By JONNY ZAWACKI

News Sports Writer

After graduating from Alpena High School in 2012, Jessica Resnick had many options because of her work inside the classroom. She received offers from Michigan State University, Kalamazoo College and University of Michigan, but it was her love and passion for being on the water that led her to choosing Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Fla. where she would eventually become a standout on the sailing team.

“I didn’t necessarily choose Eckerd because it had a sailing team, but the fact that it had a sailing team was definitely something I considered when I made my choice,” Resnick said.

It was the help and many opportunities that her hometown of Alpena had to offer that got her started and eventually made her so successful.

Resnick started sailing when she was eight-years-old on the river classes offered by Alpena Youth Sailing Club. She was in the program for about three years and learned a lot about the basics of sailing. A few years later, Resnick began racing in the Yngling Fleet on Wednesday evenings with her dad. She continued to gain experience that would later payoff.

“I really started to learn about sailing from my dad. I thought that I would enjoy sailing in college and most of the schools that I applied to had a sailing team of some sort, but Eckerd was the only varsity program,” Resnick said.

When she arrived at Eckerd as a freshman, Resnick began practice the first week of the Fall semester. The team generally sailed two man boats consisting of a crew and a skipper, Resnick was crew. The coaches saw potential in Resnick from the beginning which led to many opportunities for her down the road. Her small size was a huge advantage, as a lighter weight boat usually tends to be the faster boat.

During her first semester she was paired with the top skipper on the team. She continued to learn and was able to get up to speed and the following semester the two competed in regattas together.

After her freshman year, Resnick continued to sail with the top skippers on both the coed and women’s team.

“Sailing took up the majority of my time, but it became my sense of community. We all did a lot together as a team and I was really good friends with everyone. It also gave me a really great opportunity to travel because we went all over the country,” Resnick said.

During her freshman year, Resnick’s team qualified for and sailed in the Match Racing National Championship where they placed seventh and finished 12th in the finals at the Women’s National Championship. In 2013 she was selected as the Co-Ed Sailing MVP as her team qualified and sailed in the Women’s National Championship again and finished in 11th place. She also competed in the the Coed National Championship and finished 10th.

During her junior year, Resnick again helped her team qualify for the Women’s National Championship where they placed 15th and finished 12th in the Coed National Championship. Resnick also earned the 2014 Women’s Sailing Triton award which is presented to the student-athlete who reached the highest levels of athletic achievement, scholarship and leadership.

In 2015, Resnick earned the Coed Sailing Triton and helped her team finish fourth in the Match Race National Championship, along with qualifying for Women’s Nationals, Team Race Nationals and Coed Nationals, which will take place at the end of this month.

Resnick was also a standout in the classroom as she is set to graduate with honors as she double-majored in Environmental Studies and Computer Science, along with a minor in Mathematics.

With Nationals quickly approaching in San Diego, Resnick will look to cap off a great career at Eckerd College.