Ten teams for U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship

Ten of the most accomplished female match racing teams in the US will take to the water in Sonar boats at Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club (Oyster Bay, NY) for the annual U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship on August 19-21, 2022.

Attendees include former event winners, collegiate All-Americans, and accomplished match race teams who will both be vying for the Allegra Knapp Mertz Trophy along with winning the bid to represent the USA at the 2022 Women’s Match Racing World Championship in Auckland, New Zealand.

The leading favorite is Nicole Breault and her team from St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco, CA. Breault is a four-time U.S. Women’s Match Racing Champion, including most recently in 2021 and is a well-known face on the international match racing scene.

Representing Scuttlebutt Sailing Club, 2021 runner-up Janel Zarkowsky and her team from across the US aims to best last year’s performance, where she went head-to-head with Nicole Breault in the finals, missing out 3-1. Zarkowsky has an accomplished record on the women’s match racing circuit, having been a member of the winning team at the 2014 U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship.

Looking for a repeat win is Allie Blecher and her team from California Yacht Club. Blecher won her first, and so far only, U.S. Women’s Match Racing title in 2019. Narrowly missing the finals at last year’s event, she will face several familiar competitors this year.

Bridget Groble and the Bow Down racing team are on the roster in search of their first US Women’s Match Racing Championship title. Groble won the petit finals at last year’s event, taking third overall, and has been an active force in US match racing.

First held in 1974, the U.S. Women’s Open Championship was rededicated as the U.S. Women’s Match Race Championship in 2000.

Event details – Entry list – Results