Florida Tech Still #1 Florida Collegiate Surfing Team in Nation

MELBOURNE, FLA.—The Florida Institute of Technology’s Surf Team remained ahead of two other Florida collegiate teams competing in the National Scholastic Surfing Association (NSSA) National Championships June 16-19 in Dana Point, Calif. The team finished eighth overall in the competition and two team members, Sebastian Moreno and Justin Ellingham, made the semifinals.

“It was so exciting to qualify for nationals and to compete there,” said team captain Moreno, a senior majoring in international business. “This was our first year as a team and we’re just very proud of what we’ve achieved.” The NSSA is the highest profile amateur competitive surfing association in the United States.

Florida Tech qualified for the national contest after placing second only to the University of North Carolina Wilmington in the NSSA East Coast Championships in April. Other team members who competed in California were: Alex Ferrencz, Frankie Brown, Katie Spagnolo, Pat Brendan, Pat Reily and Ellis White. Supporting the team were James Woerner, Kiki Roettger and Samuel Breit.

The team, financially supported by the university, is seeking corporate sponsors for next year. For more information, e-mail Alex Ferencz at aferencz@my.fit.edu or Sebastian Moreno at smoreno@fit.edu.

The national competition fielded 16 teams, including four from the East Coast of the United States. The two other Florida teams participating represented Florida Atlantic University and the University of Central Florida. The University of California-Santa Barbara team earned the first-place crown for the twelfth time.