University of Louisiana at Monroe Bests Lafayette by 115pts to Claim 2018 Regionals Title!

Once again, the South Central region headed back to Katy, Texas for another amazing regional tournament at the Kelm’s on the Lakes of Katy. With the recent weather being so unpredictable, the region woke up Saturday morning bright (cloudy) and early, ready to shred before the rain started.

We began with men’s A slalom and women’s A Trick, simultaneously running two lakes. Per usual, it was a fight between Monroe and Lafayette for the podium spots. ULM’s Tom Poole and ULL’s Jonah Shaffer battled it out, tying for first in men’s A Slalom with 4 at 39.5′ off. They were closely followed by ULM’s Taylor Garcia who placed third in men’s slalom with 3 at 39.5 off. First place for women’s trick was won by ULM’s Katerina Svecova with a score of 3,060. She was followed by teammate Hanna Straltsova who scored 2,780. Third place was claimed by Bailey Austin from ULL with a score of 2,720.

As women’s trick concluded, we went into men’s A trick. ULL came out on top with new recruit Guillaume Tetreault taking first with a score of 5,620. He was followed by teammate Conley Pinette who scored 4,470. Coming in third, Taylor Garcia snagged his team, ULM, a men’s trick podium spot with a score of 4,090.

With the conclusion of men’s slalom, the women’s A slalom event began. Coming in first and tying the NCWSA women’s collegiate record [editor’s note: record pending], was ULM skier, Siani Oliver with 3 buoys at 39.5′ off! She was followed by ULL skier, Jamiee Bull, who claimed second with her pass of 4.50 at 38′ off. In third was Jamiee’s teammate Bailey Austin with 4 at 38′ off.

With things running efficiently and the rain passing, we began the crowd favorite jump event! There were many a sends, many a plops, and many a crashes, but here are the skiers that went the furthest. For women’s A Jump, ULM swept the podium with new recruit Dominique Grondin Allard taking first with a 144 ft jump. She was followed by teammate Hanna Straltsova, who placed second with a 139 ft leap, and to round out the top three teammate Emma Brunel took third with 127 ft. For Mens A jump, ULL took the lead with Patrik Oehman who jumping 179 ft! In second with a jump of 173 ft was ULM skier Taylor Garcia, and in third was ULL skier Conley Pinette who jumped 164 ft.

When looking at podium finishes, it may seem like only two schools compete in the South Central region, but this is certainly not the case. There were admirable performances from Texas A&M, Texas State, University of Arkansas, Oklahoma State, and University of Texas! With seven teams competing, only 5 teams could qualify for the 40th NCWSA Nationals at San Marcos River Ranch starting on October 11th.

In fifth with a total score of 2,535 was University of Texas, in forth with 2,715 points was Texas State. In third with 3,795 points was Texas A&M. Coming in second with 5,945 points was UL-Lafayette. Which leaves UL-Monroe coming in first with 6,060 points! The full scorebook can be viewed on USA Water Ski & Wake Sports website.

 

Thank you to our amazing hosts, the University of Texas and the wonderful Kelm family! Also huge thank you to our judges and official who powered through so we could run two to three lakes at a time and get all of A team skiing done in one day (a new region record I believe)! Y’all are super stars and we couldn’t do what we do without y’all!

Check out the 2018 Wildcard Show to see if Oklahoma State and/or Arkansas win a wild card spot, and the announcement of the divisions split for all the Nationals teams!

Can’t wait to see everyone in the dirty south for the Connelly Skis 2018 NCWSA Nationals!