on Saturday at the US Sailing Center in Miami. \u00a0The event will serve as a qualifier for the Singlehanded National Championships hosted by Fordham University later this fall.
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\nVan Empel finished last season with a strong performance at ISCA Women’s Western National Semis by winning the first race and finishing in the top eight in seven of the 10 races.
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\nSeveral Bulls will start their season Sunday at the SAISA South Tournament hosted by USF at Haney Landing Sailing Center in St. Petersburg, Fla.
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\nSouth Florida will be represented by skippers Esme Pray<\/a>, Sara Menesale<\/a>, Grace Jones<\/a>, and van Empel, with crews Taylor Ashton<\/a>, Dita Carlsen<\/a>, Laura Koszeghy<\/a>, and Carlin Fretwell<\/a>
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\nSetting The Stage:
\nHead coach Allison Jolly starts her 22nd Season leading the USF Women’s Sailing team. The Bulls have had great success over the years. They finished the 2025-26 season in second place at the SAISA Fleet Race Conference Championship and the SAISA Team Race Conference Championship. Six sailors earned SAISA all-conference honors.
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\nHome Sailing Attendance:
\nAttendance at USF sailing events is free. USF home sailing events are held at the Haney Landing Sailing Center on the University of South Florida campus.
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\nFollow us:
\nTo stay up-to-date on the latest USF Sailing news, follow the Bulls on social media (Twitter<\/a> | Facebook<\/a> | Instagram<\/a>).
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\nAbout USF Sailing
\nThe USF sailing program won a SAISA conference championship in 2025 and has reached the national finals in 13 of the last 14 years. The Bulls finished in the top 10 during the 2012 and 2013 seasons. The sailing team, which has won eight SAISA conference titles, was formed in 1997 and is based out of St. Petersburg. The program has been led since 2004 by head coach\u00a0Allison Jolly<\/a>. One of the most successful women in U.S. national sailing history, Jolly is a former USA Olympian and Gold Medalist (1988), a 2016 Florida Sports Hall of Fame inductee, and a 2019 U.S. National Sailing Hall of Fame inductee.
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\n\u2013 #GoBulls \u2013
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