Stanford wins Women’s Dinghy Nationals

Stanford University successfully defended its 2023 title by winning the 2024 College Women’s Dinghy National Championship, held May 20-23 in Boston, MA. After topping the field in the Semi-Final stage, the Cardinal team finished third in both A and B Divisions in the Finals to build a 26-point margin over Boston College in second with Dartmouth three points back in third.

Stanford was led by skippers Vanessa Lahrkamp ’26, Michelle Lahrkamp ’23, and Hannah Freeman ’24 with crews Gwendolyn Donahue ’24, Ellie Harned ’26, and Alice Schmid ’27. Racing was on the Charles River, with the MIT Sailing Pavilion and the Harvard Boathouse joining forces to host the event. Stanford had earlier also won the 2024 College Women’s Team Race National Championship.

At the Women’s Dinghy Nationals, A Division was won by Maddie Hawkins ’24 and Reese Bragg ’25 for Dartmouth with B Division won by Boston College skipper Colleen O’Brien ’24 with crews Libby Redmond ’24 and Sara Schumann ’25.

Finals results: https://scores.collegesailing.org/s24/women-dinghy-national/

ICSA summary report:
The first day of the championship saw steady winds from the southwest at 5-12 knots, with Stanford taking an early lead, followed by Dartmouth College in second and Yale University in third. However, the second day brought a mix of challenges with shifty conditions and a thunderstorm that caused delays. Once the storm cleared, the wind struggled to settle, but the sailors managed to squeeze in two more races in lighter winds. Dartmouth held onto their second place until the Race 17 when Boston College’s strong finishes—6th in A division and 3rd in B division—propelled them to secure second place overall. Dartmouth finished third with a total of 236 points.

Justin Assad, Head Sailing Coach for Dartmouth College, reflected on the regatta, “We are so proud of our women’s team. They worked hard all year, and this was a grueling regatta. Congratulations to Stanford on the win and BC on a hard-fought second place. Maddie Hawkins and Reese Bragg are tireless competitors, and we’re thrilled with their performance in challenging conditions on the river. Most importantly, our women wouldn’t be able to stand on the podium without the hard work from their teammates who push them every day at practice. We’re honored to be part of this whole team effort.”

Last year at Kings Point, the Cardinal secured a 27-point lead over Yale University with ten races run. This year, they maintained their dominance with a 26-point lead over Boston College after 17 races. Hannah Freeman, a senior on Stanford’s team, and Alice Schmid, a freshman, shared their excitement about the victory. “This has been a fantastic event, and the level of competition was so high. The regatta was run very well. It is so shifty here, so we had a lot of fun trying to figure it out. But we had to keep the vibes light to be ready for the shifts on the Charles. We worked really hard for this as a team, and I think we are all super excited for this win. It was a great learning experience for us throughout the whole event.”

Final Scores:
1. Stanford University
2. Boston College
3. Dartmouth College
4. Yale University
5. Brown University
6. Cornell University
7. Harvard University
8. Georgetown University
9. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
10. University of Pennsylvania
11. Tulane University
12. College of Charleston
13. U.S. Naval Academy
14. Bowdoin College
15. Northeastern University
16. North Carolina State University
17. George Washington University
18. Roger Williams University

Women’s Fleet Race National Championship: May 20-23
• Women’s Semi-Finals at MIT and Harvard: May 20-21
• Women’s Finals at MIT: May 22-23

Open Fleet Race National Championship – May 24-27
• Open Semi-Finals at MIT and Harvard: May 24-25
• Open Finals at Harvard: May 26-27

Stanford University will seek to defend their 2023 titles as champions of both the Open and Women’s Fleet Race National Championships.

• Women’s Nationals: https://nationals.collegesailing.org/events/2024-womens-fleet-racing
• Open Nationals: https://nationals.collegesailing.org/events/2024-open-fleet-racing

2023-24 Season

Fall National Championships:
November 3-5: Match Race Nationals – Charleston, SC
November 11-12: Women’s and Open Singlehanded Nationals – New Orleans, LA

Spring National Championships:
April 25-27: Open Team Race Nationals – Boston, MA
April 28-29: Women’s Team Race Nationals – Boston, MA
May 20-23: Women’s Dinghy Nationals – Boston, MA
May 24-27: Open Dinghy Nationals – Boston, MA