The Flagler College Surf Team headed down south to Sebastian Inlet on Monday to defend their Collegiate Surfing Association East Coast Championships title. The CSA contest is a 6 person tag team event that involved several colleges in the state of Florida. The competing colleges included Flagler (A and B teams), Florida Tech (FIT), University of Central Florida (UCF), University of Florida (UF) and Indian River State Community College (IRSCC). Adam Muller, Eric Taylor, Stephen Kaltenbach, Tom Casse, Brent Meinhold and Marissa Guthrie served as Flagler’s A team. Adam, Eric, and Marissa were a part of last years victory, so having some experience and knowledge of the events format was a plus.
The rounds were broken up into hour long heats, where one surfer from each team would surf simultaneously. Each surfer was allowed to catch 3 waves, two of the three would be scored. In order for the team scores to count, each surf was expected to catch a minimum of two waves, tag the next teammate and have all team members in their designated area before the 60 minutes were up. It was important to be sure to catch two solid waves in the fastest time period possible, so you left your team mates enough time to catch and earn their scores. A lot of team strategy, patience and communication was necessary to be successful. Especially, since the surfing conditions were not ideal for the location. Sebastian requires a south wind or a south swell…but mother nature provided the exact opposite.. North winds and a North Swell..(monster hole was firing!) A good amount (if not all) of the waves that came through were lumpy closeouts, so everyone had to be very selective and make the most of each wave!
After Round 1, two teams were eliminated. Unfortunately, the Flagler B team and IRSCC did not advance to the semi-finals of the event. Leaving four team left, dropping the lowest two teams scores before the finals. Flagler A team easily won the semi-finals and moved on to surf a heads up match in the finals against FIT to win the contest and defend their East Coast Title. The beginning of the finals between Flagler and FIT were neck and neck but with solid and consistent surfing from all members on the Flagler A team in the later rounds proved to be enough to claim the title once again! Flagler had a total of 134.8 point over FIT’s 89.4 total points. Eric Taylor also put together a decent showing in the finals to re claim his individual title as well! The win earned Flagler’s surf team a $500 donation from the CSA and $350 for ET. Stoked!
2010 Collegiate Surfing Association’s East Coast Championship
Championship Team: 1. Flagler College, $500 prize.
Most Valuable Male: Eric Taylor of Flagler College, $350 scholarship.
Most Valuable Female: Amy Nicholl of UCF, $350 scholarship.
Most Spirited: Tie between the University of Florida and Florida Tech, $200 donation to surf club and $100 Long Doggers gift certificate.
