Barkow and Tulloch in Control at U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship
Contact:
Jake Fish
US SAILING Communications Manager
jakefish@ussailing.org
401.683.0800 x614
NEW ORLEANS, La. (November 12, 2011) – Teams competing at the 2011 U.S. Women's Match Racing Championship, hosted by Southern Yacht Club, finished another exciting day of racing on Lake Pontchartrain in J/22 boats
. On Saturday, the second round robin was completed and the semifinal round began. Skippers Sally Barkow (Nashotah, Wis.) and Genny Tulloch (Sausalito, Calif./Houston, Texas) are both one point away from advancing to Sunday’s final round. Barkow leads Kaitlin Storck (New Orleans, La.), 2-0, and Tulloch leads Stephanie Roble (East Troy, Wis.), 2-0. The semifinals are a “first to three points” format.
Barkow finished Round Robin play as the #1 seed with a 13-1 record. Her team nearly went perfect through two rounds, until Tulloch scored a win against her in the final flight. Tulloch, the #2 seed, entered the semifinals with an 11-3 record. Team Tulloch went 3-2 today, with losses to Storck and Katy Lovell (New Orleans, La.). Barkow’s crew includes Elizabeth Kratzig-Burnham (Miami Beach, Fla.), Alana O'Reilly (Charleston, S.C.) and Amanda Callahan (Portsmouth, R.I.). Crewing for Tulloch is Alice Manard Leonard (New Orleans, La./East Haven, Conn.), Jennifer Chamberlin (Washington, D.C.) and Elizabeth Hall (Cary, N.C.).
A possible finals match between Barkow and Tulloch would be a rematch of last year’s finals, which was won by Tulloch. Barkow is the #3 ISAF ranked women’s match racer in the world and Tulloch is #11. Tulloch finished second at the 2011 US Olympic Team Qualifying Regatta last October at the Key Biscayne Yacht Club (Fla.) and Barkow placed third. Barkow, Kratzig-Burnham, O’Reilly, Tulloch, Manard Leonard and Chamberlin are all members of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics.
Storck and her crew Lyndsey Gibbons-Neff (Boston, Mass.), Molly Robinson (Sausilito, Calif.) and Caila Johnson (Washington, D.C.) finished as the #3 seed with an 8-6 record. Roble and crewmates Maggie Shea (Wilmette, Ill.), Darby Smith (Wilmette, Ill.) and Jennifer Wilson (Chicago, Ill.) are the #4 seed, also with an 8-6 record. Roble placed fourth at the US Olympic Team Qualifying Regatta.
The semifinals resume Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. CT. Sailing conditions were very good again today with winds at 9 to 12 knots and puffs reaching 18.
For a breakdown of all the action today in New Orleans, visit the U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship RESULTS site.
For more information about the U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship, sponsored by Rolex Watch U.S.A., Gill North America and Old Pulteney Single Malt Whiskey, visit the event website for standings, daily recaps, photos and more. For up-to-the-minute details from New Orleans, follow us on US Sailing's Twitter site.
Stephanie Roble on Day 3 of the U.S. Women's Match Racing Championship at Southern Yacht Club by US SAILING
Kaity Storck after day 3 at the U.S. Women's Match Racing Championship at Southern Yacht Club by US SAILING
Championship Notes:
• The U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship is an ISAF Grade 3 event.
• The racing venue will take place on the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain, NNE of New Canal.
• The course will be windward/leeward with starboard roundings, finishing downwind.
• Perpetual Trophies will be awarded for first and second place: The Allegra Knapp Mertz Trophy, emblematic of the U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship; and the Mrs. Charles Francis Adams Memorial Trophy, emblematic of the Runner-up position.
• US SAILING medals will be awarded to the skippers and crews placing first through third.
• The winning skipper will be awarded an automatic invitation to the 2012 Buddy Melges Challenge.
• The U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship is certified by Sailors for the Sea as a Clean Regatta.