CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Stanford sailing team started the Intercollegiate Sailing Association National Championships with a fifth-place finish in the Sperry Women's Championships on Friday at the J. Stewart Walker Sailing Center in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.
Stanford's team of sophomore skipper Martina Sly, junior skipper Julia Lambert, freshman crew Madeline Bubb and junior crew Elena VandenBerg led the charge, earning fourth place in the B-fleet with 122 points.
Senior captain Maeve White skippered Stanford in the A-division, finishing seventh with 145 points. Sophomore Olivia Gugliemini, junior Haley Fox and sophomore Meg Gerli crewed the Cardinal B-squad. The finish is Stanford's highest in the women's championship since 2013 when it also finished fifth.
Stanford finishes 5th at the Sperry Women's National Championship! Up from 9th a year ago & on to team racing tomorrow! #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/fByuYX9dhv
— Stanford Sailing (@StanfordSailing) May 26, 2017
The Cardinal began its 11-day trip to the east coast on Tuesday in the eastern semifinal of the women's championship. Stanford comfortably qualified for the finals in fourth place, with the top nine teams from each semifinal advancing.
White skippered all nine A-division races in the semifinals, earning four top-three finishes to claim third place with Gerli and Fox as crews. In the B-division, Sly, Lambert, Bubb, sophomore crew Olivia Gugliemini and VandenBerg combined to take fourth place with four top-two finishes.
The ICSA National Championships continue tomorrow with the start of the LaserPerformance Team Race Championship in Charleston. Live results and streaming will be available at GoStanford.com.