Team Mac wins Women’s Match Racing World Championship

Helsinki, Finland (June 21, 2017) – For a second day, the thunderstorms rushed the sailors off of the water, but not before Lucy Macgregor (GBR) and her Team Mac with teammates Silja Lehtinen Frost, Rosie Watkins, Imogen Stanley, and Charlotte Lawrence were declared 2017 Women’s Match Racing World Champions.

Team Mac claimed the title by defeating the Dutch Match Racing Team skippered by Renée Groeneveld (NED) sailing with Marcelien Bos-De Koning, Lobke Berkhout, Sanne Akkerman, and Mijke Lievens.

This is Lucy Macgregor’s second Women’s Match Racing World Championship title. She won her previous title in Newport, Rhode Island, USA in 2010 but did not seem to miss a beat. “A new team for me this year, and they were all absolutely brilliant,” noted Macgregor. “I can’t possibly speak more highly enough of every single person on board. They did their job and ten times more all week. The crew really saved me. Fantastic effort by them.”

The score line may seem on the surface that Team Mac was not challenged, but the battles on the water told a different story. Lots of close matches and thrilling exchanges. “Today I was able to go on the water for one of the most fantastic matches of the Championship between Team Mac and Team Anna in the Semi-Finals,” shared Liz Baylis, WIM Series Manager. “Tough battles, lead changes – it was so close that you really had no idea who was going to win until the last gybe. And it was so much fun to watch.”

The Final matches between Team Mac and the Dutch Match Racing Team were more hard fought battles. When asked what were the keys for winning those matches, both skippers agreed: starts and playing the wind shifts. After dawning with a brisk clear sky the weather quickly changed to big clouds accompanied by huge wind shifts.

“Keeping our heads out of the boats and playing the shifts made all of the difference,” answered Groeneveld when asked about the key to her win over Macgregor in the third match of the Finals.

Macgregor spoke about Groeneveld and her team: “She (Groeneveld) is a brilliant sailor, as are her team. You have multiple medallists there – a really fantastic team.”

As the boats approached the finish of the fourth and deciding match of the Finals, the race committee was scrambling to get all of the assets off of the water as a tremendous thunderstorm was approaching the area. Everyone was safely ashore just as the clouds opened and dumped rain across the venue.

Final Standings (skipper, nationality, Team Name, WIM Series points):
1. Lucy Macgregor, GBR, Team Mac, 25
2. Renée Groeneveld, NED, Dutch Match Racing Team, 22
3. Trine Palludan, DEN, Team Experience, 20
4. Anna Östling, SWE, Team Anna, 18
5. Marinella Laaksonen, FIN, L2 Match Racing Team, 16
6. Mikaela Fors, FIN, Pen & Hammer Sailing Team, 14
7. Pauline Courtois, FRA, Match in Pink by Normandy Elite Team, 12
8. Caroline Sylvan, SWE, New Sweden Match Racing Team, 10
9. Johanna Bergqvist, SWE, Team Bergqvist Match Racing, 8
10. Margot Riou, FRA, APCC Women’s Sailing Team , 7
11. Martina Karlemo, FIN, Team Karlemo, 6
12. Antonia Degerlund, FIN, Team Sköna Vibbisar, 5
13. Sanna Häger, SWE, Stockholm Match Racing Team, 4
14. Ekaterina Kochkina, RUS, Team SailWay, 3

Final Results
Lucy Macgregor, GBR – Renée Groeneveld, NED, 3 – 1

Petit Final Results
Trine Palludan, DEN – Anna Östling, SWE, 2 – 0

Semi-Final Results
Lucy Macgregor, GBR – Anna Östling, SWE, 3 – 1
Renée Groeneveld, NED – Trine Palludan, DEN, 3 – 1

Round Robin 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%
—————-
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