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Kiwis take commanding 4-0 lead in Challenger final

Tue 5th, June 2007

Valencia, Spain (Sports Network) - Emirates Team New Zealand dominated Luna Rossa of Italy once again to take a commanding 4-0 lead in the Challenger finals at the America's Cup.

The Kiwis, who need just one more victory to win the best-of-nine series, were behind early, but came back to win the race in convincing fashion. After a brief postponement of the scheduled start time due to a windshift, the Italians took the start of the race and won the first cross, but Emirates Team New Zealand was able to recover and led by 19 seconds at the first marker. On the first leeward, the Kiwis gained 35 seconds to increase their lead to 54 seconds. Luna Rossa wasn't able to seriously threaten the rest of the way as the Kiwis crossed the finish line 52 seconds in front of them. Race 5 is scheduled for Wednesday off the coast of Spain as Emirates Team New Zealand looks to sweep Luna Rossa for the second time in their history at the America's Cup. The winner of the Challenger finals will advance to the America's Cup finals to battle defending champion Alinghi in a best-of-nine series, starting June 23. Alinghi, from Switzerland, captured the America's Cup four years ago in New Zealand.