Miami OCR - Solid day for US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics

by Dana Paxton on 27 Jan 2012 US Sailing’s Rolex Miami OCR 2012, the second stop on the International Sailing Federation’s Sailing World Cup circuit, fourth day of racing kicked off today on the waters of Biscayne Bay.

The fourth day of racing saw consolidation in all of the classes, and for US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics athletes it was a day of solid performance in SKUD-18, Finn, Laser Radial, 49er, and Women’s RS:X. In Women’s Match Racing, Sally Barkow’s Team 7 Match Race of Alana O’Reilly (Charleston, S.C.) and Elizabeth Kratzig (Miami, Fla.) defeated Tamara Echegoyen (ESP) in three straight matches to advance to the Semi-Final Round on Friday.

'It was a good match up against the Spanish,' said Barkow after racing. The last time Barkow faced Olivia Price (AUS) was at the Olympic Test Event in August, 2011, although she pointed out that they will prepare for tomorrow’s match in the same manner as they prepare for any match.'We are disciplined in our game plan, basically we aim to not make any mistakes. Since we haven’t raced against them much, in a way it’s good because we can race our own race. She’s been sailing well and she’s pretty fast, we’ll have to be on our game.'

This event serves as the selection event for the US Paralympic Team.

In the US Paralympic Team Trials, positions continue to be close across all three Paralympic classes, especially in the Sonar class where Rick Doerr (Clifton, N.J.), Brad Kendell (Tampa, Fla.) and Hugh Freund (South Freeport, Me.) have a one point lead over Paul Callahan (Cape Coral, Fla./Newport R.I.), Tom Brown (Castine, Me.) and Bradley Johnson (Pompano Beach, Fla.). The teams are fifth and sixth, respectively.

For full standings on the US Paralympic Team Trials, head to the Trials Tracker here.

Zach Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) Zach Railey continued his dominance in the Finn, winning a race and finishing third in the other. He now has a comfortable lead on the fleet with second-place Jonas Hogh Christensen (DEN) a full 10 points back in second.

Erik Storck (Huntington, N.Y.) and Trevor Moore (Pomfret, Vt./Naples, Fla.) held onto their second place overall in the 49er class, behind class leaders Delle Karth/Nikolaus (AUT). Watch 'How to Prepare a 49er' with Storck and Moore.



Farrah Hall (Annapolis, Md.) added another win to her scoreline and strengthened her third overall in the 12-boat Women’s RS:X windsurfing class.

Anna Tunnicliffe’s (Plantation, Fla.) Team Maclaren of Molly Vandemoer (Redwood City, Calif.) and Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.) lost their Quarter-Final Round match up, against Lucy MacGregor’s team (GBR), 2-3. Team Maclaren will race on Friday for fifth-eighth places.

Paralympic Team Selection Members of USSTAG who are vying for a spot on the 2012 U.S. Paralympic Sailing Team will compete in the three Paralympic classes. Track American athletes as they qualify for the 2012 Games in the US Olympic and Paralympic Trials Tracker.

http://sailingteams.ussailing.org" target="_blank">USSTAG website