No matter the size of the waves or choppiness of the seas, it seems the UNC Wilmington surf team is always able to make something out of the unpredictable ocean and win surfing titles in the process.

At least that’s been the case for the past four years.

Cementing its mark as the most dominant collegiate surf club on the east coast, the UNCW surf team won its fourth consecutive NSSA East Coast Championship title over April 14-15 in New Smyrna Beach, Fla., widely believed to be one of the best surf spots on the eastern shoreline. Now, with another East Coast championship to add to their collection, the club turns their attention to the NSSA National Interscholastic Championship, being held June 14-17 at Dana Point, Calif.

Led by Dr. Dylan McNamara, coach of the team, the Seahawks enter the national competition as one of the favorites to win the entire tournament. And for good reason.

“We have won the East Coast championship four times in a row,” said McNamara. “Also, our individual surfers are well-known nationally throughout surfing circles. Other teams know that when you look at the list of surfers on our team, we’ll be in the mix to win the whole time.”

Whether they capture the national title or not, the Seahawks’ fourth consecutive East Coast title speaks volumes about the squad’s consistency of competing against and defeating the best. With each title they capture, they lure more and more skilled surfers to the university to join the squad and help continue their dominance on the water.

“UNCW has a long, rich surfing tradition,” said McNamara. “Good surfers have been coming here for a long time. For the past four years, we’ve had a really exceptional group of surfers. The ones that have replaced others have been exceptional as well. The first group started a sort of legacy that caused other elite surfers to come to the university. They just speak to the history of the surfing here in Wilmington.”

This skilled set of surfers was on full display in New Smyrna Beach as the Seahawks had five surfers finish in the top five of their events, helping them easily handle the competition, with the closest runner up being Florida Tech with 79 points to the Seahawks’ 118. Tony Silvagni, who is currently ranked sixth in the world (yes, the world…) at men’s longboard, finished first in the college longboard division. Additionally, Sean Herman (second), Nick Rupp (fourth), and Zach Kenny (fifth) all placed in the top five of the college men’s division while Airlie Pickett placed third in the college women’s heat.

“Our team is the strongest it has ever been,” said Rupp, the captain of the squad. “Each surfer on our team has multiple years of competition experience and has surfed on the West Coast numerous times.

“I personally think this is our team’s year to bring the title back to UNCW.”