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Ambrossi HS

Alessandro Ambrosi

Alessandro “Alex” Ambrosi is entering his 18th  season as Hampton University’s head sailing coach, continuing the process of building and developing the sailing program through recruitment and other efforts throughout the Hampton Roads community.

Ambrosi, who has won 36 regattas in 17 seasons, also teaches two sailing classes per week.

Last Season the Pirates for the second in program history had a student-athlete qualify for the singlehanded national championships. Valerio Palamara after day one of the championships was in fourth place. He still secured the school’s highest finish at the singlehanded national championships placing sixth. The Pirates would win five regattas. During the spring season, Hampton rallied off three consecutive victories. 

In 2022-23 Coach Ambrosi’s side won at the Kingsmill Cup. The fall season proved to be successful for the Pirates securing four top five finishes. Balerio Palamara once again had a good showing at the MAISA Laser Conference finishing in fourth.

The 2021-22 season proved to be a successful season for the Pirates. Valerio Palamara became the program’s first student-athlete to earn a bid at the singlehanded championships. Palamara finished eighth out of the 18-person field. Hampton’s best finish of the year came at the Kingsmill Cup hosted by William & Mary. The Pirates finished third out of the eight-team field. 

In 2019-20, the Pirates took second in three regattas including ones in Ocean County, Maryland and at Eckerd College in Florida.

The 2018-19 season saw Hampton win three regattas including both hosted ones, the Edward Teach Memorial for the third straight year and the MAISA/SAISA Sectional hosted in the spring.  They also won a 17-team regatta in Ocean County, Maryland in the spring.

Hampton further entrenched itself in the national sailing scene in the 2017-18 season with its thrrd straight appearance at the College Sailing Nationals as they finished 11th in the Gill Sailing Co-Ed event.  Filip Stevanovic became the first became the first sailor in program history to qualify for the Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association (MAISA) Laser Championship as he finished third in a qualifier at the U.S. Naval Academy.

For the second year in a row, the Pirates qualified for the College Sailing Nationals in 2016-17 as they took seventh in the America Trophy.  At the nationals in Charleston, S.C., the Pirates finished 11th in their semifinal round to miss qualifying for the championship round by two spots.  Miles Braden earned an Arthur Ashe, Jr. Sports Scholar Team Winner

The 2015-16 season saw the Pirates reach unprecedented heights under Ambrosi, as the team qualified for the College Sailing Nationals for the first time in program history with a ninth-place finish in the America Trophy. While in San Diego, Calif., the Pirates finished 11th in the semifinal round, missing advancement to the championship regatta by just two spots.

Hampton won seven regattas, including a stretch of four in five weeks during the spring campaign. In addition, Joshua Williams earned one of college athletics' most prestigious academic awards, when he was named an Arthur Ashe, Jr. Sports Scholar.
 
The 2014-15 campaign saw the Pirates win two regattas under Ambrosi’s direction: The Webb Open hosted by Christopher Newport and the William & Mary Spring Open. In addition, Hampton qualified for the America Trophy and posted its best-ever finish in the event, coming in 11th.
 
The Pirates were two spots shy of qualifying for the national championship regatta.
 
The Pirates won the Edward Teach Memorial in the fall 2013 season, taking the first of what would be four home regattas throughout 2013-14. Hampton also finished fourth in the Pirates 3-on-3 race and fourth in the Spring South Qualifier.
 
Hampton also came in third in The Webb Open.
 
Giuditta Di Laghi finished sixth in the MAISA Women’s Singlehanded Championships, and Joshua Gopeesingh was named a finalist for the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship.
 
The Pirates did not win a regatta in 2012-13, but the program still took a monumental step forward, as Ambrosi’s vision of hosting a major national regatta became a reality. Hampton co-hosted the Intercollegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) National Semifinals alongside Old Dominion, as Strawberry Banks saw a 36-boat field vie for a spot in the national championship regatta.
 
The effort not only netted the program with a new fleet of boats, but it provided the nation’s lone HBCU sailing program plenty of national exposure. Going forward, Ambrosi hopes to continue building the program into one that can not only host such regattas, but compete in them, as well.
 
Though Hampton won just one regatta in 2011-12, Ambrosi saw the program’s growth continue. Di Laghi, from Ambrosi’s native Italy, finished 12th in the ICSA Women’s Singlehanded Nationals, becoming the first Hampton sailor ever to compete for a national title.
 
The program also hosted the MAISA/SAISA Intersectional for the third straight season, which helped pave the way for the Pirates to host a national regatta come spring 2013 – a process that Ambrosi began as soon as he first set foot on campus and continues to this day.

The program’s development continued in a large way in 2010-11, as the Pirates won four regattas and recording seven top-three finishes. The Pirates won the Colony Cup Invitational on Sept. 26, before taking the CNU 2-on-2 Invitational on March 20, the William & Mary 2-on-2 on April 10 and the West Point Regatta on April 24.

Hampton also finished third in the MAISA/SAISA Intersectional on March 26, its best finish in that regatta since 2007.

Ambrosi found success in his first year guiding the Pirates in 2009-10, winning three regattas and seeing his team record four second-place finishes and two third-place efforts. In all, the Pirates recorded a combined nine top-three finishes in 17 regattas in Ambrosi’s first season.

Ambrosi’s first regatta win came on Oct. 25, when his team took The Webb Regatta at Christopher Newport. The Pirates would then win the CNU 2-on-2 Invitational on March 20-21, before closing out the season by taking the Army 2-on-2.

By finishing third in the South Spring Qualifier at William & Mary on April 4, Ambrosi and the Pirates qualified for the America Trophy — which crowns the annual MAISA champion — and finished 17th.

The program hosted both MAISA/SAISA regattas at nearby Strawberry Banks, with Hampton finishing 10th in the fall and seventh in the spring. The Pirates also hosted the Hampton Bay Days Regatta on Oct. 10-11, the Henry Luce Regatta on Oct. 31-Nov. 1 and the Hampton Yacht Club Fall Fling Dinghy Regatta on Nov. 7-8.

The Intercollegiate Sailing Association has already announced that Hampton University will host the 2011 MAISA/SAISA Spring Regatta, marking the third straight year in which the Pirates will host the event.

For Ambrosi, the goal is simple — develop the program.

“We want to develop the program,” he said. “I have found a very good place and a great program here at Hampton, but I want to develop it more, and (hosting the MAISA/SAISA and qualifying for the America Trophy) are part of the larger plan.”

Ambrosi attended Universita Bologna, where he received a degree in physical education, before also spending a year in Italy’s Naval Academy. On top of being a professional sailor, competing in national and international windsurfing competitions for over 10 years, Ambrosi is also a former javelin thrower – once ranked as a junior national athlete. He earned Master status at the 8th annual European Championships in the javelin throw in 2008.

Ambrosi also works with the Hampton University men’s and women’s track & field teams on throwing events. He has worked primarily with javelin thrower Stefano Nardini; Nardini currently holds the school record in the javelin throw, and he won the MEAC title in the event in the spring of 2014.
 
He was also an NCAA regional qualifier in the event.

Ambrosi’s coaching career began in Italy, where he served as a high school teacher and coach. He also coached several yacht clubs over the course of his career. Ambrosi is currently a member of the Italian Sailing Federation, for which he won the World Championship in 2002 while a member of the Italian National Team.

A native of Trento, Italy, Ambrosi is married to professional basketball player and former Old Dominion University standout Clarisse Machanguana. Together they have one son, Luca.