The MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour wrapped-up its fifth and final stop of the 2009 season today in the greater Reno area of Sparks, Nev., where the world’s top pro riders hit the waters of Sparks Marina for the closing-rounds of action.
The Pro Men’s division battled it out on the water Sunday in quarterfinal and semifinal rounds before Danny Harf, Harley Clifford, Rusty Malinoski and Phillip Soven hopped off the dock, respectively, for the four-man final.
Harf and Clifford both had impressive runs in the finals, but Malinoski was quick to answer back by landing a Switch Toeside 1080 — the first 1080 ever landed in a wakeboarding contest — to end their chances of winning. While Malinoski’s 1080 was certainly the highlight of the finals, it wasn’t enough to stop Phillip Soven from claiming the win at Sparks Marina, his second consecutive victory of the season. Malinoski and Clifford rounded out the contest podium, respectively.
Phillip Soven also claimed the ROCKSTAR Best Trick Award for his Backside 720 off of the U.S. Air Force kicker. The Award is a $1,000 cash prize.
Although Harley Clifford didn’t win the final stop of the season, the 15-year-old rookie phenom’s third-place finish today earned him enough points to win the overall Pro Tour title. Clifford now becomes only the second rider ever to win the overall title in his rookie year, behind wakeboarding legend Parks Bonifay, who won it in 1996. Clifford totaled 450 points throughout the five-stop season. Aaron Rathy finished the season in second place with 440 points and Phillip Soven rounded out the top three with 415 points.
In the Jr. Pro Men’s division, Steel Lafferty, Daniel Powers, Bob Soven and Aussie Mitch Langfield battled it out on the water in a four-man final for the top spot in the contest. All four amateur rippers threw down impressive runs, but top-seed Bob Soven emerged as the winner at Sparks Marina.
With today’s victory, Soven claims his fifth consecutive win of the season, sweeping the five-stop tour to become the first amateur rider ever to sweep the Jr. Pro Men’s division. Bob’s older brother, Phillip Soven, swept the Pro Men’s division during the 2008 Pro Tour.
The Sparks Marina Pro Tour stop also served as the fourth contest in the Queen of Wake series – a five-stop pro circuit for female wakeboarders. All eyes were on top-seed Dallas Friday today in the Pro Women’s division finals, as the current series points-leader was looking to break a four-year losing-streak at Sparks Marina. While the competition in the six-woman final appeared to be tough, Friday edged defending Queen of Wake titlist Nicola Butler 92.00 to 90.50 to take the top spot at Sparks Marina, ending her winless streak in there.
Dallas Friday now has a 25-point lead over Butler going in to the final stop of the Queen of Wake series.
Additional cities on the 2009 MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour, included: Fort Worth, Tex., Pleasant Prairie, Wis., Knoxville, Tenn., and Elizabethtown, Ky.
TOP-10 OVERALL PWT – PRO MEN RANKINGS:
1. Harley Clifford AUS 450
2. Aaron Rathy CAN 440
3. Phillip Soven USA 415
4. Andrew Adkison USA 365
5. Rusty Malinoski CAN 341
6. Olivier Derome CAN 281
7. Danny Harf USA 257
8. Jimmy LaRiche USA 257
9. Dean Smith AUS 252
10. Trevor Hansen USA 250
TOP-10 OVERALL PWT – JR. PRO MEN RANKINGS:
1. Bob Soven USA 500
2. Mitch Langfield AUS 440
3. Steel Lafferty USA 375
4. Daniel Powers USA 370
5. Phillip Aslinger USA 365
6. Jarrod Askew AUS 271
7. Jacob Valdez USA 243
8. Johnny Tobaben USA 239
9. Nick Galotifore USA 238
10. Danny Burnstein USA 237
SUNDAY, AUGUST 16 – PWT: STOP #5 RESULTS:
Pro Men: Final #1
1. Phillip Soven USA 93.00
2. Rusty Malinoski CAN 85.50
3. Harley Clifford AUS 84.00
4. Danny Harf USA 77.50
Pro Women: Final #1
1. Dallas Friday USA 92.00
2. Nicola Butler ENG 90.50
3. Amber Wing AUS 76.25
4. Melissa Marquardt USA 73.25
5. Hayley Smith AUS 68.00
6. Ashley Leugner CAN 38.75
Jr. Pro Men: Final #1
1. Bob Soven USA 92.25
2. Mitch Langfield AUS 86.00
3. Daniel Powers USA 82.00
4. Steel Lafferty USA 79.75
Pro Men: Semifinal #1
1. Phillip Soven USA 92.25
2. Harley Clifford AUS 83.00
3. Andrew Adkison USA 82.75
4. Olivier Derome CAN 80.50
5. Danny Thollander USA 61.50
Pro Men: Semifinal #2
1. Rusty Malinoski CAN 91.00
2. Danny Harf USA 90.50
3. Aaron Rathy CAN 86.50
4. Shawn Watson USA 69.75
5. Dean Smith AUS 62.25
Pro Men: Quarterfinal #1
1. Rusty Malinoski CAN 98.00
2. Olivier Derome CAN 92.00
3. Sam Thomson AUS 78.50
4. Troy Mackey AUS 71.50
Pro Men: Quarterfinal #2
1. Andrew Adkison USA 94.50
2. Danny Thollander USA 88.25
3. Jimmy LaRiche USA 83.00
4. Kyle Alberts USA 74.25
Pro Men: Quarterfinal #3
1. Phillip Soven USA 93.00
2. Shawn Watson USA 92.25
3. Trevor Hansen USA 82.50
4. Nick Weinacker USA 72.25
Pro Men: Quarterfinal #4
1. Aaron Rathy CAN 95.25
2. Dean Smith AUS 82.25
3. Shane Bonifay USA 81.75
4. JD Webb USA 79.75
Pro Men: Quarterfinal #5
1. Danny Harf USA 97.25
2. Harley Clifford AUS 87.00
3. Austin Hair USA 85.75
4. Alex Scagliotti USA 70.00
