U.S. women's Olympic sailing team and LIer Debbie Capozzi suffers setback
Anna Tunnicliffe, Debbie Capozzi and Molly O'Bryan Vandemoer of the United States in action during day one of the Elliott 6 meter match racing class during the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Weymouth & Portland Venue at Weymouth Harbour. (July 29, 2012) Credit: Getty Images
An "unforced error" and Sunday's setback weren't enough to take the wind out of Debbie Capozzi's sails . . . figuratively.
The Bayport native is a member of the U.S. women's Olympic sailing team, which went 1-1 Sunday on Day 1 of the Elliott 6-meter tournament's round-robin stage. Team USA, which is favored to win, beat Denmark in its opening match but lost to Spain in a later race.
Capozzi's team caught the anchor line, which stopped them briefly and allowed Spain to build an insurmountable lead. Spain completed the course in 17:01, Team USA in 18:06.
"We kind of made an unforced error by hitting the windward mark and we got stuck in it," Capozzi, 31, said in an interview with US Sailing.
Nevertheless, Team USA is tied for fourth place. They earned a point by beating Denmark, 18:00 to 18:05, in the early race. "Those guys are great competitors and we managed to edge them out," said Capozzi, who is teamed with skipper Anna Tunnicliffe and Molly Vandemoer in the three-person boat.
The round robin will continue until Saturday, with the top teams advancing to the quarterfinals, which begin Aug. 7. Australia, Spain and Russia, as it stands, are each 2-0 and tied for first.
"Match racingwise, we had a great day and that's the biggest positive we're taking from today and building upon," Capozzi said. "We had an unforced error, but we're not giving it too much thought. Everyone makes errors, so we're moving on."
Team USA will race again Monday, squaring off against Portugal and Australia.
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