New College Sailing Team Wins Sugar Bowl Regatta

To most sports fans, the phrase “Sugar Bowl” means three hours of college football, played in New Orleans’ temperature-controlled Superdome, by athletes of prodigious size.
But while most of those fans waited for the kickoff of the national championship game, five teams of virtually unknown college athletes (of a more average size) competed in their own Sugar Bowl, this one in two days of strong winds and high waves on nearby Lake Pontchartain.
And at the end of the Sugar Bowl Regatta – like the football game, a tradition since 1934 – the scholar-athletes from the New College of Florida Sailing Team claimed the trophy as the winners of the collegiate division.
“When we got to New Orleans, I knew I would try my best, but I never imagined that we would take first place!” said team member Francisco Perez. “I told everyone I met in the French Quarter that I won the Sugar Bowl. I was a little disappointed that they weren’t selling New College shirts in the sports merchandise kiosks. And why were there so many Alabama fans? They didn’t even compete against us!”
Four second-year students sailed for New College. Sophia Schultz captained the A boat, with James Montgomery as crew. Cornell “CJ” Lee captained the B boat, with Perez as crew.
New Orleans’ prestigious Southern Yacht Club hosted the regatta on Lake Pontchartrain, a broad, shallow lake that presented challenges to the Nulls.
“The waves were way bigger than we usually see on Sarasota Bay, as high as six feet,” Lee said. “We had to adjust the way we usually sail.”
While the temperature on the first day of racing was in the 50s, it felt much colder with the 13-knot winds and cold water splashing in their faces, Lee said. Some sailors wore multiple pairs of gloves because they lacked appropriate gear for the weather. “The conditions left us cold and exhausted after every set,” Lee said.
The conditions from the first day left their legs feeling like noodles, but the performance had them briefly thinking they had a chance to win, Montgomery said.
On the second day, the winds dropped and the sun came out, allowing the races to be less physical, and more tactical, Lee said.
By the end of the two-day event, the A boat won seven of its 10 races and placed second in the other three. The B boat had two wins, six second-place finishes and two fourth-place finishes.
By then, Montgomery said, it was impossible to contain their excitement at the prospect of us winning the regatta. “The race could not have been any closer,” he said. “I remember meeting CJ and Francisco at the dock to confirm their scores, and telling them that we won. It was nothing short of pure ecstasy. We all sailed our best, and it certainly showed.”
They had earned a narrow victory over the host team, Tulane University, and wide margins over the rest of the five-team field. It was especially satisfying because Tulane and third-place finisher Texas A&M beat them in the national championship last spring.
Schulz received awards for best A-division skipper and best female sailor in the regatta, placing her name on a plaque at the yacht club.
“Winning the Sugar Bowl Regatta was a great way to end the year for the New College Sailing Team,” Schultz said.  “To see our hard work in the past few seasons pay off while being at an awesome venue with each other made it even better.”
Team members credited former coach Hillary Noble for her planning and preparation. “With CJ having only sailed 2 years before college and me learning to sail just last year, I would have never expected our team to be where it is today,” Perez said.
“Last spring, we qualified for Nationals, and this season, we won a trophy regatta. Hillary believed we had the potential to win this regatta when she signed us up, but the victory was still shocking and we certainly couldn’t have done it without her.”
The Tulane sailors brought the New College team to New Orleans to ring in New Year’s Eve. “Celebrating with a win made it all the more glorious,” Lee said.
Perhaps the win was preordained, for a college whose symbol derives from the Greek myth of the winds from the four points of the compass.
“The great thing about New College is that while the curriculum is rigorous, they are also flexible and allow us to pursue our passions outside of the classrooms,” Lee said. “I felt like our victory was a testament to that. It made me proud to represent the Four Winds.”