STANFORD, Calif. - No. 7 Stanford sailing heads East to compete in the Intercollegiate Sailing Associations (ICSA) three spring national championships in Norfolk, Virginia, May 22-June 1.
The Sperry College Sailing Women's National Semifinal and Final Championships, LaserPerformance College Sailing Team Race National Championship, and the Gill College Sailing National Semifinal and Final Championships begin Tuesday.
The Women's event will last for four days immediately followed by the Team Race championship on May 26, lasting for three days and the Coed championship on May 29, lasting for four days. The three events will be hosted by Old Dominion University at the ODU Sailing Center.
In the race for the Fowle Trophy, a culmination of all six ICSA National Championships (match racing, men's singlehanded, women's singlehanded, women's, team racing and coed), Stanford was fifth at the Match Race Nationals in November, while Luke Muller was 12th at the men's singlehanded championships, and Christina Sakellaris was Stanford's top women's finisher (14th) followed by Sophia Sole (15th).
Last season, the Cardinal finished sixth in the race for the Fowle Trophy. In 2016, Stanford was third in the Fowle Trophy after finishing fifth in 2015.
Sperry Women's National Championships
The first two days of racing will be the Semifinals, which is divided into two 18-team regattas. These teams have qualified from their conferences to compete in this portion of the championship. The top nine teams from each group will then advance to the Finals Round – an 18-boat regatta, which will take place on the last two days of the championship, May 24-25. This is the third time that the Women's Semifinal event will include 36 boats, in the past there have only been 28 competing in this portion of the Championship.
A year ago, the Cardinal kicked off the ICSA Championships with a fifth-place finish in the Sperry Women's Championship, good for Stanford's highest finish in the event since 2013.
LaserPerformance Team Race National Championships
The LaserPerformance Team Race Nationals begin Saturday. Sixteen of the country's best team race teams have qualified to compete in the event. Sailors will be competing in FJs and Z420s on the Elizabeth River near the sailing center.
The first round of racing is a single round robin with all 16 teams competing against each other. The top eight from this round will advance to a single "championship" round robin followed by a "final four" round robin, which will only be sailed in Z420s. The top three teams and national champions will be determined from the final four.
Last season, the Cardinal earned its 10th straight top-10 finish at the LaserPerformance Team Race Championship with a seventh-place showing. Stanford finished the regatta with an 11-11 overall record, which included a 9-6 clip in the preliminary round. Stanford finished the semifinals with a 2-5 mark, settling for seventh place while host Charleston took the title with a 21-4 overall record.
Gill Coed National Championships
The Gill Championship will begin after the LaserPerformance Team Race Championship on Tuesday, May 29 at 10 a.m. Sailors will again compete in FJs and Z420s on the Elizabeth River as close to the sailing center as the tide will allow.
Similar to the Sperry Women's championship, the first two days of racing will be a Semifinal regatta, which will include 36 of the top teams in the country that qualified from their respective conferences to compete. This Semifinal event is divided into two 18-team rounds.
The top nine teams in each Semifinal round will advance to the Finals round, an 18-boat regatta on the last two days of the championship, May 31 and June 1. This will determine the top three podium spots and name the national champion.
Stanford was 16th in the Coed Championships in 2017.
All information for the ICSA National Championships can be found at the championship central page.