Cincinnati, Ohio, February
21, 2020– Five students
from Saint Ursula Academy experienced a taste of New Orleans last weekend,
while sailing with sisters from Ursuline Academy of New Orleans.The Saint Ursula students sail with the local Cowan Lake
Sailing Association and formed a high school sailing team this past fall as
part of the Interscholastic Sailing Association, which organizes high school
sailing events across the country. Ursuline Academy of New Orleans
thought it would be exciting to host a regatta in their hometown for other
Ursuline high school sailing teams, and invited the Saint Ursula sailors to the
inaugural Ursuline Schools Regatta, the first of what they hope to be an annual
regatta among Ursuline schools.
Abby More ’21 of Hyde Park, Molly More ’23 of Hyde Park, Anna
Nappi ’21 of Anderson Township, Tessa Nappi ’23 of Anderson Township, and Lil
Smith ’23 of Hyde Park from
Saint Ursula Academy, along with Zoe Drechsler from Walnut Hills High School, traveled
to New Orleans to learn about the oldest, continuously-operating school for girls and the oldest
Catholic school in the United States, Ursuline Academy of New Orleans. The
weekend was spent with their sisters from Ursuline Academy of New Orleans and
included a tour of the school, a New Orleans style crawfish boil, a visit to
the famous Café du Monde in the French Quarter, Mass at Loyola University,
Mardi Gras parades, and the highlight of the trip, an eight race regatta on
Lake Pontchartrain.
On Saturday, February 15, eight teams
(three from Saint Ursula Academy) took to a choppy Lake Pontchartrain for
racing under sunny skies and 10-20 mph winds.
On Sunday, racing began with 15 mph winds, but died to 8 mph winds by
the final race. In the end, Saint Ursula
Academy teams placed second, third, and sixth in the friendly competition.
The coordinator of this event, Kevin Gunn,
from Ursuline Academy of New Orleans, is hopeful that this is the first of many
annual regattas between Ursuline Schools across the country. The students who participated are planning an
event in Cincinnati at Cowen Laker later this year so that they can share their love of Saint Ursula Academy and the Cincinnati area
with their New Orleans sisters.
Saint Ursula Academy is a Catholic,
college-preparatory, secondary school for young women known for academic
excellence and rich tradition. Saint Ursula welcomes students from more than 90
grade schools in the Greater Cincinnati area.
The Academy is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a Blue
Ribbon School. The campus, located at 1339 E. McMillan Street in East Walnut
Hills has been the home of Saint Ursula Academy and Convent since 1910. The
Class of 2019 earned college scholarships totaling more than $25-million.
Photo
Caption: Lil Smith ’23, Molly More ’23, Tessa
Nappi ’23, Abby More ’21, Zoe Drechsler (Walnut Hills High School), and Anna Nappi ’21 spent the weekend Ursuline Academy of
New Orleans sisters for a sailing regatta.
Along the way, they visited Café du Monde in the French Quarter.