Final Roster Announced for
America3 All-Women's America's Cup Team

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - June 1, 1994 - The America3 Foundation announced today the names of 23 women who have been chosen as the first all-women's team to compete in the 143 year history of the prestigious America's Cup yacht races.

The women were among the 44 finalists brought to San Diego to compete for a position on the team. In all, more than 650 women contacted America3 for an application. During each of the strenuous week-long tryouts, America3 coaches observed the women's performance on and off the water, evaluating each one against a number of criteria, including attitude, teamwork, motivation and athletic ability.

During the next several weeks the new team members will be moving to San Diego to begin the intensive sailing training program that will prepare them for the Defender trials, which begin in January 1995, and hopefully the final America's Cup match in May. They will also compete in the International America's Cup Class (IACC) World Cup Championship races that begin October 28, 1994. All the races will be held in San Diego.

Members of the media are invited to meet the new team and watch them sail together during their first joint public appearance at the America3 compound in San Diego on June 16, 1994. Details will be announced at a later date.


TEAM ROSTER (in alphabetical order)

Stephanie Armitage-Johnson (Auburn, Wash.) Age: 33. Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach for the University of Washington and world class weight lifter. Married.

Amy Baltzell (Wellesley, Mass.) Age: 28. Member of the 1992 Olympic Rowing Team.

Shelley Beattie (Marina Del Rey, Calif.) Age: 26. Professional body builder, most recently featured on the TV weekly show, "American Gladiators." Married.

Courtenay Becker (The Dalles, Oregon) Age: 29. Accomplished sailor, ranked no. 1 on U.S. Sailing Team for five years in a row from 1989 to 1994. Married.

Sarah Bergeron (Middletown, N.J.) Age: 21. A top-ranked collegiate rower and recent graduate of George Washington University.

Merritt Carey (Tenants Harbor, Maine) Age: 25. Currently foredeck/rigger for Dawn Riley on Heineken, the only all-women's crew in the 1993-94 Whitbread Round the World sailboat race.

Sarah Cavanagh (Denver, Colo.) Age: 35. Extensive racing experience includes the first all-women's crew in Southern Ocean Racing Circuit (SORC) and three-masted ships.

Elizabeth (Lisa) Charles (Providence, R.I.) Age: 24. Experienced racing and cruising sailor on a variety of boats throughout the Northeastern U.S., Caribbean, Southern England and the Mediterranean.

Leslie Egnot (born in Greenville, S.C.; lives in Auckland, NZ)
Age: 31. Numerous racing titles include 1992 Olympic Silver medal in women's sailing; New Zealand's Women's 470 champion every year since 1985; first place in the 1990 Women's World Keelboat Championships . Married.

Christie Evans (Marblehead, Mass.) Age: 31. A sales manager with extensive experience in sailboat racing, including the U.S. Rolex International Women's Keelboat championships.

Jennifer "JJ" Isler (San Diego, Calif.) Age: 30. 1992 Olympic Bronze medalist and two-time Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year, winner of numerous national and international titles and first woman to skipper on the international match racing circuit. Husband Peter Isler was navigator for Stars & Stripes in 1988. Daughter Marly is nearly eight months old.

Diana Klybert (Annapolis, Md.) Age: 35. Ten-year veteran of dozens of international races. Also a U.S. Coast Guard-licensed captain and divemaster.

Linda Lindquist (Chicago, IIl.) Age: 32. Experienced sailor with 23 years of racing experience. Also Co-Director of Development for America3.

Stephanie Maxwell-Pierson (Somerville, N.J.) Age: 30. 1992 Olympic Bronze Medalist in the Women's Pair rowing competition in Barcelona. Named by U.S. Rowing Association as 1990 and 1991 Female Athlete of the Year. Director of sales with Embassy Suites in Philadelphia. Married.

Susanne (Suzy) Leech Nairn (Annapolis, Md.) Age: 27. Aerospace engineer and consultant to NASA's Microgravity Division with 17 years of racing and sailing experience. Married.

Annie Nelson (San Diego, Calif.) Age: 35. Her 26 years of racing experience includes three times as part of the U.S. Women's World Sailing Team and more than 50 championships. Silver medalist in the 1984 Olympic Board Sailing Exhibition. Married to naval architect Bruce Nelson of the PACT 95 America's Cup syndicate and mother of two.

Jane Oetking (Wellington, New Zealand and Rockwall, Texas)
Age: 27. Has competed in 50 foot yachts in more than 30 international World Cup races since 1989. Married.

Merritt Palm (Detroit, Mich.) Age: 25. Veteran of a variety of races, including the Adams Cup, and currently ranked in the top 10 in the U.S. in the European Dinghy Class circuit.

Katherine (Katie) Pettibone (Port Huron, Mich.) Age: 21. Student at the University of Miami, certified diver and racing sailor for most of her life, mostly in Michigan and Florida

Marci Porter (Oakton, Va.) Age: 27. Member of the national rowing team from 1991 to 1993, 1992 alternate for the Olympic rowing team, and holder of numerous national and international rowing titles.

Melissa Purdy (Tiburon, California) Age: 24. All-American Woman Sailor of 1990 and 1991 with extensive racing experience internationally, including numerous titles.

Hannah Swett (Jamestown, R.I.) Age: 24. Winner of many U.S. and international sailing races. Named All-American Woman sailor in 1989 and 1991 while at Brown University.

Joan Lee Touchette (Newport, R.I.) Age: 24. Former captain of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy women's sailing team with extensive racing experience in a variety of crew positions.

NOTE: Another potential team member, Dawn Riley, will be given an opportunity to try out for the team once she has finished her stint as the skipper of Heineken , the only all-women's crew in the grueling nine-month Whitbread Round-the-World race currently underway.

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For additonal information please send e-mail to: Rick Wrightson

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