MCSA News


Meet Hometown Sailors of the 2016 ICSA Nationals


AJ Reiter – Junior, Georgetown University

Competing in Team Racing and Coed

What is your sailing background?

I first learned to sail at age 5 at SDYC as a Sea Urchin, and stuck with the program through the whole way! I also sailed for the Point Loma High School Sailing Team.

 

How do you balance school and sailing at such a high level?

I spend every moment I can studying on the road--van rides are for studying and staying up to date on schoolwork. I still have late nights in the library though!

 

How have you trained for this regatta?

We practice four times a week and train in the gym in order to be physically and mentally strong enough to compete.

 

What is your usual pre-regatta ritual?

I typically get to the venue and play some music on the way there, have a few bananas for breakfast, and give my crew a fist bump right before it's time to go.

 

Who do you think is your biggest competition? Why?

I think everyone will be incredibly good competition this year because everyone has been working so hard in order to win! That being said I really look forward to races against teams like Charleston, Yale, BC, and Stanford. 

 

Do you have any specific goals for Nationals?

This Nationals, I'm aiming to just improve every single race. Just making sure that I make less mistakes than others and not treating the regatta as anything different than what we've done all season.  Just conscientiously improving!

 

If your team had a theme song, what would it be?

I think our team theme song would be Notorious Thugs by Bone Thugz-n-Harmony. For some reason it's what is always stuck in my head when everything is on the line!

 

 

Sterling Henken – Sophomore, UCSB

Competing in Team Racing and Coed

 

What is your sailing background?

I starting sailing when I was 6 or 7 in Naple Sabots then I transitioned into 29ers competing nationally and internationally.

 

How do you balance school and sailing at such a high level?

The way I balance school and sailing is very good time management. I devout a majority of my time to studying and completing schoolwork to allow me to practice and travel over the weekends for regattas.

 

How have you trained for this regatta?

I practice at least three times a week on the water and off the water I take care of myself to keep my mindset in the best place possible. I also try to surf when the waves are good and compete on big boats at the local yacht club regattas.  

 

What is your usual pre-regatta ritual?

I don't have a specific pre-regatta ritual other than getting enough sleep and eating healthy for the week beforehand. I also try to go surfing before I leave for any big events. 

 

Who do you think is your biggest competition? Why?

Competition wise there is no specific school to beat other than try to be in the top 9 during semi-finals in order to qualify for the finals. 

 

Do you have any specific goals for Nationals?

My goal for this nationals is to get past the semi-finals and move onto the final two days. 

 

If your team had a theme song, what would it be?

Theme song: Burning Down the House by The Talking Heads 

 

 

Scott Sinks – Sophomore, Boston College

Competing in Team Racing and Coed

 

What is your sailing background?

I grew up sailing in San Diego. I started sailing when I was 5 or 6 in the Naples Sabot in La Playa Cove. After Sabots I started racing double handed boats. I went to Point Loma High School and sailed with the PLHS sailing team for 5 years (8th grade through senior year) from there I went to Boston College where I am currently a sophomore. 

 

How do you balance school and sailing at such a high level?

It’s very difficult to balance school and sailing at a high level. I think if you want to be great at something then there are inherit sacrifices that come along with it. Whether it be school, sleep, hanging out with your friends, being a good friend, etc. I think figuring out your top priorities then finding the best way to manage your time based on your priorities is the key to finding a balance.

 

How have you trained for this regatta?

We practice 4 days a week as well as compete on the weekends. Additionally, we have team lift 3 days a week.

 

What is your usual pre-regatta ritual?

I go to bed early and wake up early, that’s about it. 

 

Who do you think is your biggest competition? Why?

I think everyone will be tough competition. Every team has been practicing all year for this week. Every team will be on their “A” game, so whoever executes the best will come out on top.

 

Do you have any specific goals for Nationals?

My goal for Nationals is to win as many championships as possible. I have no goals other than that. Our team has been working all year for this, so anything other than a championship is failure.

 

If your team had a theme song, what would it be?

Unsure, we all have pretty different personalities 

 

Jake Reynolds – Senior, College of Charleston

Competing in Team Racing and Coed

What is your sailing background?

I grew up sailing at SDYC and had an amazing learning experience there. It lead me to do top level junior sailing that took me all over the world. Once I started to move out of junior sailing I focused on high school sailing at Point Loma High. Our team had a tremendous amount of success which lead to my level of interest in sailing. After getting accepted to CofC I was extremely excited to start my sailing in the Southeastern part of the United States. Over the past four years of college sailing our CofC sailing team have many great successes that I am more than grateful to have been a part of. I attribute much of my team’s successes to my background in the SDYC junior sailing program.  

 

How do you balance school and sailing at such a high level?

Being a full time varsity athlete we spend at minimum of 40 -50 hours a week practicing, traveling and competing in events. I can personally say it's not a one person show when it comes to keeping up with studies. Our athletic department has given us amazing resources such as tutors, advisors, and close ties to professors to help each athlete balance sports and school. In your freshman first semester you are helped by athletic department advisors on time management and that was what helped me when learning how to balance school and sailing. 

 

What is your usual pre-regatta ritual?

I don't think I really have one. I know the only thing I really strive for is making sure my teammates are happy as well as myself and usually that is when we have had the most success. 

 

Who do you think is your biggest competition? Why?

I think this year our competition isn't just one team. Each of the top ten teams have the ability to give losses to some really good teams. It should make for some really great sailing. 

 

Do you have any specific goals for Nationals?

There is always a goal to win, but past that, we as a team have made some goals. Most of the goals are actually focused off the water mostly to get our minds off of the stresses of racing. 

 

If your team had a theme song, what would it be?

Anything by Creed