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World MR Tour leader Ian Williams
is putting in an impressive, and efficient, performance
at the St. Moritz Match Race.
Williams (GBR) is a perfect 9-0 and has sailed the
minimum number of races necessary in qualifying
for the Final. He’ll meet two-time St. Moritz champion
Mark Mendelblatt (USA) for the ‘King of the Mountain’
title on Sunday.
It was a busy day on Lake St. Moritz with the Race
Committee anxious to take advantage of the good
wind and sunny skies. The sun brought the spectators
out in force and the grandstand, along with a good
portion of the shoreline, was crowded with interested
match racing fans.
In one of the Semi Finals, Williams was able to
get the better of Swiss crowd favourite Eric Monnin
on the start line, and in both matches he preserved
that early advantage around the race course.
In the other Semi Final, Mark Mendelblatt also earned
his wins over defending St. Moritz champion Paolo
Cian (ITA) in the pre-starts. In the first match,
he was able to luff up and just squeeze in at the
pin end of the starting line. As a bonus, this manoeuvre
forced Cian over the starting line early. By the
time the Italian had re-started, Mendelblatt was
in control.
In the second match, a pre-start penalty to Cian
just before the gun fired put the American in control
and he held on to sweep the Semi Final 2-0. Following
the race, Mendelblatt said he’s excited about the
challenge of meeting Williams for the title.
Earlier, Mendelblatt had to recover from a rare
‘black flag’ penalty to emerge from his Quarter
Final against Sébastien Col (FRA). Mendelblatt was
penalised three times in the pre-start and thus
disqualified from that race. He recovered quickly
however to win the next match and advance to the
Semi Final.
Col would beat Swiss sailor Matthias Renker in the
battle for seventh place. In the sail-off for fifth
and sixth, Mathieu Richard (FRA) beat Peter Evans
(NZL) who was subbing on the Alinghi team for the
injured Jochen Schuemann.
Semi Final Pairings and Results (First to two
points )
A - Ian Williams def. Eric Monnin - Ian Williams
def. Eric Monnin
B – Mark Mendelblatt def. Paolo Cian – Mark Mendelblatt
def. Paolo Cian
Sail off for 5th through 8th
Mathieu Richard def. Sébastien Col - Jochen Schuemann
(Peter Evans) def. Matthias Renker
Mathieu Richard (5th) def. Jochen Schuemann (Peter
Evans) (6th) Sébastien Col (7th) def. Matthias Renker
(8th)
Quarter Final Pairings and Results (First to
two points for A & B, three for C & D)
A - Ian Williams def. Matthias Renker - Ian Williams
def. Matthias Renker
B - Eric Monnin def. Jochen Schuemann (Peter Evans)
- Eric Monnin def. Jochen Schuemann (Peter Evans)
C - Mark Mendelblatt def. Sébastien Col - Mark Mendelblatt
def. Sébastien Col - Sébastien Col def. Mark Mendelblatt
- Mark Mendelblatt def. Sébastien Col
D - Paolo Cian def. Mathieu Richard - Mathieu Richard
def. Paolo Cian - Paolo Cian def. Mathieu Richard
- Paolo Cian def. Mathieu Richard
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