STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford sailing heads East to compete in the Intercollegiate Sailing Associations (ICSA) three spring national championships in Newport, Rhode Island, May 21-31.
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 25, lasting for three days and the Coed championship on May 28, lasting for four days.
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 third at the Match Race Nationals in November, while Christina Sakellaris won the national title at the women's singlehanded championships, and John Kirkpatrick (15th) was Stanford's top men's singlehanded finisher.
Last season, the Cardinal finished sixth in the race for the Fowle Trophy for the second straight year. 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 23-24. This is the fourth 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.
In 2017, 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. Last year, Stanford reached the finals again and finished 16th.
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.
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 11th straight top-10 finish at the LaserPerformance Team Race Championship with a fifth-place showing and 14-8 record.
Gill Coed National Championships
The Gill Championship will begin after the LaserPerformance Team Race Championship on Tuesday, May 28.
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 30-31. This will determine the top three podium spots and name the national champion.
Last season, Stanford finishe 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.
All information for the ICSA National Championships can be found at the championship central page.