Ireland's student match racers are through to the quarter finals of the University Match Racing World Championships, finishing fifth after the round robin series. The final races in the round robin are now over with some big changes in the final ranking as a result. France only needed to close out a single match and the Italians 2 from 4 in order to progress automatically but both teams failed to do so, leaving DITs finest in 5th spot and through to the quarter finals with out the need for sail off.
The two GBR teams lead the pack followed by AUS1 and Singapore. The Irish have had close races with all these teams during the first phase and should feel confident going into the knock out stages where mental toughness begins to play an increasing role.
The automatic qualification gives the team chance to get a break from the super hot afternoon sun, nurse their injuries are prepare for their racing to resume around 5-6pm. In the mean time Italy, France, Australia 2 and Greece sail off for the two remaining places in the quarters while Greece 2 and the two Polish teams pack their bags for the trip home.
