Stanford University’s sailing team is set to conclude its fall 2025 season by participating in two key regattas this weekend. The team will compete in the PCCSC Open Fall Championship and pursue its first National Championship opportunity at the ICSA Match Race Championship.
Last weekend, Stanford placed third as a team at the West Coast Championships. In individual performances, Thomas Sitzmann finished third nationally at the ICSA Singlehanded Championships, while Avery Baldwin secured seventh place in the women’s singlehanded event.
Stanford’s sailing program has started the 2025-26 season with strong results, finishing in the top three of 18 out of 19 regattas and achieving nine first-place finishes. These accomplishments build on a successful previous season; during the 2024-25 campaign, Stanford captured three national titles and earned its second Leonard M. Fowle Trophy. The program now holds eight national championships—five women’s and three coed crowns—with seven titles won over the past three seasons under head coach Chris Klevan.
The team’s recent success has resulted in several individual accolades for returning athletes. Vanessa Lahrkamp was unanimously named Quantum Women’s Sailor of the Year for a second consecutive season, joining Dartmouth’s Dierdre Lambert as one of only two multiple-time recipients of this award. Alice Schmid received recognition as Mitchell M. Brindley Crew of the Year, and Thomas Sitzmann was a finalist for the Everett Morris Memorial Trophy, awarded to the 2025 Open Sailor of the Year.
Eight Stanford sailors earned ICSA All-America honors. Both Lahrkamp and Ellie Harned received multiple distinctions: Lahrkamp as an All-American skipper in both Women’s and Open divisions, and Harned on both Women’s Skipper and Crew teams. Sitzmann earned his second All-American award as an Open Skipper, while Sophie Fisher joined as a Women’s Skipper for her first career All-America honor. Schmid and Piper Blackband completed Stanford’s First Team All-America crews; Kit Harned and Ashtyn Tierney were given honorable mention nods.
Head coach Chris Klevan commented on these achievements: “Stanford now boasts eight national championships with 5 women’s and 3 coed crowns, seven of which have come in the last three seasons under head coach Chris Klevan.”
