BLECHER SETS THE PACE AS SANTA MARIA CUP GETS UNDERWAY
ANNAPOLIS, USA (June 3, 2026) – The opening day of the Santa Maria Cup, Stage 2 of the 2026 Women’s World Match Racing Tour, delivered a thrilling start on the waters of Annapolis as ten of the world’s top women match racing teams battled for early supremacy. Defending Santa Maria Cup champion Allie Blecher (USA) and her Team BAAM! wasted no time laying down a marker, emerging from the first day with 8 wins and just one loss. Close behind are Sweden’s Anna Östling and Team Wings together with Julia Aartsen (NED) and Team Out of the Box, both posting impressive 7-1 scores.
Hosted by the Eastport Yacht Club, the prestigious Santa Maria Cup has attracted a world-class fleet representing six nations, with sailors from Europe, North America, Asia, and Oceania.
Blecher is returning to Annapolis with her established crew of Beka Schiff, Katja Sertl, and Ali Blumenthal Stokes,
“We had a pretty good day,” said Blecher. “I made a few mistakes but we fought back and the racing was fair, which was good. The conditions are tricky but that’s my favourite type of racing because you are never out of it and you are never safely ahead.”
Among the anticipated debuts of the event is that of Lily Xu Lijia (CHN), Olympic gold medallist and one of China’s most decorated sailors. A former Olympic bronze medallist in Beijing 2008 and gold medallist at London 2012 in the Laser Radial class, Xu has only recently turned her focus to match racing, this week sailing with a team of local Annapolis based sailors Ashley Love, Abby Brown, Kim Couranz, and Michael-Anne Ashford
“This is my first Women’s World Tour event and I feel very fortunate to be here,” said Xu. “Even after losing a few races today, I feel very happy because we are learning more after every race. After 20 years of dinghy and fleet sailing, there are still many synergies with match racing as you still need to know how to make a boat go fast and call the wind shifts.”
Another sailor making her Women’s World Match Racing Tour debut is Tara Golonka (CAN) from British Columbia. After a strong start to the day, Golonka experienced the highs and lows that make match racing one of sailing’s most demanding disciplines.
“It’s super cool to be on the Women’s World Tour for the first time,” said Golonka. “We are quite new to match racing so it has been awesome to compete at this high level. Today we started strongly with two wins and then struggled later in the day, but we have been learning all the time.”
Racing continues through Saturday, June 6, when the 2026 Santa Maria Cup champion will be crowned.
Teams Competing in 2026 Santa Maria Cup (Country, Team Name, Skipper & Crew, World Ranking):
SWE - WINGS - Anna Östling, Annie Wennergren, Linnea Wennergren, Annika Carlunger - #2
NED - Team Out of the Box - Julia Aartsen, Nerine Usman, Iris van Gerrevink, Floortje Hoogstede - #4
NZL - 2.0 Racing - Megan Thomson, Tinka Visser, Maddie Rist, Josi Andres - #5
SWE - Beyond Racing - Martina Carlsson, Ida Elfving, Amanda Ljunggren, Felicia Fernström - #7
USA - Team BAAM! - Allie Blecher, Beka Schiff, Katja Sertl, Ali Blumenthal Stokes - #10
USA - Something Chill - Caroline Bayless, Katherine Doble, Nora Ong, Piper Holthus - #15
USA - Dial Up - Gwynie Dunlevy, Lilla Salvesen, Meredith McKeown, Amy Woodard - #22
CHN - Team Magenta - Lijia Xu, Ashley Love, Gretchen Esbensen, Kim Couranz, Michael-Anne Ashford - #34
USA - Cherry Bomb Racing - Katie Cornetta, Stephanie Wondolleck, Marina Fennell, Carling Freeborn - #43
CAN - Salish Sea Racing - Tara Golonka, Anna Parolin, Zoe Folsetter, Fiona McInnes - NR
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Follow live results at www.santamariacup.org/results
For information on the Santa Maria Cup https://www.santamariacup.org
For information on WWMRT, visit womenswmrt.com
See the WWMRT website for more information and photos:
https://womenswmrt.com/events/santa-maria-cup-2026/
About Santa Maria Cup
Santa Maria Cup is the second stop on the 2026 Women’s World Match Racing Tour. The 2026 regatta will be the 23rd running of this event. Past competitors in this series include Olympic sailors, Rolex Yachtswomen of the Year, and other international stars of women’s sailing. Some of the American past winners are JJ Isler, Dawn Riley, Liz Baylis, Jody Swanson, Betsy Alison, Cory Sertl, Sally Barkow, and Anna Tunnicliffe. Originally a minor offshoot to the Columbus Cup professional match racing regatta series in Baltimore, Santa Maria Cup relocated to Annapolis in 1993 when Eastport Yacht Club (EYC) became the organizing authority.
About Women’s World Match Racing Tour
The Women’s World Match Racing Tour was launched in 2022 to continue the hugely successful legacy of the WIM Series (Women’s International Match Racing Series) providing a global match racing series for female sailors. The name of the WIM Series has been changed and re-launched as the Women’s World Match Racing Tour with it’s continued mission to expand and strengthen global match racing and promote opportunities for competitive women’s sailing at every level. The Women’s World Match Racing Tour is the world’s first and only professional sailing series for women providing a valuable pathway for aspiring female world champions in the sport of sailing. womenswmrt.com
