The women’s sailing team competed in the Atlantic Coast Championships (ACCs) for the first time in their program’s history at St. Mary’s College of Maryland on Oct. 3, 2025.
After a successful and history-making season last semester, where they qualified for the ICSA College Sailing Women’s National Championships, the Lady Tars returned to Maryland to participate in round one of the ACCs, matching up against teams from schools across the country.
With 36 teams also qualifying, the competitors were split into two conferences, Eastern and Western. In the Eastern Conference, the Tars went head-to-head with large schools such as Yale, Dartmouth, and Clemson.
Despite having a similar venue to their own Lake Virginia, the conditions at St. Mary’s on Saturday posed a challenge for the Rollins sailors, as heavy downpour rain attempted to dampen spirits and made running races difficult.
“The rain definitely made racing physically and mentally challenging,” says co-captain Jane McKenzie (‘27). “But as sailors, we’ve all learned to bear uncomfortable situations like that for long periods of time.”
While the rain seemed to have passed on Sunday, the lack of wind provided equally challenging conditions, with the race committee only able to carry out three successful races.
The Tars placed thirteenth out of 17 schools, ending their first ACC appearance on a positive note.
Next weekend, the team heads to the University of Connecticut for round two, where they will face many of the same teams and look to continue improving their craft.
The Women’s Atlantic Coast Championships (Women’s ACCs) is a series of intercollegiate regattas organized by the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) of North America.
The series comprises three rounds of women’s fleet racing, each round hosting two divisions (two boats per school). Sailors compete in standard college sailing boats, FJs and 420s.
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