Breault Earns Fourth Career U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship in San Diego

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Photo from 2021 U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship. Photo by Mark Mark Albertazzi.

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Nicole Breault, Molly Carapiet, Karen Loutzenheiser, and Julie Mitchell at 2021 U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship.

Breault Earns Fourth Career U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship in San Diego 

St. Francis Yacht Club Defeats Scuttlebutt Sailing Club in Finals 

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (August 22, 2021) – The stage was set for a Super Sunday showdown in the Finals at the 2021 U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship, hosted by the San Diego Yacht Club. 

Nicole Breault (San Francisco, Calif.) and the team representing the St. Francis Yacht Club, including Molly Carapiet (San Francisco, Calif.), Karen Loutzenheiser (Santa Cruz, Calif.), and Julie Mitchell (San Diego, Calif.) won Sunday’s Finals match-up against Janel Zarkowsky (Annapolis, Md.) and the Scuttlebutt Sailing Club team featuring Annabelle Ayer (Marblehead, Mass.), Madeline Gill (Charleston, S.C.), and Rose Edwards (Chicago, Ill.). They won 3-0 capping an undefeated regatta. Zarkowsky had leads in Races 2 and 3 of the Finals. However, they were carrying penalties in both races that they could not overcome in the end.  

The win for Breault marks her fourth career win at the U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship. The four-time champion skipper earned this title in 2018, 2016, and 2015. Carapiet and Loutzenheiser sailed with Breault in all four championship runs. 

Breault and her team was perfect in the Round Robin stage that took place on Friday and wrapped up on Saturday. They won all nine matches and entered the Knock-out stage as the number one seed. The team went on to defeat Marilyn Cassedy (California Yacht Club/Los Angeles, Calif.), 2-0, in the Quarterfinals. They followed that winning performance with another 2-0 win in the Semifinals over Bridget Groble (Chicago Yacht Club/Chicago, Ill.) to advance to Sunday’s Finals. 

“Our teamwork sailing the J/22s has been refined over the years,” said Breault. “We were solid and could get our heads out of the boat to account for a lot of the fleet racing factors that happen in match racing. Transitioning from light to windier conditions and reacting to pressure was the key to speed.”

“I love match racing because it’s all or nothing,” she added. “You feel the thrill of victory and agony of defeat. It’s so intense and being able to pull together as a team is a great experience.”

Janel Zarkowsky, Annabelle Ayer, Madeline Gill, and Rose Edwards at the 2021 U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship.

Zarkowsky entered the Knock-out stage as the number two seed after going 8-1 in the Round Robin stage. Their only defeat was to Breault. They defeated Marbella Marlow (Newport Harbor Yacht Club/Newport Beach, Calif.), 2-0, in the Quarterfinals. They went on to edge 2019 Champion Allie Blecher (California Yacht Club/Signal Hill, Calif.), 2-1, in the Semifinals to advance to the Finals for a rematch with Breault.  

“It was really challenging today with the best pressure on the left and a big right shift,” said Zarkowsky. We had to decide which one was worth it on the bottom half of the course. So the crew would make the call, and ultimately the right side was getting us back into races.”

“I love match racing because it is so intense, so precise, and so fun,” she added. “It’s so rewarding and we keep coming back for more.”

By winning this event, Breault receives an automatic invitation to compete at the 2021 U.S. Match Racing Championship, hosted by Long Beach Yacht Club on October 1-3, 2021.  

Groble defeated Blecher in a closely contested Petit Finals this afternoon, 2-1, to take third place honors. Groble won the last two races of the series after Blecher won the first race. Blecher had defeated Groble in their Round Robin match.  

Bridget Groble, Morgan Collins, Rachel Perry, and Aisling Sullivan at the 2021 U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship.

The event was sailed in the J/22 and the racing was conducted right off the San Diego city front in San Diego Bay near the Grape Street pier. 

Saturday’s racing conditions included shifty winds that led to 11 course re-sets by the Race Committee, both before the start and during the races. Teams completed seven Round Robin races on Friday and the final two races of that round on Saturday. The breeze was steady on Friday with a wind velocity low of 6 knots and a high of 11.  

A coaching clinic on Thursday, August 19 was conducted by professional sailor and coach Steve Hunt, courtesy of the David Storrs Match Racing Committee fund. 

About the U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship 

The U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship developed from the U.S. Women’s Open Championship regatta that was founded in 1974 for fleet racing in doublehanded and singlehanded divisions. A boardsailing championship was added in 1981. In 2000, a motion to change the event from fleet racing to match racing was passed and the first U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship was held at Southern Yacht Club (New Orleans, La.) in November 2002. 

The Allegra Knapp Mertz Trophy is presented to the winner in honor of Allegra Knapp Mertz, a four-time winner of the U.S. Women’s National Championship and many years of service as Chairperson of the Women’s Championship Committee. The Adams Memorial Trophy is presented to the runner-up in honor of Mrs. Henry (Adams) Morgan. 

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US Sailing Communications
Jake Fish, jakefish@ussailing.org  

About US Sailing
The United States Sailing Association (US Sailing), the national governing body for sailing, provides leadership, integrity, and growth for the sport in the United States. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Bristol, Rhode Island, US Sailing is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. 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 US Sailing Team. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org.   

 

San Diego Yacht Club to Host 2021 U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship 

Past Champions Return to Race for the Allegra Knapp Mertz Trophy 

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (August 19, 2021) – The San Diego Yacht Club and US Sailing have invited 10 teams to Southern California for three days of exciting racing at the 2021 U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship. 

Skipper Allie Blecher (Long Beach, Calif.) and her crew including main trimmer and tactician Beka Schiff (Los Angeles, Calif.), trimmer Krysia Pohl (San Francisco, Calif.) and bowperson Ali Blumenthal (Bellport, N.Y.) won the 2019 U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship in Detroit. Blecher, Schiff, and Blumenthal have returned to defend their title from two years ago and this year they will be joined by crew Simone Staff (Los Angeles, Calif.). 

Returning to compete for her fourth Allegra Knapp Mertz Trophy is Nicole Breault (San Francisco, Calif.). The three-time champion skipper earned U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship titles in 2018, 2016, and 2015. In 2018, Breault and her St. Francis Yacht Club (StFYC) crew of Molly Carapiet (San Francisco, Calif.), Hannah Burroughs (San Francisco, Calif.) and Karen Loutzenheiser (Santa Cruz, Calif.) ran the table without a single loss. Breault will be sailing this week with Carapiet, Loutzenheiser, and Julie Mitchell (San Diego, Calif.). Carapiet and Loutzenheiser sailed with Breault in all three championship runs. 

The event will be sailed in the J/22 and the intended race area will be along the San Diego city front in San Diego Bay near the Grape Street pier. The event format will consist of Round Robin(s), Knock-out Series, and a Finals Series. The racing format is subject to change. 

“The caliber of racing at this event will be high,” said Betsy Alison, Adult Sailing Director at US Sailing. “The ten teams competing are skilled and eager to take it to the racecourse. Game on! It is likely that the battle will continue well into the Finals. I hope our match racing aficionados will follow this event closely.” 

Summer Greene, Event Principal Race Officer, also commented on this week’s women’s match racing in San Diego. “SDYC’s match racing program is in it’s 13th year and we are excited that the program has helped many of the competitors reach a level where they are able to compete in match racing championships on the national and international stage. The San Diego City Front is a great venue for match racing the club owned J/22s. Flat water and breezes of 6 to 9 knots will challenge the competitors light air sailing skills, against the downtown skyline.”

The top placing eligible skipper will be invited to the 2021 U.S. Match Racing Championship, hosted by Long Beach Yacht Club on October 1-3, 2021.  

A coaching clinic on Thursday, August 19 will be conducted by professional sailor and coach Steve Hunt, courtesy of the David Storrs Match Racing Committee fund. Hunt has won 15 National and North American Championships and three World titles. 

The U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship developed from the U.S. Women’s Open Championship regatta that was founded in 1974 for fleet racing in doublehanded and singlehanded divisions. A boardsailing championship was added in 1981. In 2000, a motion to change the event from fleet racing to match racing was passed and the first U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship was held at Southern Yacht Club (New Orleans, La.) in November 2002. 

The Allegra Knapp Mertz Trophy is presented to the winner in honor of Allegra Knapp Mertz, a four-time winner of the U.S. Women’s National Championship and many years of service as Chairperson of the Women’s Championship Committee. The Adams Memorial Trophy is presented to the runner-up in honor of Mrs. Henry (Adams) Morgan. 

Follow the Racing 

US Sailing Communications
Jake Fish, jakefish@ussailing.org  

About US Sailing
The United States Sailing Association (US Sailing), the national governing body for sailing, provides leadership, integrity, and growth for the sport in the United States. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Bristol, Rhode Island, US Sailing is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. 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 US Sailing Team. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org.