Four teams have punched their ticket to the Santa Maria Cup semi-finals after three days of racing off the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis. Defending champion Allie Blecher’s Team BAAM tops the qualifying standings with fifteen wins, followed by Sweden’s Anna Östling and Martina Carlsson, and the Netherlands’ Julia Aartsen. The results confirm these crews have the tactics, boat handling and composure needed to win match racing’s most demanding format, where every manoeuvre counts and a single mistake can cost the race.
Blecher has been the standout performer throughout qualifying, setting the benchmark for consistency and error-free sailing. Her crew demonstrated exactly why they hold the Santa Maria Cup, rarely putting a foot wrong across the double round robin. Just one point behind, Östling’s Team Wings recovered strongly in the second round robin with seven consecutive victories to secure their berth in the semi-finals. “It was a long day today, but we were pleased to finish second in the double round robin and advance to the semifinal,” Östling said. “It was good to win our first semifinal match against Julia and we are looking forward to tomorrow’s final day with more breeze forecast too.”
Day three brought challenges typical of Annapolis waters. High temperatures delayed the sea breeze, pushing racing back to late morning and creating a compressed schedule to complete all remaining qualifying matches. Despite the heat and compressed timetable, the competition remained fierce. One standout moment came when Olympic gold medallist Lily Xu Lijia of China secured a notable victory over Östling in her first Women’s World Match Racing Tour event, signalling the depth of talent in the fleet.
Martina Carlsson and Beyond Racing Team impressed with their comeback from a stuttering opening day. The Swedish crew’s strong second round robin performance proved just enough to edge out New Zealand’s Megan Thomson and 2.0 Racing for the final semi-final spot. Carlsson’s debut appearance at the Santa Maria Cup turned decisive in those final matches, when tactical awareness and crew work separated the teams by mere tenths of a point.
Julia Aartsen from the Netherlands rounded out the final four. Also sailing at the Santa Maria Cup for the first time, Aartsen and her Out of the Box team finished on thirteen wins through steady performances across both qualifying stages. Her crew’s consistency across the round robins proved more valuable than any single standout race.
Semi-final racing got underway late afternoon, with Blecher selecting Carlsson as her opponent. The defending champion wasted no time, winning the opening two matches to move within one point of the final. In the second semi-final, Östling took an early advantage against Aartsen after a closely fought first race that went to the final leg. Both semi-finals continue as first-to-three-point series, with the winners advancing to contest the Santa Maria Cup title and crucial championship points on the Women’s World Match Racing Tour.
