Louisa Nordstrom wins U.S. Junior Women’s Singlehanded Championship

Published on July 19th, 2015

Rochester, NY (July 19, 2015) – The fleet of 29 Laser Radial sailors competed in the 2015 U.S. Junior Women’s Singlehanded Championship, hosted by the Rochester Yacht Club on Lake Ontario. Louisa Nordstrom (Osprey, Fla.) started strong in the first half and held on during the three day event (July 17-19) to earn the Nancy Leiter Clagett Memorial Trophy.

Talia Toland (Kirkland, Wash.), Hallie Schiffman (Sarasota, Fla.), and Hannah Steadman (St. Petersburg, Fla.) all made strong runs to the top of the leaderboard at some point during the championship this weekend.

On Friday, the fleet tallied four races in light and variable breezes, however, racing was limited on Saturday to just two races due to strong currents and light winds.

Nordstrom had tie-breaker leads at the end of racing on both Friday and Saturday, with four races on tap for Sunday. The first signal sounded at approximately 10:00am in 10 knots from the Southwest on Sunday. By the final race, the wind was howling with gusts of 19 knots.

Nordstrom won four of 10 races this week. She edged Schiffman by two points. The win qualifies her for the 2016 U.S. Youth Sailing Championship, the premiere youth sailing regatta in the country.

Nordstrom placed second at the U.S. Junior Women’s Doublehanded Championship in the Club 420 this past June in Columbia, S.C. She also raced earlier this month in Bristol, R.I. at the U.S. Youth Sailing Championships in the 29er.

“I went into today trying stay positive and not focus on results,” said Nordstrom. “Each race is a new opportunity. I’m definitely a light wind sailor, but I was able to keep up with today’s heavy conditions and all the hiking.”

Final Standings (Top 5 of 29; 10 races, 1 discard)
1. Louisa Nordstrom, Team FOR/Sarasota Youth Sailing, 2-1-1-3-1-5-6-1-[12]-7- ; 27
2. Hallie Schiffman, Sarasota Sailing Squadron, 5-[17]-4-5-2-3-1-4-2-3- ; 29
3. Talia Toland, Seattle Yacht Club/Royal Vancouver Yacht Club, 4-3-5-1-4-7-3-5-1-[8]- ; 33
4. Hannah Steadman, St. Petersburg Yacht Club, 1-2-2-2-[30/BFD]-1-5-11-10-5- ; 39
5. Gabrielle Rizika, Wianno Yacht Club, 8-[9]-6-7-6-6-9-2-6-4- ; 54

Complete Standings – Championship website

Report by Jake Fish, US Sailing Communications Manager.