ISAF Nations Cup Grand Final – Australian trio in Bronze medal playoff
by Craig Heydon on 18 Sep 2011
Price, Curtis and Whitty at the ISAF Nations Cup Grand Final Sail Sheboygan - copyright
ISAF Nations Cup Grand Final, hosted by Sail Sheboygan, one of four US Sailing Centers is currently underway at Sheboygan, Wisconsin, USA. Australian sailors are set to race for the Bronze medal, on the final day of racing, after a hard fought semi-final.
The Australian Women’s Match Racing Team crew of Olivia Price, Nina Curtis and Lucinda Whitty lost their semi-final match up against Rita Gonclaves of Portugal three wins to two in Wisconsin.
The trio will now take on the Dutch crew skippered by Mandy Mulder in the Bronze medal playoff on Sunday.
Price and crew went into the semi-finals in first position following their eight wins from nine races earlier in the week, allowing them the first choice of competitors for the best of five semi-final.
The Australians decided to take on the Portuguese crew who were fourth overall and made the best possible start, opening up a two-nil lead.
But Gonclaves and her crew fought back well, winning the next two races to take the semi-final to a fifth and deciding race.
The Portuguese came out on top in the fifth race to progress to the final, with Price and crew to go up against the Dutch for Bronze.
The crews were greeted by great sailing conditions on Lake Michigan with 15-knot southeast breezes and a steady swell throughout the day.
The ISAF Nations Cup Grand Final is a bi-annual event with teams qualifying through a series of regional events. Australia qualified after defeating New Zealand in the Oceania final in Sydney in May.
Racing continues in Sheboygan until Sunday 18 September.
For more information on the Australian Women’s Match Racing Team visit the
Australian Sailing Team ISAF Nations Cup website
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