ESF Bass Fishing Team to Compete in National Tournament
Syracuse, N.Y. – March 14, 2022 – The SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, the most distinguished institution in the nation that focuses on the study of the environment, is pleased to announce the ESF Bass Fishing Team is heading to a national championship March 29-31. The Mighty Oaks will send two teams to the Major League Fishing (MLF) Abu Garcia College Fishing presented by Yeti National Championship on Fort Gibson Lake, Oklahoma.
Partners Patrick Durand (senior) and Thomas Harvey (senior), along with Nate Wojslaw (senior) and Nick Sanderson (sophomore), will represent the school on the biggest stage in college fishing. They will be competing for the grand prize of a brand-new Phoenix bass boat and paid entry as pros in the 2022 Toyota Series Championship. A total of $15,000 will also be awarded to teams finishing second through fifth place.
Both teams qualified for this prestigious tournament through their finishes at the MLF College Fishing Qualifier tournament held on the Potomac River in Maryland this past spring. The team of Wojslaw and Sanderson finished in sixth place fishing white chatterbaits, stickworms, and jigs. The team of Durand and Harvey finished in 10th place, relying on stickworms and squarebill crankbaits. The top 10 finishers qualified for the National Championship.
"Our goal was to send one team to Nationals from the Potomac, so I'm so happy that we all qualified," said Wojslaw.
The anglers are busy with research for the tournament and are excited to prove their skill against their peers.
"While Fort Gibson doesn't set up like many places I've fished before, I can't wait to get down there," said Durand "It fits my style of dirty, shallow-water fishing."
His partner, Harvey, only recently started bass fishing seriously. "This is a great opportunity for me to prove my skills and learn in a part of the country I've never been to before."
"This is the biggest stage in college fishing, and I'm so excited to be able to compete with my team and show the talent that ESF has," said Sanderson.
The tournament runs from March 29-31. Weigh-ins and the final day of competition will be live-streamed at majorleaguefishing.com.
About SUNY ESF
The SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) is dedicated to the study of the environment, developing renewable technologies, and building a sustainable and resilient future through design, policy, and management of the environment and natural resources. Members of the College community share a passion for protecting the health of the planet and a deep commitment to the rigorous application of science to improve the way humans interact with the world. The College offers academic programs ranging from the associate of applied science to the Doctor of Philosophy. ESF students live, study and do research on the main campus in Syracuse, N.Y., and on 25,000 acres of field stations in a variety of ecosystems across the state.
