The phrase goes “twice is nice,” and the guys from Sweetwater Surf Shop would certainly agree. The team from Wrightsville Beach—known as Team Sweetwater—won the 2011 Oakley Surf Shop Challenge National Championships for the second consecutive year.

More then 70 different teams reported to Huntington Beach, Calif. with their eyes on the $10,000 prize. Each team had a four-man rotation, and each man on the team was allowed three waves to impress the judges.

Current UNC Wilmington student Nick Rupp, former Seahawks Ben and Michael Powell and local surf legend Ben Bourgeois made up the Sweetwater squad this year. The four of them go way back, as Rupp grew up with the Powells in Ocean Isle Beach. In an interview with Nick Rupp, the current UNCW surf club captain talked about what winning meant to him.

“It was a relief to win, because I took (time off) from school and felt obligated to bring something back, so it wasn’t a waste of time to go out there,” Rupp said. As for competing while enrolled at UNC Wilmington, he said it’s something that won’t happen too often.

“It’s very had to compete and go to school,” he said. “I won’t be doing many competitions during the school year, because they are during the week, and it’s hard to be absent from that much class.” Since the victory, not much has happened with the team; they stay working while Rupp takes classes at UNCW.

Along with the a giant check worth $10,000, Team Sweetwater won an all expenses-paid trip to the 2011 SURFER Poll Awards in Hawaii, along with a boatload of gear that includes a year’s supply of Muscle Milk, a custom run of Bubble Gum wax and a custom Futures fin quiver.

The team isn’t satisfied with all of that, however, and Rupp is already looking forward to next year’s competition. “Hopefully we will have the same team next year, and be able to get another win,” he said.

Back-to-back-to-back titles for the guys from Wrightsville Beach—wouldn’t that be sweet.