| | AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- A convincing victory moved Italy's Prada team back to the top of the leaderboard Saturday in the third round of the Louis Vuitton Cup, while the New York Yacht Club's entry climbed up two places to seventh.
The Prada Challenge, skippered by Francesco de Angelis,
gained control on the starting line in its match against
previously second-placed America True and maintained the
advantage to take the gun by 54 seconds.
The Italian crew had monopolized the top of the scoreboard from the first round in October, until San Francisco's AmericaOne displaced them on Dec. 6, but a surprise upset defeat for the Americans by the French allowed Prada to reclaim the top spot.
Meanwhile, the New York Yacht Club's Young America team, which
on Friday dropped to ninth place, came home a convincing winner against the Spanish Challenge to keep their hope of a semifinal place alive.
At the end of this round, the top six on the scoreboard progress to the semifinals, while the rest are eliminated from the series. With the top four boats now assured of their places, the battle is heating up for the two remaining berths.
In other races Saturday, Dennis Conner's Stars & Stripes defeated the Aloha Challenge, and Nippon Challenge beat Young Australia.
Eleven challenges from seven nations started the Louis Vuitton Cup in October, and the eventual winner will face Team New Zealand in the America's Cup starting in February next year.
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ALSO SEE
Third-round schedule and results
How the competition works
Time running out on Young America
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