To Win A Line 7 Squadron Jacket
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2 - 7 September
St Moritz, Switzerland
2008 World Championship Standings
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| YOUNG GUN AGAINST OLD HAND IN ST. MORITZ FINAL |
Mark Mendelblatt (left) keeps clear of Ian Williams in their second semifinal match as Williams attempts to unload a penalty. (©Swedish Match Tour/Guido Cantini)
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Mark Mendelblatt (left) and Ian Williams in the pre-start of their second semifinal match. (©Swedish Match Tour/Guido Cantini)
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Ben Ainslie (left) leads Peter Gilmour downwind in their 5th and 6th place sail off. (©Swedish Match Tour/Guido Cantini)
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Ian Williams is distraught after losing his semifinal match to Mark Mendelblatt. (©Swedish Match Tour/Guido Cantini)
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St. MORITZ, Switzerland (Aug. 20, 2005) — It’ll be student versus teacher in tomorrow’s final of the St. Moritz Match Race, Stage 3 of the 2005-’06 Swedish Match Tour.
Mark Mendelblatt (USA), the reigning two-time champion of the match-race regatta at the top of the world, will meet Ed Baird (USA), of Alinghi, for the championship. Both skippers hail from St. Petersburg, Fla., and Baird gave Mendelblatt his first match-racing experience.
“I crewed for him in some match-racing events and we had some success,” said Mendelblatt. “I learned about the game from him.”
Baird was hoping to put a hurting on Mendelblatt tonight to distract him tomorrow.
“One thing we know about Mark is that he has not trained enough at high altitude for long nights,” Baird said. “So we’re going to make sure he has a long night, and that should work out for us tomorrow.”
Mendelblatt and Baird advanced to the final by winning their semifinal matches against Ian Williams (GBR) and Staffan Lindberg (FIN). Mendelblatt won 2-1 against Williams, while Baird beat Lindberg 2-0.
In racing for 5th and 6th, Ben Ainslie (GBR), Emirates Team New Zealand, beat Peter Gilmour (AUS) 2-1. In racing for 7th through 12th, Sebastien Col (FRA), K-Challenge, won Round Robin D with a 4-1 record to finish seventh overall. Peter Holmberg (ISV), Alinghi, finished second at 3-2 and placed eighth overall.
Day 4 of St. Moritz Match Race dawned chilly and wet. A steady rain fell on the lake while the mountain peaks above 8,000 feet were covered in snow. The conditions were unpleasant for the completion of Round Robin D, but cleared up by the time the semifinalists took to the water in mid-afternoon for their first to 2 points matches.
The wind blew from the north, opposite of what it had been all week, and was very puffy and shifty. Those are conditions Baird excels in, and he made quick work of Lindberg, winning by nearly half a leg each time.
“We thought we had control in the pre-starts, but with a minute to go they were always in the right position, where we wanted to be,” said Lindberg. “I said prior to today’s races that the starts were going to be key, and they were. They got two lengths ahead and they extended. They did a very nice job.”
The Mendelblatt-Williams series held everyone in suspense. The crews were evenly matched and took every opportunity to tack on each other when in the lead. There were a total of six penalties handed out in the three races. Williams earned four of those penalties, and was dumbstruck by his dumb luck. He lost two straight after winning the opener.
“We weren’t being aggressive at all,” Williams said. “We felt he was the one being aggressive. Usually the aggressor is the one getting the penalties.”
With the score tied 1-1, Williams seemed to have Mendelblatt stuffed in the pre-start of Race 3. Williams held the starboard-tack advantage in the four-minute sequence, and kept dialing up Mendelblatt, who seemed stuffed at the pin end. Then it all turned against Williams as quickly as you can say windshift.
“He got a real get-out-of-jail card in that third race,” said Williams. “There was a right-hand shift right at the start that allowed him to get free. Then we got a penalty.
“I’m very disappointed,” said Williams. “We had opportunities in every race.”
“He got a penalty for contact when he tacked away,” said chief umpire Marianne Middelthon.
Tomorrow’s final will be featured in real time on the Tour’s broadband Internet site, www.SwedishMatchTour.tv. The first attention signal is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. locally. Check this Web site for updated information.
Swedish Match Tour partners include Swedish Match, BMW and the Match Race Association. Swedish Match Tour Official Sponsors include Musto, Sebago and Travel Places.
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Young Gun Against Old Hand in St. Moritz Final
RELATED CONTENT
St. Moritz Match Race Summary
St. Moritz Match Race 2005 Photo Gallery
St. Moritz 2005 Crew List
St. Moritz 2005 Schedule and Results
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AUDIO: Mark Mendleblatt talks about the St. Moritz Match Race (6 MBs // 4m:50s)
Semifinalists Set After Umpires’ Meeting (Aug. 19, 2005)
Williams Looking Strong in St. Moritz (Aug. 18, 2005)
Altitude Brings Action to St. Moritz Match Race (Aug. 17, 2005)
Going for a Three-Peat (Aug. 16, 2005)
Final Two Days of St. Moritz Live on Internet (Aug. 15, 2005)
Tour Adds St. Moritz Match Race (Feb. 10, 2005)
FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE SWEDISH MATCH TOUR
Sean McNeill
Director of Public Relations
Mobile: +1 401 662 1501
E-mail: smcneill@f10marketing.com
FOR INFORMATION ABOUT St. MORITZ MATCH RACE
Kirsten Bollinger
Press Officer
E-mail: kirsten.bollinger@gmx.de
St. MORITZ MATCH RACE RESULTS
Semifinal Round
(4) Mark Mendelblatt (USA) d. (1) Ian Williams (GBR), 2-1
(3) Ed Baird (USA) d. (2) Staffan Lindberg (FIN), 2-0
5th and 6th Place Sail-Off
Ben Ainslie (GBR) d. Peter Gilmour (AUS), 2-1
Round Robin D (After 5 of 5 scheduled flights)
1. Sebastien Col (FRA) K-Challenge, 4-1
(Crew: Christophe André, Teva Plichard)
2. Peter Holmberg (ISV) Alinghi, 3-2
(Crew: Claudio Celon, Matt Mitchell)
3. Eric Monin (SUI), 3-2
(Crew: Jean-Claude Monnin, Marc Monnin)
4. Mathieu Richard (FRA), 3-2
(Crew: Philippe Mourniac, Yannick Simon)
5. Marcel Walser (SUI), 3-2
(Crew: Fabio Müller, Urs Rothacher)
6. Mark Bradford (AUS) BMW Oracle Racing, 0-5
(Crew: Rodney Daniel, Nick Partridge)
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