STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford sailing 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, finished sixth in the Fowle Trophy standings, and had five sailors earn All-America honors.
National Championships
» Stanford finished the four-day Sperry Women's National Championships in 16th-place. In the A Division, skippers Julia Lambert (1-16) and Christina Sakellaris (17-18) teamed with crew Victoria Thompson to place 14th with 211 points. Meanwhile, in the B Division, skipper Mimi El-Khazindar and crew Meg Gerli (1-2, 9-16), and skipper Stephanie Houck and crew Madeline Bubb (3-8, 17-18) combined for 223 points and a 15th-place finish.
» The Cardinal finished fifth at the Team Race National Championships. Stanford finished with a 14-8 record and just missed the top four. The Cardinal went 10-5 in round robin competition and advanced to the top eight where the team finished 4-3. Stanford was led by skipper Jacob Rosenberg and crew Kathryn Booker, skipper Will La Dow and crew Taylor Kirkpatrick, and skipper Romain Screve and crew Kennedy Placek, Elena VandenBerg and Bubb.
» Stanford wrapped up a successful 2018 campaign with the program's second-best finish all-time at the the Gill Coed Nationals Championships. The Cardinal finished fifth which was only bested by a fourth-place showing in 2014. Stanford totaled 225 points in the coed finals. La Dow and Kirkpatrick were sixth in the A Division with 109 points, while Screve and Placek were also sixth with 116 points in the B Division.
» Following the three Intercollegiate Sailing Association (ICA) spring championships, Stanford finished sixth in the Fowle Trophy standings.
Conference Sweep
» Stanford captured the Pacific Coast Collegiate Sailing Conference (PCCSC) Women's, Coed and Team Race championships to complete a ninth straight sweep of conference titles.
» In his 10 years in charge of the program, John Vandemoer has won 29 of 30 possible PCCSC spring championships, with the only non-win coming in his first season on The Farm.
» The Cardinal captured the PCCSC Women's Championship for the 14th successive season. Stanford finished with just 117 points for a decisive victory over the seven-team field. In the A Division, senior skipper Julia Lambert and crew Christina Sakellaris and Victoria Thompson combined for just 34 points -- better than half the score of the second-place Gauchos (76). Meanwhile, skippers Mimi El-Khazindar (1-6) and Stephanie Houck (7-12) and crew Meg Gerli (1-6) and Sophia Sole (7-12) finished second in the B Division and fourth overall with 83 points.
» Stanford won the coed title with 56 points. That bested second-place UC Santa Barbara, which finished with 64 points. Cal was third with 118 points. Stanford finished among the top two in all but two A Division races. Skipper Will La Dow and crew Taylor Kirkpatrickwon four times, while skipper Jack Parkin and crew Elena VandenBerg posted a pair of runner-up finishes. That combination finished second in the A Division with 31 points. Meanwhile, the Cardinal was tops in the B Division behind skippers Romain Screve and Jacob Rosenberg, and crew Kennedy Placek and Kathryn Booker. They accounted for just 25 points with seven first-place finishes.
» Stanford was perfect in the team race championships. Parkin and Vandenberg, Rosenberg and Booker, La Dow and Kirkpatrick, and Screve and Placek led the Cardinal to a 10-0 record. The Gauchos were second with a 7-2 mark. It marked the 11th consecutive team race conference title for the Cardinal.
Big Sail
» Stanford wrapped up the Fall season with its 13th consecutive victory over rival Cal in the Big Sail. The Cardinal won 2-1 at St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco on Nov. 14.
» It was a sunny day in the shadow of the Golden Gate bridge, though the wind did not last long and the regatta was shortened to just one race per division. Stanford claimed the final three divisions to win the overall competition, 3-1, and the varsity competition, 2-1.
» Cal won the Grand Masters (60+ years) race for an early lead. Alan Andrews ('77), Kim Desenberg ('69), Walt Spevak ('76, '85) and Joe McCoy ('78) represented the Cardinal. The division began another race but was unable to complete it due to the weather.
» Skipper Al Masters ('77), trimmer Rolf Kaiser ('95) and bow Dave Lyons ('90, '01) won the Masters division (40+ years) for the Cardinal. Skipper Sally Mace ('14), Eliza Richartz ('13), DeWolf Emery ('15) and Katie Riklin ('13) were tops in the Alumni division (39 years and younger).
» That left the varsity teams in a race that ultimately decided the 2017 edition of the Big Sail. Will La Dow (skipper), Haley Fox (trimmer), Taylor Kirkpatrick (pit) and Elena VandenBerg (bow) led the Cardinal to a decisive victory and kept Stanford's Big Sail winning streak alive.
Honorees» 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.
» Eight Cardinal earned all-conference honors from the Pacific Coast Collegiate Sailing Conference (PCCSC), including Coed Rookie of the Year Romain Screve and Women's Rookie of the Year Christina Sakellaris.
» Among those named to the All-PCCSC Women's team were skippers Mimi El-Khazindar, Julia Lambert and Sakellaris. Lambert was one of two finalists for Women's Sailor of the Year, which was won by UCSB's Simone Staff, while Stephanie Houck was also a finalist for Women's Rookie of the Year. Skippers Will La Dow and Screve were All-PCCSC Coed. Freshman teammate Jack Parkinand UCSB's Lucas Pierce were also finalists for the Coed Rookie of the Year award, while Screve and La Dow were finalists for Coed Sailor of the Year, which was won by UCSB's Chris Weis. Taylor Kirkpatrick, Kennedy Placek and Elena VandenBerg were All-PCCSC Crews.
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