USF Sailing delivered an impressive showing at the SAISA Women’s Top 9 regatta in Charleston last weekend, finishing third overall against the top nine teams in the conference. The Lady Bulls earned multiple top-five finishes across the event, reinforcing their status as one of the strongest programs in the South Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association.
Skippers Kailey Warrior, Grace Jones, and Ghislaine van Empel are still settling in with new crew members after their previous partners graduated last spring. Despite the transition, the USF Bulls continue to produce strong results as the sailors focus on sharpening communication and building team chemistry on the water.
Van Empel and Carlin Fretwell sailed their first race together and immediately put a bullet on the scoreboard. Meanwhile, Warrior and Esme Pray posted an outstanding run of consistency, finishing six races inside the top five.
Looking ahead, head coach Allison Jolly’s squad splits up for their next assignments. Six sailors travel to Tulane University for the Sugar Bowl, while nine others represent USF at the SAISA Women’s Top 6, hosted by USF at the Haney Landing Sailing Center.
Attendance at USF sailing events is free. All home events take place at the Haney Landing Sailing Center on the University of South Florida campus.
The USF sailing program boasts an outstanding track record, capturing a SAISA conference championship in 2025 and reaching the national finals in 13 of the last 14 years. The Bulls finished in the top 10 during the 2012 and 2013 seasons and have claimed eight SAISA conference titles since the program’s founding in 1997. Based out of St. Petersburg, the team has been guided since 2004 by head coach Allison Jolly, one of the most accomplished women in U.S. national sailing history. Jolly is a former USA Olympian and 1988 Gold Medalist, a 2016 Florida Sports Hall of Fame inductee, and a 2019 U.S. National Sailing Hall of Fame inductee.
