BRANFORD, Conn. - Stanford captured two more event titles this weekend, coming in first place at the Women's Atlantic Coast Championships Finals at the Yale Corinthian Yacht Club after two days of racing on Eastern Long Island Sound as well as the PCCSC Match Race Championships in Santa Barbara. Stanford also sailed in the Captain Hurst Bowl, snagging a podium spot by taking third overall.
"To travel, again to the east coast, not afraid to fail, eager to compete, learn and grow- to continue to come together as a team is no small thing," said head sailing coach Chris Klevan. "We are the defending fleet race champions yet this is a different team."
The Cardinal were dominant from start to finish, maintaining the running lead for first place from race 1B through to the finish. Stanford's 99 points were the best by a wide margin, outpacing second-place Boston College with 136.
"I am encouraged to see that we are not shying away from defending that title and all the hardships that must help us develop into a new team vying for the same championships," added Klevan. "Winning the Women's Atlantic Coast Championship in such a dominant fashion is a huge accomplishment. I believe it is critical for us to celebrate that success before we quickly move on to the next weekend like we are trained to do."
Vanessa Lahrkamp and Gwendolyn Donahue took the helm of the A boat, sailing to the second best mark in the division with 61 points, only three points out of first place. In the B division, Hannah Freeman and Isabelle McNabb earned the top spot, earning 38 points, five better than the second-place team.
Of the 24 races across both divisions, Stanford placed in the top-five on 19 occasions. Both the A and B boats claimed two individual race wins during the course of the regatta.
Meanwhile, in Santa Barbara, the Cardinal comfortably sailed to a PCCSC title, winning six races while never suffering a defeat.
Thomas Sitzmann, Jack Baldwin, and Alice Schmid combined to earn the win for Stanford, topping the field of four.
In the third regatta of the weekend, Stanford earned bronze at the Captain Hurst Bowl, trailing only Harvard and Yale.
"I believe coming up short at the Captain Hurst is equally critical," explained Klevan. "Our class of freshmen has massive shoes to fill and they are doing so in their own way. I could not be more impressed. "
The Cardinal finished with 124 points, beating out MIT thanks to a tiebreaker for third place. Michelle Lahrkamp and Ellie Harned were in control of the A boat, leading Stanford to fourth in the division with 72 points.
An all-freshman team led the B boat to the second-best mark in the division, thanks to strong sailing from Reade Decker and Alexis Young in races 1-8 and Luke Woodworth and Shay Wood in races 9-12. The quartet finished with 52 points in the B division, trailing only eventual champion Harvard.
The Cardinal returns to action next weekend, competing in the Open ACC Finals and the Yale Women's.
