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The win for Nicky Souter, Nina Curtis and Olivia Price makes it back to back ISAF Grade 1 event victories for the crew following their gold medal at the Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta in Weymouth last month.

'As a team we're really happy with how we're progressing,' said skipper Souter. 'To win consecutive Grade 1 regattas is a good lead up to our World Championship.'

'The competition here in Wisconsin was really tough, there were a lot of good teams competing including all the crews that took part in the ISAF Sailing World Cup,' she said. 'We had a mixed start to the week and just scraped into the quarter finals in eighth position, then did the same to head into the semi finals in fourth so we had our backs to the wall a lot of the time.'

Souter and crew took on American sailor Sally Barkow in the semi-final with the Australians coming out on top three wins to nil to book a place in the final.

The final was a trans-Tasman battle with Souter, Curtis and Price taking on the New Zealand crew of Samantha Osborne, Raynor Smeal and Susannah Pyatt with the Australians taking the regatta victory with a three to one win.

In the petit-final, Barkow took on the Danish team helmed by Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen and defeted her to take the bronze medal.

The conditions on Lake Michigan tested the crews throughout the week explains Olivia Price. 'It was a real light wind regatta but with incredibly choppy seas,' said Price. 'At times it was worse than the chop we sail in off the Sydney heads and tested everybody's skills, it was like sailing in a washing machine.'

'On one day a fog set in and it was surreal to be racing with fog lights to show where the course was,' she said. 'At one stage we headed around the top mark and pointed the boat in the direction we thought was right and hoped for the best.'

'Luckily for the last day it was a complete reversal and we got the finals raced in 10 knots of wind and flat water which made for some great racing,' said Price.

Fellow Australians Katie Spithill, Jessica Eastwell and Angela Farrell finished the regatta in sixth position after topping their group early in the regatta with the crew gaining more valuable time in the Elliott 6 metre boat that will be used at the 2012 London Olympic Games.

The two Australian crews will now remain in Wisconsin for a week of training aboard the Sonar boat which will be used for the upcoming World Championship before heading to Rhode Island next weekend.

'We're looking forward to spending some time aboard the Sonar in the coming days as most of us have never sailed one before,' said Souter. 'I saw one for the first time recently in Weymouth which the Australian Sailing Team's Paralympic crew was competing in and we're all keen to get out on the water and sail them.'

Final Results
1. Nicky Souter, Nina Curtis, Olivia Price (AUS)
2. Samantha Osborne, Raynor Smeal, Susannah Pyatt (NZL)
3. Sally Barkow, Susanne Leech, Elizabeth Kratzig (USA)
4. Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen, Susanne Boidin, Aimee Famularo (DEN)
5. Mandy Mulder, Merel Witteveen, Annemiek Bekkering (NED)
6. Katie Spithill, Jessica Eastwell, Angela Farrell (AUS)
7. Anna Tunnicliffe, Molly Vandemoer, Debbie Capozzi (USA)
8. Genevieve Tulloch, Alice Manard, Jennifer Chamberlin (USA)
9. Katie Abbott, Caroline Kaars Sijpesteijn, Joanne Prokop (CAN)
10. Ru Wang, Xiaowen Ni, Xiaoni Li (CHN)
11. Juliana Senfft, Gabriela Sa, Adriana Kostiw (BRA)
12. Juliana Poncioni Mota, Daniela Adler, Larissa Juk (BRA)
13. Maggie Shea, Jennifer Wilson, Stephanie Roble (USA)
14. Maegan Ruhlman, Abby Rowlands, Megan Riddle (USA)
15. Anne Marie Shewfelt, Liana Giovando, Sarah Foscarini (CAN)

Visit the event website for more information

ISAF Women's Match Racing World Champonship - http://www.sailing.org/womensmatchworlds.php