ISAF Match Race Rankings - Leroy, Williams on top
by ISAF on 18 Apr 2013
Great Britain’s Ian Williams is on top of the Open match race rankings in the latest ISAF World Ranking Gareth Cooke/Subzero Images
Claire Leroy (FRA) has moved to World's number one in the Women’s Match Race Rankings, knocking Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) off the top after the American held top spot since 7 September 2011. In the Open Match Race Rankings Ian Williams (GBR) maintains a healthy advantage over the chasing pack.
Open Ranking
Great Britain’s Ian Williams remains a mainstay at the top of the Open Match Race Rankings whilst there has been some shifting of places in the top 25.
Congressional Cup, winner Simone Ferrarese (ITA) moves to World's number 11, a personal best for the Italian match racer. In a light wind finish in California, USA the Italian overcame the experienced Ed Baird (USA) in a one-race championship showdown. Ferrarese defeated Baird by 54 seconds to secure his first ISAF Grade 1 victory.
Baird moves back into the rankings for the first time since February 2011 counting only his second place in the Congressional Cup which puts him at World's number 266.
Taylor Canfield (ISV) qualified for the Congressional Cup by taking the honours at the ISAF Grade 2 Ficker Cup. He followed his victory up with a sixth at the Congressional Cup to take him to World's number five, his best ranking to date.
Trofeo Sir Thomas Lipton Match Race, an ISAF Grade 2 regatta, victor Joachim Aschenbrenner (DEN) moves up two places to World's number 18.
ISAF Nations Cup 2013 Regional Final South America winner Henrique Haddad drops one place to World number 37 whilst runner up Juan Grimaldi moves from World number 315 to World number 270.
New Zealand’s Chris Steele continues to progress nicely up the rankings after a third at the ISAF Grade 3 Hardy Cup and he counts six regattas to reach World number 37. Hardy Cup victor David Chapman (AUS) climbs from world's number 89 to world's number 42.
Further down the rankings Sam Gilmour (AUS) moves into the top 100 for the first time after a busy February where he took in three Grade 3 regattas, winning one and finishing third in the other.
Tomislav Basic (CRO)is the biggest mover this month following victories at the February Match Race and April Match Race in Scarlino, Italy. Top honours at the Grade 3 events have catapulted the Croatian from world's number 181 to world's number 58, however he is some distance away from his best ranking of world's number 10 that he achieved over 13 years ago.
Women’s Rankings
Claire Leroy (FRA) has dislodged Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) from the top of the Women’s Match Race Rankings. Leroy’s last match racing appearance at a Graded event came at the ISAF Grade 1 Busan Cup Women’s International Match Race in October 2012 whereas Tunnicliffe’s was the ISAF Women’s Match Racing Worlds in June 2012. Based on the 24-month rolling system both sailors count eight regattas but Leroy has shown more consistency in the current period which reflects in the April 2013 rankings release.
Just one Grade 2 event was sailed in the latest rankings period, the ISAF Nations Cup 2013 Regional Final South America. The final was sailed between Brazil’s Juliana Senftt and Argentina’s Martina Silva in Mar Del Plata, Argentina.
The Brazilian took the honours by four races to two and qualified Brazil for the ISAF Nations Cup Grand Final in Middelfart, Denmark. The result also bumped Senfft up two places to World's number 14 and the Argentinean up three places to World's number 19.
Kathleen Stroinovsky (AUS) took a convincing gold at the Marinassess Women’s Match Racing regatta in Sydney, Australia. The victory at the ISAF Grade 3 regatta has moved her from World's number 188 to World's number 53. Also reaping the rewards from a strong performance in Sydney is Milly Bennett (AUS). The Australian came through in third and subsequently climbs up to World's number 47 from World's number 154.
New Zealand’s Susannah Pyatt sailed as crew with Stephanie Hazard’s women’s match racing crew at the London 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition, but Pyatt took to the helm recently. At her first attempt at the helm Pyatt won the ISAF Grade 3 New Zealand Women’s Match Racing Championship in Auckland, New Zealand. As her first graded event she moves to World's number 52. Runner-up Melinda Henshaw (NZL) also counts her first graded event and sits at World's number 58.
Singapore’s Denise Lim has enjoyed success at two ISAF Grade 5 regattas in Singapore in February which has bumped the Singaporean up to world's number 40 from World's number 77.
Match racing - Open - Wednesday 17 April 2013