Shore Shenanigans
While the skiers took to the water to compete at the Syndicate Waterskis 2019 NCWSA Collegiate Water Ski National Championships at Bell Acqua Lakes in Rio Linda, CA; their teams ran up and down the shore! Many celebrations and cheers were heard throughout the tournaments while records were broken, buoys went on the loose, and bodies were painted.
Swerving our Way to 6 Ball
The men’s slalom had a mix of skiers, with the Southern & Atlantic Coastal (SAC) Region taking the majority placement in the top 5. Sean Hunter, Alabama’s 2nd round skier, took first with 4 buoys at 39.5off. Jamie Calhoun (FSC) was just a mere half a buoy behind Sean. Tanguy Daillard (FSC) wanted to follow that trend and took third with 3 buoys. There was a tie for fourth place as both Ben Leutz (ALA) and Griffin Stange (ULL) decided the water right after two ball looked like a good landing zone, with scores of 1.5 at 39.5 off. Amazing skiing from our guys as all our podium skiers were into the 10.75 line length!
Women’s slalom showed a mix of schools making their way onto the podium. Jamie Bull (ULL) took home the gold and the paper as she set a new NCWSA record of 5.5 buoys at 39.5off. Brooke Baldwin (ALA) received 2nd with 1.5 buoys at 39.5off and was the only other female slalom skier to reach this line length. The remaining three podium spots went to Bailey Austin (ULL), Allie Nicholson (FSC), and Neilly Ross (ROL) who all tied with 3 buoys at 38off.
Twisty, Flippy, Spinny, Slippy
The South Central Region (SCR) decided they wanted a piece of the action and took the majority of podium spots for men’s trick. Congratulations to Edoardo Marenzi (ULL) for being the 2019 D1 NCWSA men’s trick champion with a score of 6650 from a single trick pass. Tanguy Dailland (FSC) clinched 2nd with 6460 points only a “back” in front of Danylo Filchenko (ULM) who received 6400 points in 3rd place. Guillaume Tetreault (ULL), the 2018 D1 NCWSA men’s 1 trick champion took 4th with 6360 and Carlo Basic (ULL) rounded out the top five with 5140. Congratulations boys on your high scoring spins, twists, and flippity flops.
The Alabama Ladies stole the show in the freezing morning weather as they placed in the top 3 podium spots: 1st- Anna Gay (5560), 2nd- Brooke Baldwin (4430), and 3rd- Taylor Grathwohl (with a new PB of 4050). Neilly Ross (ROL) earned 4th with 3910 points. Alice Bagnoli (ULL) slipped into the last podium spot with 3830 points.
Soarin’, Flying – Breaking Free
The boy’s were flying high with the 2019 mens jump champion being just 4 feet off of the national record: Danylo Filchenko (ULM) had his wings out for a 191ft (58.3m) jump. Quinn Haines (ALA) earned himself 2nd place with a 2ft collegiate PB of 190ft (57.8m) and setting a new SAC Men’s Jump Record. Carlo Basic (ULL), Brandon Schipper (ULM), and Luca Rauchenwald (ULL) rounded out the podium with 184ft, 183ft, and 182ft, respectively.
The women of the SCR gave a great show. Dominique Allard (ULM) took 1st with a jump of 159ft (48.4m)- only a tenth of a meter off the national record. Brooke Baldwin (ALA) received the silver with a jump of 147ft, beating the previous SAC Region women’s jump record by 5ft. Marylou Major (ULL), Marie-lou Moulanier (ULL), and Valentina Gonzalez (FSC) finished off the podium with 145ft, 143ft, and 140ft, respectively.
Who Dares Wins – Individual Overall Champions
The Men’s Overall decided to split up the podium spots up equally between schools! Sharing is caring. Tanguy Dailland (FSC) took first with 1720. Danylo Filchenko (ULM) and Conley Pinette (ULL) tied for second with 1545. Rafael De Osma (ROL) and Quinn Haines (ALA) took fourth and fifth with 1540 and 1430 points respectively.
The Women’s Overall alternated between the University of Louisiana Lafayette and the University of Alabama. Brooke Baldwin (ALA) took first with 1710 with Alice Bagnoli (ULL) right behind her with 1540. In a rare sighting, Abbi Grathwohl (ALA) and Marie-Lou Moulanier (ULL) TIED for 3rd with 1490. Anna Gay (ALA) was able to squeeze in right after them with 1480.
Team Overall Results
The results of Nationals ended up lining up exactly as the pre-nationals rankings showed for the top 5 team. As 45.5% of the experts and 42.9% of the worldwide vote expected (the majority vote for both), the University of Louisiana Lafayette took home the gold with a 405 point differential. The full event scorebook is available at USAwaterski.com.
| Plcmt | Team | SL | TR | J | Total |
| 1 | ULL – University of Louisiana Lafayette | 4,190 | 4,160 | 4,330 | 12,680 |
| 2 | ALA – University of Alabama | 4,085 | 4,080 | 4,110 | 12,275 |
| 3 | ULM – University of Louisiana Monroe | 3,645 | 4,010 | 4,200 | 11,855 |
| 4 | FSC – Florida Southern College | 3,890 | 3,550 | 3,350 | 10,790 |
| 5 | ROL – Rollins College | 3,105 | 3,430 | 2,715 | 9,250 |
THANK YOU!
Thank you to all the officials who’ve dedicated their time not only here at Nationals but throughout the whole collegiate season. All of our teams from throughout the nation thank you a thousand times over as it is because of all of our volunteers that we are able to come together once a year to compete and see friends from all corners of the U.S.
Thank you to Barak Bejerano (@bziq_photo) and Emily Sampson (@simplycapturedmoments) for taking time to capture the amazing experience of Nationals and for sharing these photos.
Thank you to Bell Acqua Homeowners, the Grubbs family, the Todds family, and the Vaio family for allowing the collegiate world to invade your sanctuary! We cannot express how much fun we had (because we lost our voices!) and all the memories we’ve made that will stay with us for years on end. We hope you had just as great experience as we did.
A Photo is Worth a Thousand Words…
Men’s Jump
Women’s Jump
Men’s Trick
Women’s Trick
Men’s Slalom
Women’s Slalom
- 2019 Reflections: South Central Edition - January 10, 2020
- 2019 Reflections: Western Edition - January 9, 2020
- 2019 Reflections: Midwestern Edition - January 8, 2020
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