Stanford wins College Women’s Nationals

Stanford University won the 2026 College Women’s Fleet Race National Championship held May 15-18 in St. Petersburg, FL. This is the fourth consecutive year the Cardinal has won the Women’s Fleet Race title.

Vanessa Lahrkamp ’26

After the 36-team field was narrowed to the best 18 teams in the semifinal stage, Stanford was led by skipper Vanessa Lahrkamp ’26 and crew Callie Hammond ’29 which won A Division by 47 points, with their B Division team finishing strong with skipper Sophie Fisher ’26 and crews Abby Baird ’28, Piper Blackband ’28, and Alice Schmid ’27.

Yale University finished second overall and won B Division with skipper Carly Kieding ’29 and crews Annabel Woodworth ’28 and Audrey Foley ’28.

Lahrkamp also won the Women’s Sailor of the Year award, becoming the first woman to win the award three times.

The championship was hosted by University of South Florida and held in 2026 Zim 420Es and 2024 Zim FJs.

On-site report to be included when available.

Event details – Finals results

2025-26 Season

2025 Fall National Championships:
November 8-9 – Women’s and Open Singlehanded Nationals – Old Dominion Univ / Norfolk, VA
November 15-16 – Match Race Nationals – St Petersburg Yacht Club / St Petersburg, FL

2026 Spring National Championships:
April 23-25 – Open Team Race Nationals – Tulane Univ / New Orleans, LA
April 26-27 – Women’s Team Race Nationals – Tulane Univ / New Orleans, LA
May 15-18 – Women’s Dinghy Nationals – Univ of South Florida / St. Petersburg, FL
May 19-22 – Open Dinghy Nationals – Univ of South Florida / St. Petersburg, FL