Fauré’s team is a highly experienced match racing group. Ranked #3 by ISAF, Marie has put together a team that includes Leroy, currently ranked #12 by ISAF; Pruvot, who finished 7th at the Women’s Match Race World Championships in 2001, and Feuerstein, an accomplished 470, Yngling and Melges 24 racer. Over the past two years, this team has had a successful run at a number of major match race events, finishing 5th at the 2002 BoatU.S. Santa Maria Cup, 1st at the Antibes Cup in France, 2nd at the Trentino Match Race in Italy, and 4th at the Rolex Osprey Cup in St. Petersburg, FL.

Skipper Giulia is now 17 years old, but her age belies her experience. Starting sailing at age 11, she quickly moved up the ranks of the Optimist dinghy class, winning a silver medal at the Optimist Europeans in 1998, a gold in at the same event in 1999, and then went on to win the 576 boat Optimist Internationals in 2000. That same year, at the age of 14, she sailed as a wild card in the Ledro Grade 1 Match Race, and made it to the semi-finals. 2002 was a banner year for Giulia and her match race team, placing third in three grade 1 events, BoatU.S. Santa Maria Cup, Rolex Osprey Cup and the Trentino Match Race. She and her team also placed 4th at the 2002 ISAF World Games in the J-22 class. The team is now committed to an Olympic Yngling campaign.

For Klaartje match racing started at the Santa Maria Cup in 1996. Before then she had sailed a lot of J22 fleet race regattas in Europe, which gave her a wild card for the Santa Maria. Because Françoise had done a lot of match racing at college, she joined Klaartje and teammates for the Santa Maria. This event (a fourth place was a great result!) gave the newly formed match racing team a jump start in the international women’s match racing circuit, ever since they have been regular faces at the international events. Prominent results are 1997 Dutch match race champions (mixed), 1998, second at ISAF world sailing championships, match racing women, 1999 winner of Coppa dei Campioni (mixed grade 3 event), 2000 european champions. The match racing team had a break, because Klaartje was driver aboard Amer Sports Too in the Volvo Ocean Race 2001/2002. In the autumn of 2002 the team came back on the circuit with a 4th, 3rd and 2nd place at grade 1 events. Klaartje (Amsterdam) has a masters in civil engineering and works for a high speed railroad under construction. Françoise (Amsterdam) is a certified sports doctor and works for a Dutch skating team, the Dutch sports medical facility and the Dutch swimming team. Nanda (Cowes) graduated in industrial design in 2002 and has spent the past few months working for the G4 Landrover series, the successor of the well-known Camel trophy. Trijntje Zuiderbaan (Amsterdam) will start working as a senior nurse on the cardiology ward in the University Hospital of Amsterdam on the first of June, she now works on the cardiac care unit in the same hospital.

The 2003 San Francisco Women’s Match Racing Team is Liz Baylis (San Rafael, CA) - skipper, Nancy Haberland (Annapolis, MD) - tactician, Karina Shelton (Watsonville, CA) – trimmer and Aimee Hess (Oakland, CA) – bow. Liz, Karina, and Aimee have been match racing together since early 2000 and are the current Women’s Match Racing World Champions. In 2002 Liz also won her class in the Pacific Cup (San Francisco to Hawaii) . By virtue of these victories, Liz was named the 2002 Rolex Yachtswomen of the Year. Nancy Haberland has won over 20 National, International, and World Titles as both skipper and crew. Among her victories include wins at the first Women’s Match Race Worlds in Dubai, UAE, Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship, US Women’s Doublehanded Nationals, and the US Women’s Singlehanded Nationals.

Our Match Racing Team is currently ranked #9 in ISAF World Rankings, and #1 in USA. They won the 2002 US Women’s Match Racing Nationals, and the 2002 Osprey Cup and were 4th at the Swedish Match Ladies Cup. The Team will compete at the 2003 World Championships in Sundsvall, Sweden in June, as well as 2003 Swedish Match Ladies Cup, Bermuda Gold Cup and the 2003 US Nationals. Betsy is a past Match Racing World Champion along with Dini Hall. Alison, Icyda and Leech are on the Olympic Campaign Trail in the Yngling class, where they are currently ranked #1 on the US Sailing Team and #2 in the ISAF February rankings. They are match racing as a cross training discipline for the Olympic class fleet racing in the Yngling fleet.

Team Texas won the Sundance Cup in April to Qualify for the Santa Maria Cup. They have been match racing together for over a year now and have improved in every event. They were the top American team in the Bermuda Women’s Match Race Championship last October placing Fourth.

The team goes under the name of ‘Team Tuve Bygg’. During 2002 the team did not sail at all since 4 of its members became mothers. There are actually 9 kids total in the ‘team family’. Still we manage to get some sailing done now and then... Malin’s resume includes 4 times Swedish Champion, 2nd Swedish Match Cup 2001, Swedish sailior of the Year 1993, winner of Tuborg Golden Lady Cup, Copenhagen, 2000, winner of Cap Gemini Midnight Lady Cup, 1999, 3rd Europe dinghy World Championships 1985, 2 times Swedish Chamipon in Europe dinghy, 3 times Swedish and Nordic Champion in 470 and finally, 3 times Swedish Champion in rowing.

In 1998, she won the BoatU.S. Santa Maria Cup, the Reed & Barton Cup and the Osprey Cup, and placed 5th in the World Match Racing Championship. She placed 14th in the Europe Dinghy Competition in the Atlanta Olympics and is currently pursuing an Olympic Campagin in the Yngling class.

Arabella Denvir comes from a dinghy sailing and collegiate team racing background in Ireland, followed by Sportsboat (8M One Design)racing in Malta. With her husband she has owned and operated two sailing businesses - first Malta Sailing School, and now Premier Sailing which is based in Irvington, Virginia. Since her arrival in the US four years ago she has concentrated on match racing and has competed several times in the Osprey Cup, placed second in the Rolex Women’s Match in 2003, and placed third in Sundance in 2000. On the foredeck for Santa Maria is Jessamine Lewis from Fort Worth Texas. Jessamine sails in the J22 circuit in Texas and this will be her 7th event with Arabella. Ashley Perrin from San Francisco will be trimming jib - Ashley is currently dashing around the world working as shore support for one of the Around Alone boats. This will be Ashley’s third event with this team. On main/spinnaker is the newest member of the team - Bridget Creney. Bridget Creney grew up racing 420s in the Hyannis Yacht Club junior sailing program, and then coached the Nantucket Yacht Club 420 team for three years. She sailed for Georgetown University in the class of 1996. Post-college racing has included some big boats and primarily Vanguard 15s in New England and San Francisco. Bridget currently sails Vanguard 15s and J22s in Annapolis. Entire team is looking forward to the challenge of sailing at the Santa Maria.

Carol Cronin, Liz Filter, and Bridget Hallawell are currently in the last intense year of a campaign to win the US berth for the Yngling class at the 2004 Olympic Games. "First Alternate" Linda Epstein will join us as trimmer for our return to match racing. Last year’s SMC was Carol’s first adventure as a match race skipper though she had previously participated in the SMC in every other position. Their second place finish convinced EYC to reinvite the team for 2003.