South Florida sailor Ghislaine van Empel is set to represent the Bulls at the Singlehanded National Championship this weekend, traveling to New York for the prestigious college sailing event hosted by Fordham University. Van Empel becomes just the sixth sailor in South Florida program history to earn a berth at the championship.
Van Empel secured her spot through an at-large selection after finishing third at the SAISA Singlehanded Conference Championship. A selection committee evaluated the 12 strongest singlehanded sailors based on their overall college sailing resumes, and van Empel’s body of work earned her a place among the 18 competitors in the field.
“I was very surprised when I found out that I had qualified,” van Empel said. “It is a great honor to represent my university, and I am super excited to race and explore New York City.”
The regatta marks the final event of the fall season. Competition resumes in mid-February when the spring schedule kicks off with a mix of team race regattas and fleet race regattas, building toward the National Championships hosted in May at the Naval Academy.
The South Florida sailing team has enjoyed a competitive season overall, posting multiple race wins and showing plenty of promise heading into the spring campaign.
Attendance at South Florida home sailing events is free. The team sails out of the Haney Landing Sailing Center on the University of South Florida campus.
The USF sailing program carries an impressive pedigree. The Bulls won a SAISA conference championship in 2025 and have reached the national finals in 13 of the last 14 years. South Florida finished in the top 10 during the 2012 and 2013 seasons and has claimed eight SAISA conference titles since the program was formed in 1997 out of St. Petersburg.
Head coach Allison Jolly has led the program since 2004. One of the most accomplished women in U.S. national sailing history, Jolly is a former USA Olympian and Gold Medalist from the 1988 Games, a 2016 Florida Sports Hall of Fame inductee, and a 2019 U.S. National Sailing Hall of Fame inductee.
