Qualifiers complete at Women’s Match Racing Worlds

Helsinki, Finland (June 19, 2017) – The battle for the final spots in the quarterfinals came down to the last flight at the 2017 Women’s Match Racing World Championship. Eight of the top teams in the world will move on to the second stage and keep their dreams of a World Championship title alive while six teams had their hopes defeated. Lucy Macgregor (GBR) put an exclamation point on her team’s round robin by winning all of her matches today and remaining undefeated.

As the last flights played out in the bright sunshine in front of the evening crowds on the terrace of Hernesaaren Ranta, the final two spots were still to be decided. The most exciting of the late matches featured two Finnish teams skippered by Marinella Laaksonen and Antonia Degerlund. During a tacking duel on the second upwind leg, Degerlund’s main trimmer slipped overboard while tacking. She hung on to the mainsheet, but while the others recovered her, Laaksonen was able to slip away to an insurmountable lead.

“Although we are disappointed for our team, we are very happy that our training partners, Marinella and her team, qualified through to the quarter-finals with her win over us,” Degerlund confided at the end of the day.

Joining Macgregor and Laaksonen in the quarter-finals will be defending Women’s Match Racing World Champion Anna Östling (SWE), Trine Palludan (DEN), Renée Groeneveld (NED), Caroline Sylvan (SWE), Mikaela Fors (FIN), and Pauline Courtois (FRA).

As the winner of the round robin stage, Lucy Macgregor (GBR) gets two significant ‘prizes’.

She will be presented with the ISAF / World Sailing Nucci Novi Ceppellini Memorial Trophy. The trophy is named after Nucci Novi Ceppellini, ISAF Vice-President from 1998-2008, who passed away in February 2008 after many years dedicated to the sport, with women’s match racing one of her particular passions.

In addition, she gets the opportunity to choose her opponent for the quarter-finals. When pressed by Liz Baylis, WIM Series Manager, during the after race ‘Sailor Talk Show’ to reveal her choice, Macgregor responded: “You’ll have to wait until the morning. Our team has to sit down with a cup of tea and a biscuit and have a chat about it tonight!”

The weather in Helsinki has been a rollercoaster over the past few days – bright sunshine then blustery clouds then brilliant sun again. “Welcome to Finnish summer!” joked Mats Welin, Commodore of Nyländska Jaktklubben (NJK), the host yacht club of this year’s World Championship.

The racing continues tomorrow with the quarter-finals to be followed by the semi-finals and then concludes with the final on the longest day of the year, Wednesday 21 June.

Day 3 Results
1. Lucy Macgregor, GBR, 13 – 0, 100%
2. Trine Palludan, DEN, 10 – 3, 77%
3. Anna Östling, SWE, 9 – 4, 69%
4. Renée Groeneveld, NED, 9 – 4, 69%
5. Marinella Laaksonen, FIN, 8 – 5, 62%
6. Mikaela Fors, FIN, 7 – 6, 54%
7. Pauline Courtois, FRA, 7 – 6, 54%
8. Caroline Sylvan, SWE, 7 – 6, 54%
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9. Johanna Bergqvist, SWE, 6 – 7, 46%
10. Margot Riou, FRA, 5 – 8, 38%
11. Martina Karlemo, FIN, 4 – 9, 31%
12. Antonia Degerlund, FIN, 4 – 9, 31%
13. Sanna Häger, SWE, 2 – 11, 15%
14. Ekaterina Kochkina, RUS, 0 – 13, 0%

Event details – Results – Facebook

Format: The racing begins June 17 with the round-robin stage on the waters off Hernesaari (Ärtholmen) in Helsinki Harbour, to be followed by quarterfinals, semi finals and then the conclusion with the final on the longest day of the year, Wednesday June 21.

Teams Competing in the 2017 Women’s Match Racing World Championship
(Team name, Skipper, Crew – World Sailing Ranking – Nationality):

Team Anna – Anna Östling, Karin Almquist, Marie Berg, Linnea Wennergren, Annika Carlunger – 1 – SWE
Dutch Match Racing Team – Renée Groeneveld, Marcelien Bos-De Koning, Lobke Berkhout, Sanne Akkerman, Mijke Lievens – 4 – NED
New Sweden Match Racing Team – Caroline Sylvan, Louise Kruuse af Verchou, Klara Ekdahl, Frida Langenius, Malin Holmberg – 5 – SWE
Match in Pink by Normandy Elite Team – Pauline Courtois, Maëlenn LeMaître, Camille Hautefaye, Louise Acker, Sophonie Affagard – 7 – FRA
L2 Match Racing Team – Marinella Laaksonen, Marianna Kontulainen, Daniela Rönnberg, Anna Savisaari, Eva-Lotta Hokkonen – 8 – FIN
Stockholm Match Racing Team – Sanna Häger, Karin Bäckström, Sara Edholm, Klara Häger, Karin Flinkenberg – 12 – SWE
Team Sköna Vibbisar – Antonia Degerlund, Carla Westersund, Janina Hallberg, Disa Långström, Lisa Gerkman – 15 – FIN
Team Bergqvist Match Racing – Johanna Bergqvist, Isabelle Bergqvist, Johanna Thiringer, Ellinor Hansson, Fanny Edgren – 16 – SWE
Team Experience – Trine Palludan, Lea Richter Vogelius, Vivi Lund Møller, Anne Sofie Munk-Hansen, Joan Vestergård Hansen – 17 – DEN
Team Karlemo – Martina Karlemo, Susanna Kukkonen, Kirsi Mikkonen, Erica Bäckström, Natasha Rubanin-Hilde’n – 27 – FIN
Team Mac – Lucy Macgregor, Silja Frost, Rosie Watkins, Imogen Stanley, Charlotte Lawrence – 30 – GBR
SailWay Match Racing Team – Ekaterina Kochkina, Olga Shoykhet, Anastasia Rodomakina, Daria Sutiagina, Antonina Tikhonova – 39 – RUS
Pen & Hammer Sailing Team – Mikaela Fors, Livia Väresmaa, Anette Eriksson, Minna Barner-Rasmussen, Crie Therman-Londén – 75 – FIN
APCC Women’s Sailing Team – Margot Riou, Clémentine Hilaire, Laura Simon, Alizée Desbordes, Tiphaine Ragueneau – 95 – FRA

Source: WIM Series Media