Stanford sailing cruises to third consecutive NCAA title

Stanford sailing clinched its third consecutive Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association women’s fleet race national title Friday, topping an 18-team field with 198 points across 16 races. The program now holds seven NCAA titles overall. 

The Cardinal finished 11 points clear of Tulane (209) and 25 ahead of Harvard (223), securing the program’s second major win of the spring after its women’s team race championship victory in April. The victory is the first three-peat in the category since Navy’s 1979 to 1981 run. The regatta concluded a week of ICSA championships at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. 

Stanford surged from fourth place after a weather-shortened opening day, winning six of Friday’s A division races and recording 10 top-10 finishes in the B division. Junior skipper Vanessa Lahrkamp and crew sophomore Alice Schmid and crew freshman Ashtyn Tierney guided the A boat to 57 points, surpassing Harvard by 32 points. In the B division, junior Ellie Harned and her sister, sophomore Kit Harned, teamed with junior Sophie Fisher and freshman Piper Blackband to score 130 points, placing eighth. 

The Cardinal posted 69 points with an impressive effort in the Eastern Semifinals earlier in the week before enduring light winds that limited Thursday’s schedule to three races. Stanford entered the final day 12 points behind Tulane but seized the lead after six races and never relinquished it. 

Friday’s triumph is Stanford’s fourth NCAA national team title of the 2024-25 academic year and the University’s 171st overall. The Cardinal will stay in St. Mary’s City for the coed fleet race championship, which will begin Monday at the same venue. Stanford sailing will look to bring more hardware back to The Farm in next week’s coed finale regatta.

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