Santa Maria Cup, 2026 Womens World Match Racing Tour Stage 2 - Day 3
by Women's WMRT 6 Jun 07:31 BST
June 2-6, 2026
The four teams advancing to the semi-finals of the Santa Maria Cup were decided today following the completion of the double round robin qualifying stage at the second event of the 2026 Women's World Match Racing Tour.
Defending Santa Maria Cup champion Allie Blecher (USA), Sweden's Anna Östling and Martina Carlsson, and Julia Aartsen from the Netherlands emerged from the ten-team fleet to secure places in Saturday's knockout rounds.
A delayed start greeted competitors on day three as high temperatures over Annapolis prevented the sea breeze from filling in early. Racing eventually got under way late in the morning, allowing the remaining qualifying round robin matches to be completed and the final four teams confirmed.
With the racecourse positioned off the historic United States Naval Academy, the world-class fleet delivered another day of close racing. Among the standout performances was Olympic Gold Medallist Lily Xu Lijia of China, competing in her first Women's World Match Racing Tour event. Xu claimed an impressive victory over former Santa Maria Cup winner and Olympian Anna Östling, both teams showing their prowess.
At the conclusion of the double round robin stage, defending champion Allie Blecher and her Team BAAM crew topped the standings with fifteen wins. Blecher and crew have been the benchmark throughout the event, giving little room for error.
Just one point behind Blecher was Sweden's Anna Östling and Team Wings. A former Santa Maria Cup champion, Östling and crew delivered one of the strongest performances of the second round robin, recording seven victories to finish qualifying with fourteen wins overall.
"It was a long day today, but we were pleased to finish second in the double round robin and advance to the semifinal" said Östling. "It was good to win our first semifinal match against Julia [Aartsen] and we are looking forward to tomorrow's final day with more breeze forecast too."
Joining her in the semi-finals is fellow Swede Martina Carlsson and the Beyond Racing Team. Making their debut appearance at the Santa Maria Cup, Carlsson and crew rebounded from an inconsistent opening day with a strong second-round robin performance. Their determination proved decisive as they narrowly held off New Zealand's Megan Thomson/ 2.0 Racing to claim the final semi-final berth.
Completing the final four is Dutch skipper Julia Aartsen and her Out of the Box Team. Also competing in Annapolis for the first time, consistent performances across both qualifying stages saw the Dutch team finish on thirteen wins, just one point behind Östling and comfortably inside the semi-final cut.
With qualifying complete, attention immediately turned to the first-to-three-point semi-final series, with the opening matches raced late in the afternoon.
As the highest-ranked qualifier, Blecher selected Carlsson as her semi-final opponent and quickly established an advantage, winning the opening two matches of the series to move within one point of the final.
In the second semi-final, Östling also made a strong start against Aartsen, claiming the opening victory after a closely fought contest that came down to the final leg. Aartsen crossed the finish line just seconds behind the Swedish skipper but was awarded two penalties, handing Östling the first point of the match.
With places in the Santa Maria Cup Final now on the line, the semi-finals will continue as a first-to-three-point series before the winners advance to contest the Santa Maria Cup title and valuable championship points on the Women's World Match Racing Tour.
For more information, visit www.santamariacup.org and womenswmrt.com
For detailed results, see womenswmrt.com/live-results