UP NEXT » Stanford heads to Navy for the Open ACC Round 1 and Connecticut College for the Stu Nelson.
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 » Stanford competed in four events over the weekend and took home two regatta wins. Chapman Petersen claimed the PCCSC title in the open singlehanded championship while the women took home a victory in the Women’s ACC qualifier.
“Chapman sailed a clean cut regatta demonstrating his skills in the ILCA,” said the Malin Burnham assistant sailing coach Augie Dale. “Starts, smarts, and speed gave him a nearly perfect scoreline.”
Petersen sailed an immaculate event, claiming first place in all but one race, where he finished second. He totalled 11 points across the 10-race event to top the field of nine.
Nicholas Mueller of Cal Maritime came in second place, totalling 23 points, more than twice as many as Petersen’s 11.
In Connecticut, Stanford brought home another win. The Cardinal claimed the top spot of the Women’s ACC First Round among a field of 18 teams.
“The team at the Women’s ACC qualifier sailed a mature event,” said head sailing coach Chris Klevan. “Vanessa and Alice were dominant while Ellie and Piper were very strong at key moments. I expect them all to work hard to clean up any missing pieces prior to the championship in two weeks.”
Vanessa Lahrkamp and Alice Schmid took control of the A boat, topping the field with a division best 17 points. The next closest team was Yale with 39.
In the B division, Ellie Harned and Piper Blackband led the charge. The pair tallied 64 points, the third-best mark in the division, trailing Harvard and Dartmouth.
Stanford finished the event with 81 points in total, more than 20 ahead of second place Harvard with 104.
The Cardinal also competed at the University of Rhode Island in the Moody Trophy, taking fifth place out of 17 total teams.
“It was a great two days of racing at URI for the Moody Trophy, where we were able to get in 11 shifty races,” said assistant coach Lachlain McGranahan. “Sophomores Luke Woodworth and Lexi Young had a great weekend in A division, tying for first. Freshmen Thomas Whidden and Abby Baird also had a good weekend, managing 7th in B division while carrying an OCS, leading to a 5th overall place for the team.”
The Cardinal tied for first in the A division, as Luke Woodworth and Alexis Young scored 60 points to share the lead with Brown. In the B division, Thomas Whidden and Abby Baird took seventh place with 100 points.
Stanford finished the day with 160 points, trailing Brown, Roger Williams, Bowdoin, and Harvard.
The fourth regatta of the weekend was the Danmark Trophy, where Stanford took 10th out of 20 teams. The Cardinal finished with 159 points, coming from 85 in the A division and 74 in the B division.
The team of Thomas Sitzmann, Ashtyn Tierney and Kit Harned combined to take 12th in the A division. In the B division, Reade Decker skippered the boat with Harned and Tierney serving as crews for 10th.
The Cardinal returns to action next weekend in the Stu Nelson and the Open ACC Round 1.
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.