STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford sailing returns to the water this weekend as they prepare to compete at the ICSA Singlehanded Championships in St. Petersburg, Florida. The event will take place over two days with competitors setting sail November 9-10.
LAST TIME OUT » The Cardinal dominated the competition in two home regattas over the weekend, earning two decisive wins at the PCCSC Women's Fall Championships and the Top-9 Invite in Redwood City. The victories mark Stanford's seventh and eighth regatta wins this fall.
"There are ten championship events in the fall: five conference championships, two Atlantic Coast Championships, and three national championships. We were in a position to sail for eight of those ten championships," said head sailing coach Chris Klevan. "We are now five-for-five with three big ones remaining. Our group seems focused and it's fun to watch this new team come together and work towards being special. We're certainly on the right track."
It was a commanding performance by both Cardinal boats at the PCCSC Women's Fall Championships as they swept the 16 combined division races for 64 total points. Hawai'i finished second with 159 points.
Sophie Fisher and Alexandra Jones were on the water first in the A boat, tallying one win in the first eight races of the weekend. Vanessa Lahrkamp and Alexis Young tapped in to win all but one of the final eight races, swapping positions in the final race of the event.
In the B boat, Ellie Harned/Piper Blackband (races 1-8) and Alice Schmid/Kit Harned (races 9-16) contributed for the other eight wins, with the latter duo splitting time between skipper and crew during this weekend's action.
The success continued at the Top-9 Invite, where Stanford amassed 73 points with 13 race wins to finish 183 points ahead of second-place Washington (256 points).
Chapman Peterson/Abby Baird (races 1-7) and Reade Decker/Ashtyn Tierney(races 8-16) manned the A boat with 36 points and seven race wins across two days, while the B boat Cardinal duos of Dylan Sih/Shay Wood (races 1-7) and Lucas Woodworth/Caroline Geiger (races 9-16) won six times with 11 top-2 finishes in the regatta.
Stanford will enjoy a weekend off the water before returning to action for the ICSA Singlehanded Championship on November 9-10 at St. Pete's Yacht Club.
LAST SEASON » Stanford cemented itself as the best women’s sailing program in the nation in 2024, completing the sweep of the ICSA Women’s Team and Fleet Race Championships, also becoming back to back champions in the Women’s Fleet.
Stanford’s fall season began with eight regatta wins. Along with the success on the water, the Cardinal sailors also celebrated their 2023 trophies, as the team received its championship rings at a football game.
Stanford picked up right where it left off to start the spring season, winning six straight regattas. The Cardinal went on to claim four conference championship trophies, taking both the women and open divisions of the team and fleet races.
To cap off the season before Nationals began, Stanford claimed the PCCSC Open Team Race title and the Thompson trophy over the same weekend. The Cardinal went 38-1 across the two events to take the wins in a conference championship and a premier interconference trophy.
The Cardinal then headed to the Charles River where it competed in four straight national championships hosted by MIT. In the first regatta, Stanford earned a top five finish, taking fifth place in the ICSA Open Team Race. The result was Stanford's sixth straight top-five finish, dating back to 2018.
Directly following the open team race, Stanford captured its first title of the 2024 spring season. The Cardinal took the trophy in dominant fashion, as Stanford sailed to an 18-1 record to top the field at the ICSA Women's Team Race National Championship.
In the following national championship event, Stanford claimed yet another title. The Cardinal took its second straight ICSA Women's Fleet Race title and its fifth national title overall, topping the field on the Charles River in Massachusetts.
The title was Stanford's fourth national title in the last calendar year (2023 - ICSA Women's Fleet, ICSA Open Fleet; 2024 - ICSA Women's Team, ICSA Women's Fleet). The Cardinal also won multiple national titles in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history.
Following Stanford's dominant performance in the national championships, the Cardinal took home plenty of individual accolades.
Vanessa Lahrkamp was named the Quantum Women's College Sailor of the Year, the second in program history as Lahrkamp joins her sister who earned the accolade in 2020. Vanessa Lahrkamp was instrumental in leading Stanford to the ICSA Women's Team and Fleet Race titles in 2024, also earning the title of PCCSC Women's Skipper of the Year.
Vanessa Lahrkamp also earned two All-America awards, claiming a nod as an ICSA Women's Skipper All-American and an ICSA Open Skipper Honorable Mention selection. It's the second straight year Lahrkamp was honored in both the Women's and Open divisions.
Michelle Lahrkamp also earned two All-America awards for the second straight season, being named both an ICSA Women's Skipper and Open Skipper All-American.
Hannah Freeman earned her second consecutive ICSA Women's Skipper All-America award while Thomas Sitzmann joined the Lahrkamp sisters with an ICSA Open Skipper All-America nod.
Stanford also had three crews named All-Americans. Alice Schmid, Ellie Harned, and Gwendolyn Donahue were each named All-America Crews after their dominant performances led Stanford to two national titles.