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FOUST Newsletter |
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from the president... Dear Friends, This is the first of what, going forward, will be a monthly newsletter. We've got information about the alumni regatta, a big thank you to the parents whose donations secured a new trailer for the team, not one but two season recaps, and a profile of FOUST member Bobby Gordon ('08), this month's featured alum. One result that everyone needs to see, even if you don't read this whole email: UCLA won the South 4 regatta!! If we had the resources, we would be throwing parades and gladiatorial games for these guys. Since we don't, we'll just say congratulations. If you haven't had a chance yet this year, it's time to pay your dues again! Dues are still a low $25 annually, and we have set up recurring billing so you won't have to worry about it for future years. (We are considering adding "tiered" membership for people who want to pay a little more to show extra support - if you're interested in this let us know, and don't pay dues yet.) FOUST is now on Twitter! Follow us at @FOUST_Sail for regatta results and other updates. If you are relatively tech savvy but ideologically opposed to twitter, you can also get these updates as an RSS feed. We hope you enjoy this newsletter, and as always, please let us know if there's anything else you would like to see coming from FOUST. Sam Wheeler
alumni regatta (this may!)... Traditionally (meaning the last two years) we've held the alumni regatta on Memorial Day weekend. The idea behind this was that the long weekend would give some members of the UCLA Sailing diaspora more time to travel to LA for the event. However, some members have suggested that another date would help to minimize conflicts with weddings, family commitments, and the like. PLEASE VOTE on when you can attend and which day would work best for you. We will announce a date by the end of this week, so make your voice heard soon. As in years past, the regatta will be a one-day event, with a mix of fleet racing and team racing in FJs. There will of course be food and camaraderie, and maybe even an opportunity to get out on a larger boat. (Let us know if you're interested in that!) A huge thank you to the Bozinas, Edwardses, and especially the Olenicks - parents of Carmen ('11), Billy ('12), and Carly ('13), respectively - for donating the funds for a new trailer! This was a pressing need for the team, and the new trailer is beautiful.
fall season recap... The popular Stoney Burke Regatta was the first Varsity and JV regatta of the season, and the Bruins came in roaring at second place, ahead of Santa Barbara in third by 21 points and missing Hawaii in first by only five points. Oscar Jasklowski ('11) and Carly Olenick ('13) held down A division, while Judge Ryan and longtime crew Erica Parker (both freshmen) won B. For those of you keeping score, the Bruins killed the USC Trojans (who finished sixth) by 87 points. The Women's team finished a respectable 10th (out of 27 teams), with Carmen Bozina ('11) and Amy Stuyvesant ('13) in A Division and Charlotte Hughes ('13) and Anna Shoenbrunner ('11) in B. We had a fantastic showing of FOUST membership at Stoney Burke, who gave the team some serious moral support with cupcakes, BBQ, and of course some coaching as well.
Many, many thanks to recently reconnected alumni Kers Clausen and his wife for generously allowing the team to stay at their home for Stoney Burke! FOUST members also had a chance to connect with Kers at an October BBQ at his beautiful home in Richmond. FOUST members Lyzz Schwegler ('07), Danielle Ryan ('09), Joana Que ('09), Kevin Richards ('00), Sam Wheeler ('08), and Jake Muhleman (MIT '08) also all headed down to join UCLA and other PCCSC teams at the UCSB Team Race Scrimmage in November, which was a weekend of friendly team racing and a good reminder that us alumni need to get back out on the water! Several FOUST members also sailed up from Marina del Rey to Santa Barbara to cheer the team on at Fall Dinghy Champs (formerly North/South), where the Bruins took ninth. The women's team came in fourth at the Bryson Women's Regatta and third at Women's Fall Champs, both at Stanford, with skippers Carmen and Charlotte picking up a first place finish at each regatta.
The fall sailing season ended with a bang as freshman superstars Judge and Erica finished first in Varsity A for west coast teams at the Rose Bowl Regatta in Long Beach. The Rose Bowl is one of the most important regattas in college sailing, drawing the best schools from all over the country and run in conjunction with a major high school regatta. Overall, the team came in 11th out of 30 teams and fourth among west coast teams. The team also competed in the Men's Singlehand Pacific Coast Championship, where Judge came in fifth behind Cal Maritime and three Stanford boats (putting UCLA in a respectable third place among competing schools), and the Frosh/Soph Regatta in San Diego, where a Bruins team of freshman and sophomore women also took third. spring season recap... The UCLA Sailing Team has been firing on all cylinders this spring. Judge started the South Series qualifiers strong, winning A Division at South 1 and South 2. Meanwhile, Oscar sailed in A Division as UCLA's JV boat, to make sure that he could also face the best competition in the fleet. Drew Morton ('11) stepped up to Varsity in B Division, and after a solid showing in South 3, Judge and Drew won South 4 for UCLA! (For anyone who hasn't been following the team for the last few years, this is a very big deal.) Taking fifth at South 5 in Santa Barbara, the Bruins easily qualified for coed PCCs, coming up this weekend. One other important development from early in the spring season: the team hired Colin Campbell (USC '03) as a coach. It's true he's a Trojan... But whatever he's doing seems to be working! The qualifiers were not the only regattas this spring. UCLA also competed in the McIntyre Team Race at Stanford, edging out USC to make it into the top-6 final round. Most recently, the team came back to the Bay for the St. Francis Regatta, notorious for its usually devastating wind conditions. While the breeze was not up to its usual standards, the Bruins battled strong competition and stronger currents to take sixth out of 32 teams. Oscar, along with crew Louise Lehman ('14), provided the highlight of the regatta with back-to-back first place finishes in B Division. Alumni Sam Wheeler and Danielle Ryan helped out with race committee, and Chris Cook ('05), Steph Adams ('07) and Eric Dita ('10) were in attendance to watch the action.
The spring season is not over! If you are in the Los Angeles area this weekend, you should definitely come out for PCCs. This is UCLA's best chance to qualify for the nationals in years, and regardless of the result, the racing is sure to exciting. The Bruins will also be sending a team to France for the Course Croisière Edhec, a keelboat race that is one of the largest collegiate athletic events in the world. featured alum... Bobby Gordon ('08) joined the team in 2005 with no prior sailing experience. He quickly became a valuable member of the Women's Varsity team, crewing for A Division skipper Lyzz Schwegler ('07) (at the time, the rules for women's teams only required skippers to be female). Bobby also served as a heavy air crew on the Coed Varsity team, and participated on the JV team. Bobby's involvement with the team scaled down somewhat when he was elected sports editor of the Daily Bruin in 2006. Today, Bobby works for the Art + Global Health Center at UCLA, and will be starting a masters program in applied theater this fall at a school that this newsletter refuses to mention in a positive light. He is also performing an autobiographical one man show, produced by fellow alum Lyzz Schwegler, about his experience growing up as the son of an adult film star. "Debbie Does My Dad" is playing at Highways Performance Space in Santa Monica on April 8 and 9, and will appear at the 2011 Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August. If you have a story to tell or would like to nominate someone for the Featured Alum section of the newsletter, please contact us! |
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