Stanford wins College Women’s Nationals

Stanford University won their third consecutive College Sailing Women’s Fleet Race National Championship, held May 20-23 in St. Mary’s City, MD. They are the fourth team in College Sailing history to accomplish this feat.

The Cardinal clinched the 2025 title by an 11-point margin, thanks in part to A Division skipper Vanessa Lahrkamp (’26) and crews Alice Schmid (’27) and Ashtyn Tierney (’28) that won their division by 24 points.

The battle for runner up was close with several changes throughout the final day. Ultimately, the Tulane University Green Wave ended in second boosted by a strong performance by B Division skipper Ava Anderson (’27) and crews Ella May Corckran (’26) and Catherine Anderson (’26) who earned the honor of the Low Point B Division award. The Harvard University Crimson finished in third to round out the podium.

“We train a lot and I think without great teammates and without great sparring partners at Stanford University, it would really not be possible,” said Lahrkamp. “We’re in the gym together, we do social events together, we’re eating together to make that teamwork even stronger than it already is.”

The Stanford junior, who was recognized as the Quantum Women’s Sailor of the Year for the second consecutive year, credited the race committee for their ability to pull off the event despite winds below the racing minimum and severe storms. After three days of unstable winds, when the breeze filled in to a steady 10-12 knots on the final day, PRO Catherine Shanahan got off 13 races in each division.

Final Results:

1. Stanford University
Vanessa Lahrkamp, Alice Schmid, Ashytn Tierney, Ellie Harned, Kit Harned, Sophie Fisher, Piper Blackband

2. Tulane University
Samantha Gardner, Hope Breslin, Caitlin Briggs, Ava Anderson, Ella May Corckran, Catherine Anderson

3. Harvard University
Cordelia Burn, Margo Silliman, Zoe Ziskind, Peyton Hadfield, Christina Chen

• Low Point A Division: Vanessa Lahrkamp, Alice Schmid, Ashytn Tierney (Stanford)
• Low Point B Division: Ava Anderson, Ella May Corckran, Catherine Anderson (Tulane)
• Quantum Women’s Sailor of the Year: Vanessa Lahrkamp (Stanford)

Details: https://nationals.collegesailing.org/events/2025-womens-fleet-racing
Finals: https://scores.collegesailing.org/s25/women-fleet-race-national-championships/full-scores/
Eastern Semis: https://scores.collegesailing.org/s25/women-east-national-semi-final/
Western Semis: https://scores.collegesailing.org/s25/women-west-national-semi-final/

2024-25 Season

Fall National Championships:
November 9-10: Women’s and Open Singlehanded Nationals – St Petersburg, FL
November 15-17: Match Race Nationals – Oyster Bay, NY

Spring National Championships:
April 24-26: Open Team Race Nationals – Cranston, RI
April 27-28: Women’s Team Race Nationals – Cranston, RI
May 20-23: Women’s Dinghy Nationals – St Marys City, MD
May 27-30: Open Dinghy Nationals – St Marys City, MD

Source: ICSA