Sailing team competes at nationals

Coming in as underdogs, the women from the Texas A&M sailing team upped their game at the highest level in the sport last spring when they took on traditional powerhouses at the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association’s College Sailing Nationals in New York.

The student-run club faced club and varsity teams from the Ivy League and East and West Coast universities. Although the Aggies failed to make the finals, they discovered they can compete with the big dogs.

“Despite coming from a region that historically hasn’t performed at the same level as the East and West Coast teams, we didn’t notice an unbridgeable gap between us and those who placed above us,” said skipper Kate Hennig ’26.

The accomplishment shows how far the sailing team has come since its founding in 1990. The trip to nationals was made possible in part from a $1,250 grant from The Association of Former Students.

“We paid for our Airbnb in the Queens area with the $1,250 grant,” Hennig said. “The Association of Formers Students essentially gave us a home while we focused on doing well at nationals. The contribution took a great deal of financial pressure from us in the most important aspect of our stay: Our safety in the Big Apple.”

The peace of mind enabled the Aggies to focus on the regatta.

“We came, we sailed hard, but we did not make it to the finals,” Hennig said. “For our first year competing on that level, we weren’t upset with this result. We had two great days of racing that we could be proud of.”

The 2023 nationals were held May 23-26 at Kings Point, New York, hosted by the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.

Crewmember Emily Davison ’24 said the experience was intense.

“The first race was nerve-wracking but, we quickly saw that we were meant to be out there competing at that higher level. A club team against varsity teams was intimidating, so to prove that we belonged there made me feel proud of our team.”

The A&M sailing team is a student-run club with about 30-40 male and female members. They compete in about 5-7 regattas each semester. The team practices at Lake Bryan on Mondays and Wednesdays and more often as needed for specific regattas.

Noting that there is an ebb and flow of enthusiasm and support for the team, Hennig wants to take advantage of the experience at nationals and build the Texas A&M sailing team into a strong national contender and up the program’s profile. That’s something she can’t do without alumni support.

“Our goal is to use the momentum we have to develop a sustainable training program so that we can continue to improve … We want to do better in connecting with Aggie sailing team alumni to extend our community beyond graduation,” she said.

Team member Katy Heaney ’23 said the experience at nationals is crucial toward that goal.

“Sailing among the best collegiate sailing teams from across the U.S. allowed us to learn many different tactics from other sailors and determine what we are needing to implement into our weekly practices to benefit our team as a whole,” she said.

Hennig said the team needs improved infrastructure for its training. She would like to put in another dock and purchase a motorboat and a rigid inflatable boat.

“Practicing at Lake Bryan with the infrastructure works perfectly well except in the case of extreme winds when we need a motorboat on the water to manage safety risks,” Hennig said “Our main struggle happens when we want to fulfill our obligations to our governing organization, SEISA (Southeastern Intercollegiate Sailing Association), and host regattas in which other schools compete on Lake Bryan. Every regatta should have two launched boats – one for the starting line and one for safety. As it is, we have to ask friends and other clubs to borrow a motorboat for this purpose.”

For other team members, better training and building on the experience at nationals will help make the team better. Skipper Hanna Progelhof ’25 said nationals helped build community and gauge improvement.

“Nationals was a great opportunity for us to get to compete at the highest level there is in college sailing,” she said. “It was also amazing for me to be able to see and race against a lot of my friends I have previously made doing youth sailing in Texas.”

Crewmember Maggie Menesee ’25 said the experience at nationals was a confidence booster.

“Overall, it was super intense being on a huge start line like that. It’s something we’re not super used to but it was fun and we learned how to keep our ground,” she said.

Hennig said there are as many reasons to participate in sailing as there are sailors, ranging from competition to recreation.

“For some, participation on collegiate sailing teams is additional training for their Olympic bid... For an Aggie sailor, sailing is just one part of his or her identity, albeit one that I believe will stand the test of time for most members, even past graduation,” she said.

Entering her sophomore year at A&M, Hennig said her experience with the team has been life-changing.

“When you spend this much time with people doing what you love, it's an inescapable reality that you will become close. This team was the place where I learned to be an Aggie.”

Hennig encourages fellow students to consider joining, even if they don’t have sailing experience.

“Sailing is a sport for all ages. It’s something we can do together,” she said.