The 2025 U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship is headed to the San Francisco city front August 15 – 17, hosted by St. Francis Yacht Club. Known for its exciting conditions and dramatic Golden Gate Bridge backdrop, St. Francis Yacht Club’s waterfront is one of the most celebrated racing venues in the world. Its match racing program is regarded as one of the most competitive in North America, producing top-tier sailors and offering a proving ground for tactical skill and boat handling.
This year’s lineup runs deep with sailing champions, including the top three ranked U.S. Women’s teams, ICSA All-Americans, David Storrs Grantees, and previous event winners.
Four-time Allegra Mertz Trophy winners and defending champions Team BAAM (Allie Blecher, Beka Schiff, Ali Blumenthal, and Katja Sertl) are back and ready for a four-peat. Hot off a win at the 2025 Santa Maria Cup, and a fifth at the Casa Vela Cup – which is also hosted by St. Francis Yacht Club – they are bringing their A game in a bid to defeat second ranked, and celebrated U.S. Women’s match racer Nicole Breault.
Breault and her team Vela Racing (Hailey Thompson, Molly Vandemoer, and McKenzie Wilson) come into this event as the hometown favorite, gunning for her fifth career victory at the U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship. She was the runner up at last year’s heated U.S. Match Racing Championship and was invited to compete at this year’s Congressional Cup, North America’s premier match race. As a San Francisco local, Breault brings not only a wealth of match racing knowledge, but a significant amount of practice at a notoriously difficult venue. Breault comes into this event as the U.S. representative for the upcoming Women’s Match Racing World Championship this fall in Chicago.
The third U.S. woman in the international match race rankings, Lindsey Baab is in the hunt for her first-ever U.S. Women’s Match Racing title. Baab, who was named a ICSA Women’s All-American at Brown University in 2016 and 2017, exploded on the women’s match racing scene last year, where she took second place at her first ever USWMRC. Since then, she was awarded US Sailing’s David Storrs Match Racing Grant, which she has used to sharpen her skills on the circuit, especially at West Coast events.
Other Notable Figures
Taking to the water in what appears to be her first match race as a helm, College Sailing wunderkind Michelle Lahrkamp will try her hand at this challenging discipline. Called the “most successful women’s sailor in college sailing,” Lahrkamp was part of the Stanford team that won the ICSA Open and Women’s Fleet Race Nationals in 2023, as well as the ICSA Women’s Team Race and Women’s Fleet Race National Championships in 2024. She is also the youngest woman to be named the Quantum Women’s Sailor of the Year as a freshman at Stanford. Sailing with her Stanford Alumni team, they are sure to be a formidable force.
Another team back again for a new shot at the Allegra Mertz Trophy is 2024 David Storrs Grantee Caroline Bayless and her Something Chill Yacht Club team. Bayless is a regular on the women’s match racing scene in the U.S. and will be sure to make a splash this year.
Full Roster of 2025 Competitors
- Lindsey Baab / Helen Lord / Kate Shiber / Elena VandenBerg – StFYC
- Caroline Bayless / Emma Montgomery / Nora Ong / Noelle Owen – AYC Foundation/Something Chill Yacht Club
- Allie Blecher / Ali Blumenthal / Beka Schiff / Katja Sertl – Team BAAM / California YC
- Nicole Breault / Hailey Thompson / Molly Vandemoer / McKenzie Wilson – Vela Racing / StFYC
- Molly Carapiet / Evan Cahill / Kate Gaumond / Megan Grimes – StFYC / SFYC
- Marilyn Cassedy / Carling Freeborn / Ellie Glenn / Megan Marsh – California YC
- Gwynie Dunlevy / Eva Fortunato / Whitney Kent / Marley Mais – CBYRA/AYCF
- Julia Jaynes / Liz Hopkins / Caroline Salas / Rochelle VanTil – Williwaw / Alamitos Bay YC
- Michelle Lahrkamp / Trish Gerli / Sammy Pickell / Ana Clare Sole – Stanford Sailing Alumnae
- Rebecca McElvain / Erika Barth / Lindsey Kloc / Julie Mitchell
A Championship Experience On and Off the Water
“This group of match racing teams is inundated with talent from top to bottom. The skippers are a formidable bunch and I am quite certain the match racing we will see this week will be close and exciting. The city front racecourse is challenging, presenting big breeze and current, so sailors will have to be on their game to get to and stay on top of the leaderboard,” said Betsy Alison, Director of Adult Programs at US Sailing, and previous National and World Match Racing Champion. “Come down and watch some great action on the water at St Francis YC Friday through Sunday – you’ll be glad you did.”
The regatta will not only showcase elite competition but also the vibrant community spirit of sailing, thanks to the generous support of Sextant Wines, and Goslings Rum. Competitors, club members, and guests can look forward to post-race gatherings featuring an award-winning assortment of wines from Sextant, and classic Goslings Rum Dark n’ Stormy® cocktails as the sun sets over the Golden Gate.
With San Francisco Bay’s notorious breeze-on conditions, tight mark-roundings, and split-second tactical calls, the 2025 U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship promises strong battles and a celebration of women’s excellence in the sport.
About the U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship
The Championship is an invitational event featuring the nation’s best female match racers. Organized by US Sailing and hosted by clubs around the nation, the event aims to grow participation, inspire the next generation, and provide a high-caliber competitive platform for women in sailing.
For more information, visit the event website.