Cal Poly Wins the 2018 UC Davis Spring Opener

The UC Davis (almost) spring opener went down on the weekend of April 7-8th in Rio Linda, California. The weekend began with some very questionable weather making for little-to-no practice on Friday at Bell Acqua for the arriving athletes. While most people avoided the rain and wind by hiding out at the Vaio’s home, a few skiers took advantage of the empty practice list and braved the weather. Those teams that came to battle it out from near and far were University of California, Davis, University of California, Los Angeles, Arizona State University, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California State University, Chico, San Diego State University, Western Washington University, University of Nevada, Reno, California State University, Sacramento, and Bakersfield College.

A Windy Saturday

By Saturday morning, the rain had slowly passed and the wind remained steady. The tournament kicked off a bit later than normal with men’s slalom, and many skiers missed opening passes. After many gnarly crashes, including Ben Miller’s out the front, men’s slalom started to pick up even with the stiff head wind off the dock. As the men finished up, Jackson Baines from Arizona State University reigned as the event leader with 1 buoy at 35′ off, and Cal Poly put their first of many podium finishes on the board with freshman Colin Minard’s second place finish right ahead of Bakersfield College Shaun Powelson.

The women were struggling just as hard with the conditions resulting in a podium finish from some of the communities most experienced females. Sacramento State’s Makayla Haw with her West Coast collegiate debut took the crown for the women’s slalom event with 1 buoy at 35′ off! Makayla was followed by San Diego State’s freshman, Natalie Graharan, and rounding out the top three women was newcomer to the collegiate podium, Nicole Beardsley from Sac State.

The conditions for trick were no better than for slalom but it didn’t stop the west coast from showing off their (very limited) moves.

The smiles continued into event number two even though the weather refused to cooperate. The conditions for trick were no better than for slalom but it didn’t stop the west coast from showing off their (very limited) moves. I don’t think a region could get any better at side slides and failed flip attempts than the Western Region. Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo dominated the top half of the mens trick podium with Ty Vaio throwing down a solid hand pass followed by freshman teammate, Hayden Brake. Arizona State’s Jackson Baines joined the podium once again for a third place finish. The women showed the boys what was up when Makayla haw (first, 1580) and Kari McCollum (second, 1180) out tricked the entire men’s field, and third place Hannah Gaharan tricked 860 to beat all the boys except the winner Ty.

Finally, the best day had come, JUMP DAY!!!

The weather, after being uncooperative all weekend, finally decided to come around and grace us with a beautiful sunny day with a head wind perfect for allowing a maximum amount of full send. The day began with the first round of women’s crash, also known as the world’s longest event. Next weekend, we should time how long it takes each girl to put their jump skis back on after a failed “plop” over big red.

Taking her third win of the weekend, Makayla Haw out-jumped the entire field, men and women, with an impressive 133 foot stomp. Trailing (pretty far) behind her, a regular to the podium, Kari McCollum took second with a 90 foot leap from a solid ¾ cut. Competing in her very first spring tournament, freshman KJ Miller took third with a 76 foot single cut.

Now onto the main event, men’s jump, which ended the tournament with some new talent on the podium. Taking the W (barely) on his home turf, Ty Vaio with an 119 foot ¾ cut on his third jump. Arizona State’s Jackson Baines, heading home with yet another podium finish as second place a mere 2 feet behind Ty with a 117 foot send off big red. Cal Poly’s Miles Lussi, a junior from Lake Placid, New York is no stranger to flight time. The former USA Nordic jumper joined his teammate on the podium with a solid 86 footer to secure third place.

The teams braved the elements on Friday, were blown away on Saturday, but were rewarded with some great weather on Sunday. Here is how the final team placements shook out, with Cal Poly taking the team title:

Team Overall Placements

1. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
2. Arizona State University
3. San Diego State University
4. University of California, Los Angeles
5. California State University, Sacramento
6. California State University, Chico
7. University of California, Davis
8. Western Washington University
9. Bakersfield College
10. University of Nevada, Reno

The full scorebook can be found on USA Water Ski & Wake Sports website.