Top sailors for U.S. Women's Sailing Championship

by Marlieke de Lange Eaton on 18 Sep 2008 The U.S. Women's Sailing Championship for US SAILING's Mrs. Charles Francis Adams Cup and the Mrs. Willis D. Wood Trophy will be held at the Oklahoma City Boat Club (Okla.) this week, September 18-20. The event, sponsored by Rolex Watch U.S.A., was originated by William Upham Swan in 1924 and is widely believed to be the first women's championship ever held in the world.

Past winners of the tradition-steeped event include several US SAILING Rolex Yachtswomen of the Year, such as Betsy Alison, Sally Lindsay Honey, Allison Jolly, Timothea Larr, Cory Sertl, and Jody Swanson, to name just a few.

This year's competition, raced in J/22s on Lake Hefner, will feature eleven teams comprised of some of the most talented women sailors from throughout the United States. 2006 and 2002 U.S. Women's Champion Vicki Sodaro (Tiburon, Calif.) is looking to recapture her title with two of her veteran crew members, Stephanie Wondolleck (San Rafael, Calif.) and Emily French (Bingen, Wash.). No stranger to fierce competition, Susan Mattis Turnham (Duluth, Minn.), who has raced in four US SAILING Rolex International Women's Keelboat Championships and four J/22 North American Championships, will be one to watch.

The youngest skipper in the regatta, 19-year-old Shelby Aughtry (Edmond, Okla.) and fellow OKC Boat Club member Letty Eby (OKC, Okla.) will each skipper teams with a local knowledge advantage. Gretchen Curtis (Newport, R.I.), who crewed on the 2007 second-place team will bring both her own team and past experience to the Championship this year. Teams skippered by collegiate All-American Whitney Loufek (Costa Mesa, Calif.), Jennifer Gervais (Charleston, S.C.), Susan McDowell (Bay Village, Ohio), Alix Hahn (Norwalk, Conn.), Wendy Roach (Fort Worth, Texas) and Patricia McMahon (Shorewood, Wis.) round out the competitive fleet.

Complete results, daily reports, and photos from the event will be posted on the event website at www.ussailing.org/championships/adult/women/uswsc. The U.S. Women's Sailing Championship for the Mrs. Charles Francis Adams Cup and the Mrs. Willis D. Wood Trophy is part of US SAILING's National Championships series. For more information about these events, visit www.ussailing.org/championships.

About the Event Sponsors
As with all US SAILING Adult National Championships, the U.S. Women's Sailing Championship is sponsored by Rolex Watch U.S.A.

About US SAILING
The United States Sailing Association (US SAILING) is the national governing body for sailing. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, the organization provides leadership for the sport of sailing in the United States. 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 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Teams. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org.