MACATAWA, Mich. - Sophomore Christina Sakellaris won the ICSA women's singlehanded national championship on Lake Michigan over the weekend. She is the second Cardinal to win the title and the first since Anika Leersen in 2000.
Sakellaris finished with 60 points to claim the title -- one better than Jacksonville's Charlotte Rose. Boston College's Sophia Reineke was third with 69 points, while sophomore Sophia Sole was 12th for the Cardinal with 137 points.
Among the 18 sailors, Sakellaris won three of the 14 races. She also had 10 top-five finishes, which included all six races on the final day of competition.
After eight races on Saturday, Sakellaris was second overall and eight points behind the leader. She took the lead after a second-place finish in the fourth race on Sunday (12th race overall). She won the next race to extend her lead, and held on for the win with a fifth-place finish in the finale.
On the men's side, the Cardinal was represented by freshman John Kirkpatrick, who finished 15th with 184 points. Among the 18 sailors and 14 races, he had three top 10 finishes in his first singlehanded national championship regatta.
Stanford will compete at the coed conference championships in Santa Barbara, California, next weekend. The Big Sail is set for Tuesday, Nov. 13, and the Fall season wraps up with the ICSA Match Race national championship in Newport Beach, California, Nov. 16-18.
