15 Jul Roble Wins First U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship by Jake Fish
OYSTER BAY, N.Y. (July 13, 2014) – Stephanie Roble’s Epic Match Racing Team will add the Allegra Knapp Mertz Trophy to their extinguished list of accomplishments. Roble defeated Nicole Breault’s team, 2-0, in Sunday’s final series to win the 2014 U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship, hosted by Oakcliff Sailing.
The win for Roble marks her first U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship title in five attempts. Roble receives an invitation to the 2014 U.S. Match Racing Championship, which will be sailed October 3-5, 2014 at St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco, Calif. The U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship Committee will be providing travel grants to the team for both events.
She also receives an invitation to the 2014 Buddy Melges Challenge at Sail Sheboygan (Wis.) on September 23-28, 2014. Roble had previously earned a birth in the Buddy Melges Challenge, so Breault receives an invitation to the event as well.
For a play-by-play account of today’s racing, including the Roble vs. Breault finals, visit the #USWomensMRC Twitter feed.
Crewing for Roble’s Epic Racing Team this week was Maggie Shea (Chicago, Ill.), Janel Zarkowsky (Annapolis, Md.), Martha Pitt (Newport, R.I.), Hollister Poole (Falmouth, Maine), Elizabeth Shaw (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada).
An exuberant Roble explained her team’s success this week: “We expected light air this weekend and we got a wide range of conditions, including heavy breeze today. We did a great job getting in good position for the finals. We had our hands full in the finals with Nicole’s team. They led us along the track, but we were able to get some lead changes. I thought we had great boathandling and Maggie did an amazing job downwind on the kite, which is where we made most of our moves.”
Roble advanced to the Finals with a 2-0 series win over Sandy Hayes (Scituate, Mass.) in this mornings semifinals. Breault also advanced to the finals with a 2-0 win over Katie Maxim (Napa, Calif.).
“We learned a lot this week in the Swedish Match 40s,” said Breault. “At times we felt like we were in control and other times it got hectic. Our hats off to Stephanie’s team. In more breeze they were able to handle their shute better. We are looking forward to our next chance to race at this championship.
In the Petit Finals, Maxim edged Hayes to take third place honors. Local competitor Madeline Gill (Oyster Bay, N.Y.) won the four-team consolation round.
Roble placed third at the ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship last June in Cork, Ireland. Roble is the third ranked women’s match racer in the world and #1 in the U.S. She also won the 2013 Stena Match Cup Sweden Women’s Trophy. She returned to the U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship after placing second last year in Chicago.
Access the full sailor list with crew.
On Thursday, Oakcliff Executive Director Dawn Riley – a world-renowned sailor – conducted a match racing clinic for the competing teams. Oakcliff Sailing is one of the premier high-performance training centers in the country and was named a US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider National Training Center in 2013.
Prizes
- Perpetual Trophies were awarded for first and second place: Allegra Knapp Mertz Trophy (winner), Mrs. Charles Francis Adams Memorial Trophy (runner-up)
- US Sailing Gold, Silver and Bronze medals will be awarded to the skippers and crews placing first through third, respectively.
This US Sailing National Championship event is sponsored by Gill North America. The championship is a Sailors for the Sea – Clean Regattas certificated event.
For Immediate Release
Contact: Jake Fish, US Sailing Communications Manager, 401.683.0800 x614, jakefish@ussailing.org
About US Sailing
The United States Sailing Association (US Sailing), the national governing body for sailing, provides leadership, integrity, and growth for the sport in the United States. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, US Sailing is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. US Sailing offers training and education programs for instructors and race officials, supports a wide range of sailing organizations and communities, issues offshore rating certificates, and provides administration and oversight of competitive sailing across the country, including National Championships and the US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org.
About Gill North America
Gill NA, with headquarters near Atlanta, GA is the exclusive importer and distributor of Gill-brand foul weather gear in North America including Caribbean, US and Canada. Gill is a worldwide apparel and accessories brand serving the marine industry with over three decades of experience. Gill specializes in high tech, breathable waterproof clothing. The company develops and markets a variety of performance-oriented, award-winning apparel and accessories for virtually every type of boating activity with product lines that include foul weather gear; interactive layering systems; footwear; gloves; bags; junior gear; scholastic gear and team wear. Gill products are available through hundreds of independent dealers and select West Marine Stores. For further information, please contact: Gary Barker at 941 505 2111 or gary.barker@gillna.com.
About Oakcliff Sailing
Oakcliff Sailing, Oyster Bay, NY is the only complete training and coaching center in the world. With two signature programs, the Sapling and Acorn, Oakcliff’s goal is to create complete sailors, who are capable of sailing in any position, fixing every aspect of a boat, and managing a small business. They train sailors in inshore racing including match, high performance, and fleet racing as well as offshore racing including fully crewed and short handed. Our sailors also have access to historically significant classic yachts. Oakcliff is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization open to all sailors of all ages and levels. In 2013, Oakcliff has also been named an official US Sailing Team Sperry Topsider Training center with 8 each of the Olympic Classes: Nacra 17, 49er and 49er-fx.