This weekend the Purdue Sailing Club will try to continue its reputation as the Midwest’s best sailing team as it competes at a regatta at Ohio State.

Recently, Sailing World magazine dubbed the team "arguably the best team in the Midwest," and it hopes to live up to that title Saturday.

Last weekend, two three-man teams consisting of Ke-Winn Chan, Andy Groh, John Sullivan, Abigail Conover, Lauren Thompson and Shawn Jordan, braved out a second place finish in cold and snowy weather at Michigan. The teams sailed JY15s in a strong wind, finishing behind Michigan, who placed first. Northwestern also put up tough competition, placing third.

Two weekends ago, a crew of Purdue freshmen placed first at a regatta at Notre Dame. Ke-Winn Chan, Lauren Mitchell, John Sullivan, and Everette Mills teamed as the winning boat for the Boilers.

The weekend after the Ohio State regatta, Purdue will compete in the Dinghy Championship, which serves as a qualifying meet for nationals. At the Dinghy Championship, Purdue will have to compete strongly in order to have a chance for the national title in Annapolis, Md., the weekend after finals, May 13 through the 14.

"We’re very excited about next fall’s team," club member Jessica Randel said. "The team is growing very quickly. It’s grown five times in the last two years."