Ian Williams (GBR), Chris Poole (USA), Jeppe Borch (DEN) and Nick Egnot-Johnson (NZL) advance to the Congressional Cup semifinals.
After three days of double round robin racing in the 58th Congressional Cup by Long Beach Yacht Club, Poole, Williams, Borch and Egnot-Johnson have advanced to the semifinals.
Excitement will heat up as the Congressional Cup semifinals commence today, Friday 21 April.
Ideal conditions are forecast as racing continues through Saturday 22 April, when the finals are complete and the 2023 Congressional Cup champion is crowned.
Going into Day Three of the World Match Racing Tour opening event Poole remained undefeated; while Borch and Williams looked solid. But the fourth and final slot in the semis was up for grabs.
With six flights remaining, Egnot-Johnson and Eric Monnin (SUI) were in the hunt, while a rally from Megan Thomson (NZL) or Harry Price (AUS) could also have turned the tables.
After a six-race slump, Egnot-Johnson rebounded to take match 17 over Thomson, when she was OCS; putting Egnot-Johnson and Monnin in a sudden death position. In better breeze Egnot-Johnson commanded the race to triumph in that tie-breaking match.
Defending Congressional Cup champion and six-time World Champion, Britain’s Ian Williams (GBR) has won an astonishing five Crimson Blazers in 12 attempts.
“Congressional Cup is the first event on the 2023 World Match Racing Tour, so it’s very important for us to start the year strong, in our bid for our seventh match racing World Championship,” he pointed out.
Williams noted his is one of the more senior teams on the lineup: with only one crew member under 40. By contrast several opponents have much younger crews like Jeppe Borch (DEN), 25 and Nick Egnot-Johnson (NZL), 24 nipping at his heels.
