| CIAN AND MENDELBLATT JOIN THE SEMIS |
| Saturday, 18 August 2007 |
Defending champion Paolo Cian and two-time St. Moritz winner Mark Mandelblatt have advanced to the Semi Finals at the latest stop on the World Match Racing Tour.
There were tense moments however for Mark Mendelblatt in his quest to qualify for the Semi Finals. In front of a packed grandstand on the shore of Lake St. Moritz, Mendelblatt needed to recover from a disastrous beginning to the day.
His opponent, Sebastien Col, came into the day trailing 2-0 in the ‘first to three’ series. In the first race on Saturday, Col was a terror on the start line. As Mendelblatt desperately tried to switch sides and get across the starboard tack Col. He attempted it twice and both times, the Umpires judged him too close, and gave him a penalty.
Then, as the boats headed downwind of the starting line, the American sailor swung his boat up into the wind, but again, the Umpires judged he didn’t give Col room to keep clear and gave him a third penalty. Three penalties in the pre-start mean a black flag disqualification, and Col was awarded the win. The Frenchman now trailed 2-1.
But Mendelblatt composed himself quickly. In the third contest, both boats had a clean start, with speed, near the pin end of the starting line, with a slight advantage to Mendelblatt. He sailed the shifts well up the first leg and carried a lead he wouldn’t relinquish, earning the third win he needed to advance to the Semi Finals.
It was more straightforward for Cian, who also squeezed in at the pin end of the starting line after putting a penalty on his opponent, Mathieu Richard, earlier in the pre-start. Cian sailed a clean race from in front, to take the series 3-1.
Racing in the Semi Finals and for places fifth through eighth continues on Saturday afternoon.
Quarter Final Pairings and Results
(First to two points advances to Semi Finals)
A
Match 1 - Ian Williams beat Matthias Renker
Match 2 - Ian Williams beat Matthias Renker
B
Match 1 - Eric Monnin beat Jochen Schuemann (Peter Evans)
Match 2 - Eric Monnin beat Jochen Schuemann (Peter Evans)
(First to three points advances to Semi Finals)
C
Match 1 - Mark Mendelblatt beat Sébastien Col
Match 2 - Mark Mendelblatt beat Sébastien Col
Match 3 - Sébastien Col beat Mark Mendelblatt
Match 4 - Mark Mendelblatt beat Sébastien Col
D
Match 1 - Paolo Cian beat Mathieu Richard
Match 2 - Mathieu Richard beat Paolo Cian
Match 3 - Paolo Cian beat Mathieu Richard
Match 4 - Paolo Cian beat Mathieu Richard
|
|
Email this page to a friend
|
