STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford sailing continues its fall season with two more regattas on the East Coast, setting sail for the Yale Women's Invitational and the Open ACC Finals. Both events take place October 19-20.
The Cardinal will feature 21 athletes this season including returners Margot Hutchins, Chapman Petersen, Ellie Harned, Sophie Fisher, Vanessa Lahrkamp, Reade Decker, Alice Schmid, Thomas Sitzmann, Shay Wood, Luke Woodworth, Alexis Young. Stanford will also feature newcomers Kit Harned, Piper Blackband, Ashtyn Tierney, Ava Cornel, Thomas Whidden, Abby Baird, Ally Jones, Dylan Sih, and Caroline Geiger.
LAST TIME OUT » Another successful weekend in the books for Stanford sailing, securing victories at both the Women's Atlantic Coast Championship and the Captain Hurst Bowl. The Cardinal also earned a second-place finish at the Nevin's Trophy regatta.
At the Women's ACC Finals, Stanford took first with 151 points, posting the lowest point totals in both divisions. Yale finished second with 198 points.
Vanessa Lahrkamp led the A boat alongside Alice Schmid (races 1-14) and Kit Harned (races 15-16), winning six races and finishing with a division-best 70 points.
Sophie Fisher and Piper Blackband totaled 81 points with four race wins in the B division, finishing 25 points better in second-place Tulane.
"To me, a great team is not necessarily one who can bring home championships but rather one whose daily hard work and culture can develop the skills and maturity required to win divisions at the highest level," said head sailing coach Chris Klevan. "Sophie Fisher spent two years waiting behind Stanford legends, supporting them and learning the mindset necessary to succeed in this sport. She, along with new-comers Piper Blackband and Kit Harned have adapted quickly to capitalize on our first championship opportunity. I am proud of this group for showing up at the highest level and improving throughout the event. We have everything we need to continue to make strides towards a championship defense in the spring."
The Cardinal's second regatta win of the weekend came in Enfield, N.H., collecting 81 total points to finish well ahead of Dartmouth (122) and Brown (128).
"The team got to sail in some full on conditions with the peak foliage in the background, providing some great spectating," asisstant coach Shawn Harvey said. "They showed a lot of maturity and used their speed to their advantage."
Stanford dominated in the A division with 38 points, as Thomas Sitzmann, Dylan Sih (races 1-10) and Ellie Harned (races 11-14) finished top-3 in nine of the 14 races. Rhode Island finished second in the A division with 64 points.
The B division contingent of Chapman Peterson, Ellie Harned (races 1-8), and Abby Baird (races 9-14) would finish fifth with 59 points, trailing Boston College, Dartmouth, Brown and MIT.
The third event of the weekend was the Nevin's Trophy regatta, as Stanford finished second with 148 points, behind first-place Yale with 112.
"Our team put in a strong an consistent performance across both divisions this weekend in a tough field at the Nevis Trophy in King's Point, assistant coach Lachlain McGranahan said. "We only finished three out of 28 races outside the top 10, leading to a solid second-place overall finish."
The tandem of Reade Decker and Ashton Tierney turned in a third-place performance in the A division with 81 points, behind Yale and Harvard.
Lucas Woodworth and Alexandra Jones finished in a narrow second in the B division with 67 points, just two points behind division winner, Yale.
LAST SEASON » Stanford cemented itself as the best women’s sailing program in the nation in 2024, completing the sweep of the ICSA Women’s Team and Fleet Race Championships, also becoming back to back champions in the Women’s Fleet.
Stanford’s fall season began with eight regatta wins. Along with the success on the water, the Cardinal sailors also celebrated their 2023 trophies, as the team received its championship rings at a football game.
Stanford picked up right where it left off to start the spring season, winning six straight regattas. The Cardinal went on to claim four conference championship trophies, taking both the women and open divisions of the team and fleet races.
To cap off the season before Nationals began, Stanford claimed the PCCSC Open Team Race title and the Thompson trophy over the same weekend. The Cardinal went 38-1 across the two events to take the wins in a conference championship and a premier interconference trophy.
The Cardinal then headed to the Charles River where it competed in four straight national championships hosted by MIT. In the first regatta, Stanford earned a top five finish, taking fifth place in the ICSA Open Team Race. The result was Stanford's sixth straight top-five finish, dating back to 2018.
Directly following the open team race, Stanford captured its first title of the 2024 spring season. The Cardinal took the trophy in dominant fashion, as Stanford sailed to an 18-1 record to top the field at the ICSA Women's Team Race National Championship.
In the following national championship event, Stanford claimed yet another title. The Cardinal took its second straight ICSA Women's Fleet Race title and its fifth national title overall, topping the field on the Charles River in Massachusetts.
The title was Stanford's fourth national title in the last calendar year (2023 - ICSA Women's Fleet, ICSA Open Fleet; 2024 - ICSA Women's Team, ICSA Women's Fleet). The Cardinal also won multiple national titles in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history.
Following Stanford's dominant performance in the national championships, the Cardinal took home plenty of individual accolades.
Vanessa Lahrkamp was named the Quantum Women's College Sailor of the Year, the second in program history as Lahrkamp joins her sister who earned the accolade in 2020. Vanessa Lahrkamp was instrumental in leading Stanford to the ICSA Women's Team and Fleet Race titles in 2024, also earning the title of PCCSC Women's Skipper of the Year.
Vanessa Lahrkamp also earned two All-America awards, claiming a nod as an ICSA Women's Skipper All-American and an ICSA Open Skipper Honorable Mention selection. It's the second straight year Lahrkamp was honored in both the Women's and Open divisions.
Michelle Lahrkamp also earned two All-America awards for the second straight season, being named both an ICSA Women's Skipper and Open Skipper All-American.
Hannah Freeman earned her second consecutive ICSA Women's Skipper All-America award while Thomas Sitzmann joined the Lahrkamp sisters with an ICSA Open Skipper All-America nod.
Stanford also had three crews named All-Americans. Alice Schmid, Ellie Harned, and Gwendolyn Donahue were each named All-America Crews after their dominant performances led Stanford to two national titles.