Past Champions - U.S. Match Racing Championships

by Marlieke de Lange Eaton on 25 Sep 2008 Twelve teams comprised of the country's foremost sailors will gather today at Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club (Oyster Bay, N.Y.) to face off in US SAILING's 2008 U.S. Match Racing Championship (USMRC) for the Prince of Wales Bowl. Racing in Sonars on Long Island Sound from Thursday, September 25 through Sunday, September 28, the Regatta is sponsored by Rolex Watch U.S.A. and Dry Creek Vineyard.
The Championship, which traces its roots back to 1931, has a rich history of intense racing among this country's finest sailors. This event is also credited with the development of rules and practices upon which modern day America's Cup races are based. The 2008 Championship is sure to live up to its rich tradition as the competitors list is stacked with past champions and some of U.S. match racing's most recognized names.

2005 and 2007 USMR Champion and 2008 Ficker Cup winner Brian Angel (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) hopes to put together back-to-back wins for King Harbor Yacht Club (Calif.) and become the second skipper in the history of the event to claim the title three times. The first team to accomplish that feat was the 1999, 2000 and 2001 team of Watch Hill Yacht Club (R.I.) led by Mason Woodworth. Standing in Angel's way will be another formidable team seeking a three-peat led by 1984 and 2002 champion Dave Dellenbaugh (Easton, Conn.) sailing for Pequot Yacht Club.

Other veteran USMRC competitors include two-time champion Dave Perry (Easton, Conn.), who claimed the title in both 1982 and 2006 and is representing Pequot Yacht Club this year; 2003 champion Nathan Hollerbach of Grosse Pointe, Mich. representing Bayview and Kerby Yacht Clubs; 2007 third-place finisher Scott DeCurtis of Redondo Beach, Calif. representing King Harbor Yacht Club; and 2007 fifth-place finisher Jon Singsen from Old Greenwich, Conn. representing New York and Larchmont Yacht Clubs.

While the other teams may be newcomers to the championship, they come with impressive backgrounds of their own, including Southern Yacht Club's John Loe (Baton Rouge, La.), who was third at the 2008 World University Championship last July. All the competitors at the U.S. Match Racing Championship will have their work cut out for them, including skippers Mark Johnson (Appleton, Wis., representing Neenah Nodaway Yacht Club), Donald Wilson (Chicago, Ill. of Chicago Yacht Club), Taylor Canfield (St. Thomas, USVI, representing St. Thomas Yacht Club), Neil Williamson (Oyster Bay, N.Y. of Oak Cliff Yacht Club) and Geoff Becker (Arnold, Md. for the Severn Sailing Association).

Complete results, daily reports, and photos from the event will be posted on the event website at www.ussailing.org/championships/adult/usmrc. The U.S. Match Racing Championship for the Prince of Wales Bowl 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. Match Racing Championship is sponsored by Rolex Watch U.S.A. Dry Creek Vineyard sponsors several U.S. Championships, including the U.S. Match Racing Championship.

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.