The University of Hawai’i sailing program kicked off its 2026-27 campaign at the PCCSC Singlehanded Championships in Seattle, with both the Rainbow Wahine and coed squads taking to the water in Laser singlehanded racing. Hosted by the University of Washington on September 19-20, the regatta marked the first event under new head coach Dave Siegal.
On the open side, sophomore William Bagley and senior Spencer Fleming represented the Rainbow Warriors. Bagley led the way with a fourth-place finish, accumulating 36 points across the regatta. Stanford’s Thomas Sitzmann dominated the open championship, winning all eight races and finishing with just eight points to claim the title convincingly.
The women’s championship saw seniors Martha Schuessler and Stella Taherian compete for Hawai’i. Schuessler secured fourth place with 26 points, while Taherian was close behind in fifth with 27 points. Stanford’s Avery Baldwin mirrored Sitzmann’s dominance on the women’s side, finishing first in all seven races. Her seven-point total put considerable distance between herself and runner-up Venetia Satow of California, who finished with 22 points.
Both Hawai’i teams now set their sights on East Coast competition. The Rainbow Wahine will travel to Brunswick, Maine, for the Women’s Atlantic Coast Championship on October 3-4, while the coed team heads to the Charleston Fall Interconference that same weekend. The early-season results offer a promising glimpse of what lies ahead for the program under Siegal’s leadership.
