FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Marlieke de Lange Eaton
401-683-0800
Steeped in Tradition, U.S. Women’s Sailing Championship Again Features Nation’s Top Women Sailors
Portsmouth, R.I. (September 17, 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.
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