Stanford sailingStanford sailing
Lexi Pline
Sailing

Sailing: 2024-25 Year In Review

Stanford enjoyed a historic 2024-25 season with three ICSA national championships

STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford sailing enjoyed the most successful season in program history during the 2024-25 campaign, capturing three national titles at earning the program's second Leonard M. Fowle Trophy.

The Cardinal now boasts eight national championships with 5 women’s and 3 coed crowns, with seven of those eight titles coming in the last three seasons under head coach Chris Klevan. 

HISTORIC TITLE RUN
Stanford capped off its landmark season with the women’s and coed squads combining to deliver three national team championships over a 33-day stretch. 

Claiming its second straight ICSA Women’s Team Race Championship with a victory on April 28 in Cranston, Rhode Island, No. 2 Stanford produced a 16-1 record across two days of competition and edged No. 1 Yale for the crown.

Next up was a national title at the ICSA Women’s Fleet Race Championship on May 23 in St. Mary’s City, Maryland, as the Cardinal held off runner-up Tulane and became the first school to win three straight Women’s Fleet Race Championships since Navy accomplished the feat from 1979-81.

One week later in St. Mary’s City, Maryland, Stanford’s coed squad prevailed at the ICSA Open Fleet Race Championships, overcoming adverse weather conditions and outlasting runner-up Navy.

NATIONAL ACCOLADES
Following their championship run, several Stanford sailors earned individual national accolades.

Vanessa Lahrkamp was unanimously named the Quantum Women’s Sailor of the Year to win the award for the second consecutive season, joining Dartmouth’s Dierdre Lambert (2013–14) as the only multiple-time recipient of the award. Vanessa remains one of only two Stanford honorees, along with her sister Michelle Lahrkamp.

Alice Schmid was honored as the Mitchell M. Brindley Crew of the Year, while Thomas Sitzmann was one of two finalists for the Everett Morris Memorial Trophy, awarded to the 2025 Open Sailor of the Year.

A total of eight Stanford sailors earned ICSA All-America recognition, with both Lahrkamp and Ellie Harned receiving multiple honors. Lahrkamp was named an All-American skipper in both the Women’s and Open divisions, while earned nods on the Women’s Skipper and Crew teams.

Sitzmann earned his second All-American award as an Open Skipper, while Sophie Fisher became the third Cardinal to be named to the Women's Skipper team for her first career All-America honor. 

Schmid and Piper Blackband rounded out the First Team All-America crews for Stanford, while Kit Harned and Ashtyn Tierney earned honorable mention nods.

CONFERENCE DOMINANCE
Stanford continued its reign over the Pacific Coast Collegiate Sailing Conference (PCCSC), sweeping all four conference championships in 2025. The Cardinal has won every PCCSC title for 15 consecutive seasons, a streak that began in 2009 (excluding the 2020 season, which was canceled due to COVID). 

Following the conference season, Stanford sailors swept the conference’s top individual honors.

Vanessa Lahrkamp was named Women’s Skipper of the Year for the second consecutive time, adding to her two previous Open Skipper of the Year honors (2023–24). She became Stanford’s fourth consecutive winner of the award, joining Sophie Fisher (2023) and Michelle Lahrkamp (2022).

Sophomore skipper Luke Woodworth collected the conference's Open Skipper of the Year award to become the program’s fifth the fifth recipient of the award, joining Vanessa Lahrkamp (2023-24), Jake Parkin (2022), and Will La Dow (2017).

Dylan Sih rounded out the Cardinal winners by earning PCCSC Rookie of the Year honors. Previously awarded in both the Women’s and Open divisions, Sih joins a notable list of previous Cardinal winners in Thomas Sitzmann (2024), Romain Screve (2018), and Christina Sakellaris (2018).

The Cardinal's PCCSC All-Conference Team honorees, which is categorized by crew, open skipper, and women's skipper, consist of women's skippers Sophie Fisher and Vanessa Lahrkamp, open skippers Reade Decker, Dylan Sih, and Lucas Woodworth, and crew Ava Cornell, Kit Harned, and Alice Schmid.

AWARDS AND ACCOLADES

Name Honors
Piper Blackband

ICSA Women's Team Race Champion
ICSA Women's Fleet Race Champion
ICSA Open Fleet Race Champion
ICSA All-American Crew
Ava Cornell All-PCCSC Crew
Reade Decker ICSA Open Fleet Race Champion
All-PCCSC Open Skipper
Sophie Fisher ICSA Women's Team Race Champion
ICSA Women's Fleet Race Champion
ICSA Women's Skipper All-American
All-PCCSC Women's Skipper
Ellie Harned

ICSA Women's Team Race Champion
ICSA Women's Fleet Race Champion
ICSA Open Fleet Race Champion
ICSA All-American Women's Skipper
ICSA All-American Crew
Kit Harned

ICSA Women's Team Race Champion
ICSA Women's Fleet Race Champion
ICSA All-American Crew (Honorable Mention)
All-PCCSC Crew
Vanessa Lahrkamp

ICSA Women's Team Race Champion
ICSA Women's Fleet Race Champion
ICSA Open Fleet Race Champion
Quantum Women's College Sailor of the Year
PCCSC Women's Skipper of the Year
ICSA All-American Open Skipper
ICSA All-American Women's Skipper
All-PCCSC Women's Skipper
Alice Schmid

ICSA Women's Team Race Champion
ICSA Women's Fleet Race Champion
ICSA Open Fleet Race Champion
Mitchell M. Brindley Crew of the Year
ICSA All-American Crew
All-PCCSC Crew
Dylan Sih

PCCSC Rookie of the Year
All-PCCSC Crew
Thomas Sitzmann ICSA Open Fleet Race Champion
ICSA All-American Open Skipper
Ashtyn Tierney

ICSA Women's Team Race Champion
ICSA Women's Fleet Race Champion
ICSA Open Fleet Race Champion
ICSA All-American Crew Honorable Mention
Shay Wood

ICSA Women's Team Race Champion
ICSA Women's Fleet Race Champion
Lucas Woodworth ICSA Open Fleet Race Champion
PCCSC Open Skipper of the Year
All-PCCSC Open Skipper