USC Varsity Sailing Team

March 24, 2008
Upon the completion of the Rose Bowl Regatta, the Trojans stepped out the dinghies and into a Catalina 37 to begin training for the Port of Los Angeles Harbor Cup. Sailing a Keel Boat was a new experience for many of our team members, but they welcomed the challenge. The crew of Chris Vetter, Charlie Ill, Phil De Gannes, Andrew Nunn, Perry Johnson, Shelby Rhodes, and Brock Kraebel sailed a very impressive regatta. They finished second overall beating many nationally ranked offshore sailing teams.

January 22, 2008
Happy New Year! The Trojans had a strong showing in both the Coed and Women's Divisions of the Rainbow Invite. The Coed team sailed FJ's and finished 2nd with strong performances from Chris Vetter, Matt Hogan, Brock Kraebel, and Christy Tatchell. Meanwhile, the Women of Troy sailed to a solid 5th place finish and continue to show improvement among the young team consisting of Charlotte Bergin, Natalie Rastello, Shelby Rhodes, Lucy Harrington, and Perry Johnson.

The fall championship was not greeted with much breeze on either day of competition. Day 1 consisted of 3 races total all in under 3kts of breeze. Day 2 was followed by much of the same and a few more races. Despite the tough conditions the Trojans finished 4th overall led by Chris Vetter, Matt Hogan, Costas Vlhakis, Christy Tatchell, Philip de Gannes, and Charlie Ill. In JV our teams had strong finishes of 5th and 7th.

The Trojans dominated the Frosh/Soph Regatta hosted in Santa Barbara. Winning the regatta by 47 points were Nick Miller, Chris Vetter, Natalie Rastello, and Charlotte Bergin. Placing ninth was the team of Stephen Lue, Lucy Harrington and Brock Krabel.

Treasure Island, CA provided great late afternoon sailing conditions. After a long morning in postponement the Trojans hit the water ready to sail fast. Our new team of Chris Vetter, Matt Hogan, Costas Vlhakis, and Christy Tatchell led the team to a 2nd place finish overall. Team Captain Chris Orlando led the JV sailors to a strong finish as well.

Eva Seligman finishes here career at USC as a First Team Academic All- American. Eva was a key player on both the Coed and Women's teams while maintaining a 3.86 cumulative GPA.

The Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) has recognized 20 outstanding scholar athletes by their selection to the 2007 ICSA All Academic Sailing Team. The honor acknowledges success at the highest levels – both on the water and in the classroom – of these men and women who have been nominated by their respective schools for academic and athletic performance during the 2006-2007 academic year. The 2007 ICSA All Academic Team recognizes ten First Team and ten Second Team student-athletes who maintained a cumulative GPA of 3.5 on a scale of 4.00, were a key starter or reserve member of their school’s sailing team, and who had reached junior standing at his or her institution of learning in order to be considered eligible for this distinction.

August 30, 2007

The Annual Team Meeting is scheduled for 2:30pm on Wednesday September 5th at the Lyon's Center. Anyone who is interested in joining the team as well as all current sailors are required to attend this meeting. Items to be discussed are the schedule, practice requirements, travel much more. If you are unable to attend this meeting and would still like to be part of the team email: gstratton@ussclb.org

Annapolis, MD was hot, muggy, lumpy and very light for the Team Racing Nationals as predicted. The Trojans had a strong performance in the first round robin and finished tied with USF. To break the tie there was a sail off to determine who would move forward into the gold round. Unfortunately, the Trojans lost the sail off. They kept their heads up and enjoyed the rest of the regatta as they went on to win the constellation round. Seniors Melanie Roberts, Greg Helias, Eva Seligman, Vanessa DeCollibus, and Clark Fonda went out with style winning their last collegiate races.

The Trojans traveled to Honolulu for the Team Racing and Coed Pacific Coast Championships. Friday was the first day of competition which determined who would be attending the Team Racing Nationals. The Trojans had great success as the topped the score sheet with a record of 12-3. Then on Saturday and Sunday they competed for the Coed Championships. The conditions were shift and difficult to predict, but the Trojans managed to finish 3rd. The team is very excited about their birth into the Team Racing Nationals hosted in Annapolis, MD.

The Ladies of Troy traveled to Treasure Island to compete in the Pacific Coast Championship. It was a hard fought battle in very fluky conditions with a very small fleet on day 1. Then on day 2 the San Francisco Bay provided some very breezy conditions in the afternoon. The team was lead by seniors Melanie Roberts, Vanessa DeCollibus, and Eva Seligman with support from Christy Tatchell and Shelby Rhodes. In the end we finished 3rd.

The St. Francis Intersectional Regatta is one of the finest regattas on the west coast that is supported by the St. Francis Yacht Club on the San Francisco Bay. This regatta draws all of the best teams on the west coast. This year was a hard fought battle in big breeze. On day 1 we experienced a set back when a tiller broke resulting in a DNF for Clark Fonda and Vanessa DeCollibus sailing B-Division. Still we maintained our focus and intensity throughout the weekend which ultimately led to winning the regatta. Greg Helias and Christy Tatchell won A-Division while Clark Fonda, Melanie Roberts, and Vanessa DeCollibus finished second in B-Division.

Our JV teams also experienced some success at the St. Francis Regatta. Unfortunately their fleet was not able to sail nearly as many races due to the heavy breeze. The JV sailors were led by Philip DeGannes, Eva Seligman, Chris Orlando and Yagmur Anis who finished third. Also sailing JV were Nick Miller, Charlie Ill, Costas Vhalakis, Chris Vetter, and Shelby Rhodes who finished 5th.

For spring break the Trojans traveled to Maryland to compete in three regattas as well as train during the week. The first weekend the Women of Troy sailed at Navy while the men competed in the St. Mary's Team Race Regatta. The women's finished 10th at one of the toughest regattas in the country! Meanwhile, the men tied for 7th at the St. Mary's Team Race Regatta.

The team took Monday to visit Washington DC and take in some of our country's history. There were stops at the Capital Building as well as The White House. After a day of sight seeing, the team traveled back to St. Mary's to train with Conn. College, St. Mary's, and Dartmouth. On Friday the team went sailing at Navy in preparation for the Truxtun Umsted Regatta.

The Truxtun Umsted Regatta is one of the largest regattas in the country and always brings some of the best teams from around the country to compete in a four division regatta. This year was no different with 10 of the top 20 ranked teams competing. The Trojans had a strong showing finishing 13th overall.

The team traveled to Mission Bay to compete in South 1 and 2. At South 1 the team had great success winning the regatta while also having other teams that finished 5th and 7th in the fleet of 16 teams. At South 2 the top scoring team was 2nd with other teams finishing 4th and 10th. The Ladies of Troy had a particularly strong weekend as they were the top finishing women's team at both regattas.

The USC Sailing Team hosted the largest combined collegiate and high school regatta in the country with great success. While hosting the event the Trojans also competed at a very high level finishing 2nd overall, beating many nationally ranked teams. Greg Helias and Melanie Roberts sailed A-Division while Alex Bernal and Christy Tatchell sailed B-Division. Thank you to all alumni and volunteers that helped to make this event successful.

The Sloops team of Mikee Anderson-Mitterling, Greg Helias, Clark Fonda, and Chris Orlando traveled to Charleston, SC to compete in the Sloop National Championship. Day 1 began with very light and shifty breezes with a total of 3 races completed. Day 2 started much the same and after a postponement 7 races were completed. After two days and ten races in J-22's on the Cooper River the Trojans finished 4th overall. For complete results please visit:

The Trojans sailed the very windy day 1 of the Fall Championship with great success. Led by Mikee Anderson-Mitterling and Vanessa DeCollibus winning A-Division the team finished 2nd overall. This was the biggest regatta of the season w/ Melanie Roberts, Chris Vetter, Alex Bernal, Greg Helias, Christ Tatchell, and Charlie Ill all contributing to the success of the team on the water.

The Ladies of Troy traveled north to Santa Cruz and finished 4th Women's Fall Championship. The regatta got off to a slow start due to very light breeze and as a result the regatta was limited to one rotation. Melanie Roberts and Christy Tatchell had a slow day one, but finished the regatta strong with 4pts in the last 3 races. Meanwhile, Vanessa DeCollibus and Eva Seligman had a strong showing on day 1, but struggled as the breeze came on hard during their final set. While the ladies were not able to reach their goals for this regatta, they did gain some valuable experience in varying conditions and still look forward to a strong spring season. For complete results please visit:

This past weekend the Trojans went to battle at the Sloop PCC's hosted in Shields in Newport Beach, CA. They got off to a quick start, but UCI kept it close. Going into the last race Mikee Anderson '07, Greg Helias '07, and Clark Fonda '07 had a 2 point lead that was quickly put to the test as UCI rounded the first mark in first. The Trojans had a great downwind leg and managed to finish the race in second which gave them the overall victory. The team is looks forward to fighting for a national championship in Charleston, SC. For complete Sloop PCC's Results please visit:

The entire team traveled to Treasure Island for the Stoneyburke Intersectional Regatta. The Team was led by senior members Greg Helias, Melanie Roberts, Mikee Anderson, and Vanessa DeCollibus who finished 2nd Overall. Mikee Anderson and Vanessa DeCollibus won B-Division by 9 points while Greg Helias and Melanie Roberts finished 3rd in A-Division. The USC JV Team also had a strong showing with two teams finishing 3rd and 5th respectively. Costas Vhlakis and Will Riordan won B-Division by 10 pts. The Trojans look forward to North/South where they plan to top the scores. For complete Stoneyburke Results please visit:

The USC Women's Team finished 3rd at the Bryson Intersectional Regatta hosted in Redwood City, CA. Despite facing the #1 ranked women's team, Melanie Roberts '07 with freshman crew Christy Tatchell '10 won A-Division by 4 points. Also contributing to success of the team were Vanessa DeCollibus and Eva Seligman. The Ladies of Troy are excited about their prospects through the year and look forward to the challenge of beating these teams at the Women's Fall Champs hosted at Santa Cruz on Oct. 21 and 22. To see complete results please visit:

The USC Singlehand Team had a strong showing at the Singlehand PCC's in Marina Del Ray. The group of 4 sailors was led by Clark Fonda who finished 6th. Charlie Ill also had a good event with a 13th place finish. For complete results please visit:

May 12, 2006

Trojan sailors Greg Helias and Alex Bernal were named to the All Pacific Coast Collegiate Sailing Conference ("PCCSC") Coed Skippers Team. Melanie Roberts was named to the All PCCSC Women's Skippers Team. Vanessa Decollibus and Melanie Roberts were named to the All PCCSC Crew Team. For a complete list of all the conference recognized sailors, please visit:

The Trojans dominated the Dinghy PCC’s hosted by the Cal Sailing Team at Treasure Island. Greg Helias and Melanie Roberts won A-Division by 7 points. Alex Bernal, Lessa Grunenfelder, and Parker Shinn won B-Division by 8 points. Winning both divisions led to the dominance of the team in the regatta by an overall 30 points. The Trojans are in strong contention for the National Championship in Dinghy Racing this spring in Charleston.

USC also had a strong performance at the Team Racing PCC’s. Fielding an experienced team that consisted of 6 Juniors led to the team not folding under the pressure. The team had their back against the wall as they had to win every race of their final rotation to qualify. They proceeded to win all of those races and move onto the Team Racing Nationals to be held at the end of this month in Charleston, SC.

The lady Trojans had a strong showing at their final Regatta of the season. Led by Juniors Melanie Roberts and Vanessa DeCollibus, the team placed 5^th at the Women’s Pacific Coast Championships and they look forward to a strong fall season. Three PCCSC teams ranked in the top 15 nationally.

Consistency was the key to success at the St. Francis Intersectional Regatta held on the city front of San Francisco. In light breeze and strong currents the Trojans managed to place second in both A-Division and B-Division which gave them the overall victory at the regatta by 10pts. Our JV teams also had a large and strong showing. We fielded 3 teams that all placed in the top 10 overall, including a 2^nd place.

The Everett B. Morris Trophy, presented annually to the College Sailor of the Year, has been awarded to University of Southern California junior Mikee Anderson-Mitterling (San Diego, Calif.), who was also named an All-American for the third year running. Highlights of his sailing year include placing second at the ICSA Sloop North Americans, and, sailing in A-Division, finishing second at the St Francis Intersectional, first at the Navy Fall Intersectional, third at the ICSA/Gill North American Coed Dinghy Championship and first at the Thompson Trophy which USC went on to win.

"The most memorable performance was the Thompson Cup," said Anderson-Mitterling, "because we were doing so horribly on the first day, and the second day we turned it on and closed a 25-point gap to win A-Division. We also won the Navy Fall Regatta by about 25 points.

"I'm actually surprised I won this award, but I guess the formula for points worked in my favor," said Anderson-Mitterling, with a nod to a few others whom he thinks could have handily won. "It's really cool. It's the one thing that you sail for in college, but I was really using college sailing as a platform for the Olympics. It's a great addition to my resume -- it's that extra thing that says I've really worked hard at something and been rewarded for it."

Anderson-Mitterling is currently in Kiel, Germany, training and racing with his 470 Olympic crew and fellow San Diegan David Hughes. "Our schedule is quite active," said Anderson-Mitterling. "Out of our three months off this summer, we will be sailing for two and three-quarters of a month."

April 25, 2005
USC scored a solid victory at the last major Intersectional of the year, the Thompson Trophy Regatta held in New London, Connecticut on April 23-24. Competing against 15 of the top 20 teams in the nation, this will likely propel our coed team back to the top of the national rankings. Regatta Report and Results at: Thompson Trophy

In very close competition, the USC Women Sailors qualified for the National Championships during the Women’s PCCs held at Stanford University, also on April 23-24. CONGRATULATIONS LADY TROJAN SAILORS!! Regatta Report and Results at: Women's PCCs

Come cheer your team on as USC competes to qualify for the Coed National Championships while hosting the Team Racing and Coed Dinghy Pacific Coast Championships in Long Beach on April 29 – May 1.

April 22, 2005
Head Coach Michael Segerblom offers a great interview on the West Marine website, with insight into the team and the state of college sailing: West Marine Article

April 18, 2005
In an abbreviated Admiral's Cup Regatta (no wind/racing on Sunday), at the US Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point NY, the Trojan sailors finished a respectable third against a field that included nearly all of the top 20 teams in the nation. Report and results at: Admiral's Cup

April 11, 2005
The Trojan Coed team barely got edged out of the top spot to finish second a the St. Francis Intersectional in San Francisco, sailing against a very large field of 31 varsity teams! The Women's team finished an admirable 13th. Report and results at: St. Francis Intersectional

March 28, 2005
The team travels back east to test their team racing skills against that area's top teams, finishing fourth at the Szambecki Team Race at Old Dominion University. Report and results at: Szambecki Team Race

March 7, 2005
We've had a super start to the spring season. This past weekend our #1 Ranked Team went undefeated at the Jeremy McIntyre - Stanford Team Race Intersectional beating the #2 ranked team in the country (Yale) as well as powerhouse St. Mary's College and rivals Stanford, UC Irvine and Univ. of Hawaii. Regatta Report and Results: Stanford Team Race