NORFOLK, Va. – Stanford sailing wrapped up a successful 2018 campaign with the program's second-best finish all-time at the the Gill Coed Nationals Championships this week. The Cardinal finished fifth which was only bested by a fourth-place showing in 2014.
Following the three Intercollegiate Sailing Association (ICA) spring championships, where Stanford also placed 15th in the Women's National Championship and fifth at the Team Race National Championships, the Cardinal finished sixth in the Fowle Trophy standings.
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 singlehanded 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 after finishing fifth in 2015.
Stanford skippers Will La Dow and Romain Screve, and crew Kennedy Placek earned All-America status. Crew Taylor Kirkpatrick and Elena VandenBerg were honorable mention All-America selections.
In the final national championship of the year, Stanford finished with 225 points in the coed finals. La Dow and Taylor Kirkpatrick were sixth in the A Division with 109 points, while Screve and Placek were also sixth with 116 points in the B Division.
Stanford reached the finals with 120 points in the semifinals. The top nine advance and the Cardinal placed sixth. La Dow and Kirkpatrick were seventh in the A Division with 70 points, while skippers Screve and Jack Parkin, and crew Placek and Elena Vandenberg were fourth with 50 points in the B Division.
Stanford finished the 2017-18 season with a sweep of the Pacific Coast Collegiate Sailing Conference for the ninth straight season, won the Big Sail for the 13th consecutive year and had five sailors earn All-America honors.
