60th Anniversary Congressional Cup Day 4 - Semi Finals conclude in light air conditions
by World Match Racing Tour 4 May 17:57 NZST
April 30 – May 4, 2025
Poole and Tapper cross the finish line after a tight race on day 4 of the 60th Congressional Cup © Ian Roman / WMRT
Light airs and overcast conditions brought high-stakes racing to the penultimate day of the 60th Congressional Cup in Long Beach as the final four teams advanced to the semi-finals.
USA's Chris Poole and Switzerland's Eric Monnin secured their semi-final spots early, while Long Beach's Dave Hood and Australian Cole Tapper clawed their way to make up the final four with must-win victories. After two matches of the semi-final stage, Poole leads Tapper 2-0 into tomorrow's final day, with Monnin sitting 2-0 over Hood.
After a steady campaign through the week, defending champion Poole entered the final day of the round robin with his semi-final position locked in place. Monnin sealed his advancement with wins against Berntsson and Poole, clearing the way for a battle between four skippers—Tapper (AUS), Hood (USA), Hansen (SWE), and Berntsson (SWE)—for the final two spots.
Hood and Tapper both lost their first races of the day, putting their semi-final hopes at risk. But both bounced back under pressure, scoring decisive wins in their second matches to claim the last two semi-final places.
"This morning, we had two very important races to get into the semi-finals. It was a tight race against Nicole, and we managed to win that, which was very much a must-win race," said Tapper. "The whole team is stoked to be in the semi-finals, and we had an incredible first race against Chris. Tomorrow, we're going to focus on having fun because that's when we operate the best."
Poole chose to face Tapper and his Sydney-based team in their semi-final pairing. The two skippers delivered an action-packed start, with Tapper incurring multiple red-flag penalties in the pre-start that forced him behind off the start. But the young Australian team stayed composed, closing the gap all the way around the course.
"We're back to where we were last year, and things are clicking in the right direction. Our plan is to keep improving one race at a time," said Poole on making it to the semi-final. "We've been here twice before, and we feel like all the pieces are there, so if we do what we know we can do, everything will come together for us."
In the second match, Monnin and Hood traded close quarters in both of their races, but the Swiss skipper and his Capvis Swiss Match Racing Team - known to favour the light airs - found their stride as the breeze faded, securing a second win and finishing the day with a commanding 2-0 lead.
"We started the day in a comfortable situation, but we were not locked into the semi-finals," commented Monnin on the day. "So, it was a big relief to win the race against Johnie Berntsson, and nice to get the win on Chris Poole. But it's a big day tomorrow against Hood, we hope to keep the momentum up. It's on us to do well and we've never felt so close."
"Today, we needed to come out and get it done and we had a good race with Björn Hansen and that put us into the semi-finals," said Hood. "We're looking forward to racing Eric more tomorrow, who got a jump on us today, but we're going to come out swinging tomorrow and see how it goes."
Racing continues tomorrow with the conclusion of the semi-finals and the finals to follow, where the remaining two teams will battle for the coveted Crimson Blazer.
Follow the action on World Match Racing Tour and Congressional Cup social media channels, with live coverage continuing through the finals on World Match Racing Tour YouTube channel.
For more information, visit www.thecongressionalcup.com. For updates and race coverage from the World Match Racing Tour, visit wmrt.com.