Newswise — The University of North Carolina Wilmington Surf Club claimed victory at the National Scholastic Surfing Association (NSSA) East Coast Championships April 18 in Sebastian Inlet, Fla., according to team adviser Peter Fritzler.
Two members of the team took top honors in the College Men's division, with Mike Powell placing first and Ian Tilghman second. Local Kure Beach standout and UNCW team member, Drake Courie, placed sixth in the Open Longboard division. UNCW also won the overall team competition; teams consist of six men, two women and one longboarder.
The strong showing in Florida qualified the UNCW team to receive an invitation to the NSSA National Championships, which will be held in June in Salt Creek, Calif. Participation in "nationals" is significant because it is the preeminent competition for student surfers, Fritzler said. It has been nearly 20 years since UNCW last made an appearance in this prestigious event.
"We won the overall team competition fairly handily," said Dylan McNamara, team coach and a faculty member in the Department of Physics and Physical Oceanography. "We have some really strong surfers at UNCW and I feel like we have a pretty good shot at winning nationals."
While McNamara praised his team's talent and dedication as surfers, he was quick to add that he is as proud of them for their academic achievement as for their feats in the water.
"UNCW is one of the premier colleges for students who want to keep surfing and have a top-quality academic experience," he said. "The members of our team are true scholar athletes. They are very concerned about doing well in school and were doing homework throughout the weekend at the hotel in Florida."
McNamara said the team looks forward to the opportunity to compete with some of the California "powerhouse" surfing schools at the national competition. The NSSA National Championships will be televised by Fox College Sports.
Other members of the team include Ben Powell, Sean Herman, Nick Bland, Cody Leutgens, Liz Hauser, Liza Dean, Thomas Bruce, Morgan O'Connel, Travis Varga, Chase Elam, Jarrod Covington, Ryan Bonner, Kristen McKnight, Kristina Wolfe and Hunter Hay. Team advisers are Fritzler and Suzanne Blake.
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