SWEDISH TEAMS SURGE IN BATTLE TOWARDS SEMI-FINALS AT SANTA MARIA CUP
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (June 4, 2026) – The fight for a place in the semi-finals intensified on day two of the 2026 Santa Maria Cup as Sweden’s Anna Östling and Martina Carlsson delivered standout performances to climb the leaderboard ahead of the decisive final day of qualifying.
With the second round-robin stage reaching over its halfway point, the battle for the top four positions remains wide open with the leading teams separated by only a handful of wins, setting the stage for a dramatic conclusion to qualifying racing on Friday.
Former Santa Maria Cup champion Anna Östling and Team Wings were the form team of the day, posting a perfect five wins from five races. Fellow Swede Martina Carlsson and the Beyond Racing Team were nearly as impressive, recording five victories from six starts to move closer towards semi-final contention.
Defending Santa Maria Cup champion Allie Blecher (USA) and Team BAAM! continued their strong performance, adding four wins to remain among the frontrunners after leading the opening round-robin stage.
Following a short postponement ashore, racing got underway in Annapolis in a light and variable southerly breeze that tested crews throughout the day with frequent shifts and pressure changes.
One of the event’s strong contenders continues to be the Dutch team led by Julia Aartsen, making their Santa Maria Cup debut this week. Aartsen and her Team Out of the Box enjoyed another strong day on the water, recording four wins from five races and continuing their push toward the knockout stages.
"We are loving this venue and we are pleased with our results so far," said Aartsen. "The wind is all over the place and it’s a real game of snakes and ladders, but we are sailing well against both the teams we know and the new teams competing here this week."
Carlsson, also competing at the Santa Maria Cup for the first time, was delighted with her team’s turnaround after a challenging opening day.
"We managed to really find our speed today," said Carlsson. "We had some trouble with penalties earlier in the regatta, but we kept pushing and today’s results were very good for us. We have a few races left in the round robin and hopefully enough opportunities to earn the points we need to reach the semi-finals."
With places in the knockout rounds still far from decided, Friday promises high-stakes racing for the opportunity for teams to advance and keep their Santa Maria Cup title ambitions alive.
The remaining qualifying races will be completed on Friday before combined scores from both round-robin stages determine the four teams advancing to the semi-finals.
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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For information on the Santa Maria Cup https://www.santamariacup.org
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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
