U.S. Junior Women's Singlehanded Championship

The fleet of 30 Laser Radial sailors put on quite a show this weekend on Lake Ontario at the 2015 U.S. Junior Women's Singlehanded Championship, hosted by the Rochester Yacht Club. In the end, it was Louisa Nordstrom (Osprey, Fla.) who held back several worthy contenders throughout the three days of racing to earn the Nancy Leiter Clagett Memorial Trophy.

Talia Toland (Kirkland, Wash.), Hallie Schiffman (Sarasota, Fla.), and Hannah Steadman (St. Petersburg, Fla.) all made strong runs to the top of the leaderboard at some point during the championship this weekend.

On Friday, the fleet tallied four races in light and variable breezes. Racing was limited on Saturday with just two races. The fleet experienced strong, unusual current on Saturday. The race committee moved the course outside of the current for Saturday's second race. Wind was just 3 to 5 knots for most of the day.

Nordstrom had tie-breaker leads at the end of racing on both Friday and Saturday, with four races on tap for Sunday. The first signal sounded at approximately 10:00am in 10 knots from the Southwest on Sunday. By the final race, the wind was howling with gusts of 19 knots.

Nordstrom won four of 10 races this week. She edged Schiffman by two points. The win qualifies her for the 2016 U.S. Youth Sailing Championship, the premiere youth sailing regatta in the country.

Nordstrom placed second at the U.S. Junior Women's Doublehanded Championship in the Club 420 this past June in Columbia, S.C. She also raced earlier this month in Bristol, R.I. at the U.S. Youth Sailing Championships in the 29er.

"I went into today trying stay positive and not focus on results," said Nordstrom. "Each race is a new opportunity. I'm definitely a light wind sailor, but I was able to keep up with today's heavy conditions and all the hiking."

www.ussailing.org/racing/championships/youth/jrwomenssinglehanded

Overall Results: