STANFORD, Calif. – In next 11 days, Stanford will compete at the ICSA National Championships at the San Diego Yacht Club.
The national championships are held in six categories: women’s single-handed, men’s single-handed, match racing, women’s, coed and team racing. The first three were held in the fall with the latter three set to take place in San Diego. The women’s championship will be held May 24-27 with the team racing May 28-30 and the coed championship May 31-June 3. Here is how Stanford stacks up in each of the three events at nationals.
WOMEN'S • May 24-27 • Stanford Rank: 7th • 2015 Finish: 9th
The Cardinal is ranked seventh in the women’s division, spurred by the contributions of freshmen Mimi El-Khazindar and Kathryn Booker. El-Khazindar won the B-division of the PCCSC Women’s Championship in April with crew Elena VandenBerg, winning nine of 10 races. Booker will crew all three fleets at nationals, establishing herself as a reliable hand throughout the season. With first-choice skipper Lily Katz, Booker helped Stanford win the A-division at the PCCSC Women’s Championships.
TEAM RACING • May 28-30 • Stanford Rank: 6th • 2015 Finish: 3rd
Stanford sits at sixth in team racing, just outside of the coveted top four. After preliminaries, the Nationals field is cut to four programs, with Stanford very much in the hunt for the final four. Stanford won the PCCSC Team Racing Championship with a perfect 5-0 record in April, led by skippers Axel Sly, Antoine Screve and Will La Dow. Sammy Steele, Kennedy Placek and Nikki Obel served as crews, helping the Cardinal capture its ninth-consecutive PCCSC Team Racing trophy.
COED • May 31-June 3 • Stanford Rank: 6th • 2015 Finish: 11th
The Cardinal ranks sixth in coed racing, the final event of the national championships. Stanford won the PCCSC Coed Championship with 78 points, comfortably ahead of Santa Barbara (104), Hawaii (132) and USC (139). La Dow, Sly, Screve and Reinier Eenkema van Dijk skippered the Cardinal boats with Obel, Placek, Steele and Cassie Obel serving as crews.
Live results will be available at GoStanford.com.