Top eight teams advance at Stena Match Cup Sweden

Marstrand, Sweden (July 2, 2015) – The 14 teams completed the fourth and final day of the Qualifying Session of the Stena Match Cup Sweden, the third World Championship Event of the 2015 World Match Racing Tour (WMRT).

Defending ISAF Match Racing World Champion Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar has led his team through a faultless round to win all 13 of his Qualifying races. Joining Williams in the Quarter Finals are defending Stena Match Cup Sweden Champion Bjorn Hansen (SWE), Keith Swinton (AUS), Rueben Corbett (NZL), Taylor Canfield (ISV), Phil Robertson (NZL), Johnie Berntsson (SWE) and Simone Ferrarese (ITA).

Winning Qualifying gave Williams the first choice of his Quarter Final opponent. He chose fellow Tour Card skipper Reuben Corbett, leaving 2nd placed Bjorn Hansen to pick Wild Card skipper Simone Ferrarese.

“We’re delighted with our perfect record in Qualifying and our performance so far,” said Williams. “The conditions here have suited us well and we’re excited about the rest of the week ahead. Anything can happen in the knockout stages, so we’ll regroup tomorrow and be ready for whatever is thrown at us.”

Commenting on being selected by the five-time World Champion in the Quarter Finals, New Zealander Reuben Corbett simply added “We’re ready. Bring it on!”

Simone Ferrarese, competing this week during his busy Olympic Finn training schedule, narrowly missed dropping out of the competition after securing his Quarter Final place on a 4 way count-back, due to his win against Bjorn Hansen earlier in the week.

Australia’s Keith Swinton similarly didn’t race today but was safe for the Quarter Finals with 8pts and finished 3rd in Qualifying. Swinton selected Johnie Berntsson for his Quarter Final who has certainly found his stride this week in Marstrand and is confident his team have more to give in the final few days of the event.

“We felt pretty calm with seven wins and one loss [in the Qualifying rounds]. Now we look forward to racing Keith, in fact we recruited his trimmer to our team and that might be an advantage because we now know a lot of Keith’s tricks!”

The fourth Quarter Final pairing matches Taylor Canfield (ISV) US One and Phil Robertson, this week sailing for Trefor Match Racing in place of Nicolai Sehested.

Robertson chose the hard route to his Quarter Final place by accidentally sailing an extra lap against Rasmus Viltoft (DEN) Team Viltoft handing victory to Viltoft, and forcing Robertson into a must win his race against Switzerland’s Eric Monnin (SUI) Team Sailbox. It was the last of three losses today for Monnin unfortunately forcing him out of the competition.

Similarly, Joachim Aschenbrenner is eliminated from Stena Match Cup with a disappointing three losses today against Robertson, Corbett and Williams.

The top eight teams advancing to the Quarter-Finals start tomorrow, which has a forecast for sunshine and 15 knots of wind from the south. The Semi-Finals and Finals are scheduled on Saturday, July 4.

Quarterfinals
Ian Williams – Reuben Corbett
Björn Hansen – Simone Ferrarese
Keith Swinton – Johnie Berntsson
Taylor Canfield – Phil Robertsson

Results – Round Robin Stena Match Cup Sweden 2015
1. Ian Williams (GBR) 13-0

2. Björn Hansen (SWE) 10-3
3. Keith Swinton (AUS) 8-5
4. Taylor Canfield (USVI) 8-5

5. Reuben Corbett (NZ) 8-5
6. Phil Robertson (NZ) 7-6
7. Johnie Berntsson (SWE) 7-6

8. Simone Ferrarese (ITA) 6-7
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9. Joachim Aschenbrenner (SWE) 6-7

10. Eric Monnin (SUI) 6-7

11. Nicklas Dackhammar (SWE) 6-7
12. Rasmus Viltoft (DEN) 3,5-9 (-0,5 poängavdrag)

13. Sam Gilmour (AUS) 2-11
14. Anna Östling (SWE) 0-13

Tour details – Event site – Scoreboard – Photos

Background: Stena Match Cup Sweden (Jun 29-Jul 4) is the third world championship event on the 2015-16 World Match Racing Tour, the leading professional match racing series sanctioned by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF). The tour has seven world championship events and a total of 19 events (details). Prize money is awarded for each event, with event points culminating in the crowning of the “ISAF Match Racing World Champion”.