Stars & Stripes Prepares For Meeting With French

PRESS RELEASE October 12, 2002

STARS & STRIPES PREPARES FOR MEETING WITH FRENCH CHALLENGER LE DÉFI TOMORROW

AUCKLAND, NZ, OCTOBER 12, 2002- Stars & Stripes, Team Dennis Conner’s contender for the America’s Cup, had a day off from racing today as team members prepared for their match against the French challenger Le Défi tomorrow.

With nine boats contesting the Louis Vuitton Cup series to decide the challenger for the America’s Cup, every team has a bye during each of the two round robins. Stars & Stripes, skippered by Ken Read, Newport, RI, and representing the New York Yacht Club, will sail her final race of the first round robin tomorrow.

In racing on the Hauraki Gulf today, Britain’s GBR beat Oracle BMW’s USA-76 from San Francisco, CA; Seattle CA’s OneWorld beat Italy’s Luna Rossa; Switzerland’s Alinghi beat Sweden’s Orn; and Italy’s Mascalzone Latino beat France’s Le Défi.

The current points for Round Robin 1 of the Louis Vuitton Cup are: OneWorld Challenge, 7-0; Alinghi Challenge, 7-1; Oracle BMW Racing 4-2; Team Dennis Conner, 3-4; Victory Challenge 3-4; GBR Challenge 3-4; Prada Challenge, 3-4; Mascalzone Latino Challenge, 1-5; Le Défi Areva, 0-7. (Note: Byes and incomplete races result in different totals).

Team Dennis Conner and the New York Yacht Club have partnered to put forth the finest team of American designers, sailors, boat builders and shoreside support to win America’s Cup XXXI and return the America’s Cup to the United States. The America’s Cup began on October 1, with the four-month challenger elimination series known as the Louis Vuitton Cup. The winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup will challenge Team New Zealand for the right to defend the America’s Cup in a best of nine series starting on February 15, 2003.

Team Dennis Conner's platinum sponsor, Computer Associates International, Inc. (NYSE: CA) delivers the software that manages eBusiness. As the world’s third largest enterprise software company, CA provides industry-leading integrated solutions through strategic partnerships and powerful brands such as Unicenter®, BrightStor™, eTrust™, CleverPath™, Advantage™, Jasmine® and AllFusion™. With mission-critical software in security and storage, CA provides reliable, quality technology. For more information, visit www.ca.com.

Gold sponsors of the Team Dennis Conner America's Cup challenge include Citizen Watch Company (www.citizenwatch.com), proud maker of the new Eco-Drive Sailhawk, the official Stars & Stripes team watch, the ACE Group of Companies (www.acelimited.com), a premier global insurance and reinsurance organization and Airgas, Inc. (www.airgas.com), the largest U.S. distributor of industrial, medical and specialty gases, welding, safety and related products. With an integrated network of nearly 800 locations nationwide--including branches, retail stores, gas fill plants, specialty gas labs, production facilities and distribution centers--Airgas' national scale and strong local presence offer customers a competitive advantage

Team Dennis Conner’s Silver sponsors are Nautica (www.nautica.com), the team’s official apparel sponsor and a leading global fashion and lifestyle company with products ranging from men's, women's and children's sportswear, denim and accessories to a complete home collection and Manugistics (www.manugistics.com), a leading software company that provides comprehensive solutions which enable companies to share inventory, pricing and planning information with customers and suppliers over the Internet.

Team Dennis Conner’s Suppliers are 3M, Air New Zealand, Airgas, Airtech, APL Limited, Arc Second, Bathysphere Digital Media Services, Columbus Line, Digi International, Dupont, Earth Tech, Itronix, Lewmar Marine, McLube, Media Bin, Munters, Nautica Eyewear, New England Ropes, Newport Adhesives & Composites, OmniSonics Medical, Pacer Technologies, Parker, Plastimo, Protector, Remy Amerique, Saucony, WiTango and Xygent.

ENDS

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