Andrew Campbell (San Diego, Calif./Georgetown University) sailed away from the fleet to win impressively in both races today of the men’s Laser regatta of the 2005 Summer World University Games. The two victories are Campbell’s first of the event and, combined with two thirds and two fifth place finishes move him to a current number two ranking overall, just one point behind Johan Cechosz of France, if the event were to end today. Anna Tunnicliffe (Norfolk, Va./Old Dominion University) made it a three out of four first place day for the Americans as she won race six of the women’s Laser Radial, her second race win in as many days. Tunnicliffe struggled in the first race this afternoon, finishing tenth. Americans Brendan Fahey (Kingston, Wash./University of Washington) and Jenny Gervais (Charleston, S.C./St. Mary’s College of Maryland) both posted their best finishes thus far of the regatta, with Fahey finishing fourth in race six and Gervais finishing seventh in race five. Fahey was 22nd in race five, while Gervais was 14th in race six.

“It feels good,” said Campbell. “I’m pretty comfortable in the lighter air and I had to make today count, I think. I was trying to let the other guys make a mistake and I think that not only did that happen today, but I got to put together a couple of pretty good races. I stuck to my pretty conservative style and it ended up working in my favor, so I was pretty happy with it. It’s good to be out in front and have a nice pad there and just be able to watch how the rest of the race unfolds and know that everybody else knows that you’re out there ahead and that they can’t catch you. It’s a pretty big psychological advantage I think. I’m pretty happy about it.”

Tunnicliffe who remains in second place of the current overall standings added, “It felt good to finish on a good note again. The first race, I had a great start and just got a little too nervous and made some mistakes half way up the first leg and it cost me a top five finish. I’ve now got a sixth and a tenth which I am a little disappointed about, but the rest of my results are good. It’s going to be a long regatta. We’re half way through, but we still have a lot of races to go. I’m feeling good and I know I can do it, so hopefully I will able to put it all together and do it.”
On his fourth place finish in race six, Fahey said, “Everything just seemed to go better for me. I got off the line well and sort of played some shifts. When you’re up in the front, it’s a lot easier to stay there than to get there, so that was good. I think what I really need to work on is being more consistent. I had a really terrible fifth race, but then the last one was good. If I can just be more consistent that would be a step in the right direction. Hopefully the next half of the regatta I can do that.”

On her best day of sailing in the regatta thus far, Gervais commented, “It felt really good. It was nice to be able to be up in the pack and think with the fleet. I wish I could have pulled out something a little bit better because there were definitely moments I was higher up than that, but I’m not going to be a complainer. I had a much better start in the second race than I did in the first set today.”

USA Head Coach and Team Leader Gary Bodie (Hampton, Va.), overall was pleased with his team’s performance despite a couple of missed opportunities. “It was an outstanding day in both the men and the women. Andrew Campbell combined speed with smarts. He was just unbeatable. He won both races by a good margin, really convincing, really well done. Anna (Tunnicliffe) had two chances to do really well. The first one turned into a bit of a problem, but the second one she came through, put the first one behind her and had a great race. Actually she had to pass the Irish girl twice. She passed her on her first run and then passed her again on the last run to get the win. Brendan (Fahey) had an outstanding race in the second one, so he got another keeper. Jenny sailed well today. She had a great first race and she looked like she was doing really well in the second until the wind came up just a little bit for her. It was a solid day all around.”

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