The world’s best wakeboarders descended upon the Orlando Watersports Complex for the third consecutive day to battle it out on massive wakes generated by Nautique’s new G23 boat in hopes of advancing to tomorrow’s final rounds of the 2012 Wake Games.
Showcasing highly technical rail tricks and larger-than-life aerials, riders in the men’s pro division set the standard today by performing some of the sport’s most difficult maneuvers. At the top of their game were the Soven brothers Bob and Phillip (Longwood, Fla.), who had stellar performances under the pressure of an MTV camera crew documenting his every move for the network’s upcoming series, Wake Brothers. Both Soven’s won their heats and will advance to tomorrow’s semi final round. Last year’s King of Wake defending champion, Harley Clifford, also won his heat today and will look to stay on top of the rankings with a Wake Games win tomorrow.
“There is some insane talent on tour this year,” commented Bob Soven. “Add that to the wake the G23 is pumping out and we are seeing some really tight heats. It was great to be out on the water today and I can’t wait to get back out there tomorrow.”
The feel-good story of the Nautique Wake Games continues to be the comeback of Orlando-native Dallas Friday, who won her women’s pro heat today to advance to tomorrow’s finals. Friday, the most accomplished female athlete in the history of the sport, is returning to competition for the first time since 2010 after suffering series of grueling knee injuries.
In the Overton’s Junior Pro Men’s Series, Mike Dowdy looks to be the guy to beat. After putting in a near perfect performance in yesterday’s quarterfinals, Dowdy kept his momentum going with another heat winning performance in today’s semi finals. Dowdy will go for the division crown in tomorrow’s final against a stacked field of three other Junior Pro riders.
Adding to the one-of-a-kind format at the Nautique Wake Games, 10 preselected pro men wakeboarders served as team captains last night and hosted a draft, consisting of the 90 remaining athletes who advanced past the initial qualifying rounds. Based on today and tomorrow’s results, the athletes, which are separated by age, sex and skill level, will contribute points toward a team score based on their individual placement in that division. The team with the highest collective score will win the overall title. All 23 divisions will crown an individual winner as well. At the end of Day three, Team Austin Hair currently sits ahead of the nine other teams.
The Nautique Wake Games, presented by Rockstar Energy Drink will wrap up tomorrow April 14. Gates will open at 11 a.m. Tickets are available at the gate: $13 (adult); $5 (ages 6-12); free (ages 5 and under); or $7 (adult) if purchased online.
Following Saturday’s men’s pro final Nautique will sponsor two specialty events, a double-up contest and expression session. Both events will be broadcast live via webcast at nautique.com/webcast/.
In addition to all the action on the water, on land the Nautique Wake Games features great food and music, athlete autograph signings, chances to win freebies, and shopping at the most cutting-edge stores offering water-sports equipment including boats, wakeboards, wakeskates, sunglasses and the latest in wakeboarding and surfing fashions.
For information on the Nautique Wake Games, presented by Rockstar Energy Drink, visit kingofwake.com.
The Nautique Wake Games, presented by Rockstar Energy Drink is organized by World Sports & Marketing of Orlando, Fla., and has the support of the following sponsors: Correct Craft, Rockstar Energy Drink, Overton’s, Peavey, Mona Vie, Fox, Hyperlite, CWB, Ronix, Liquid Force, Byerly, Oakley, PCM Marine Engines and TransWorld WAKEBOARDING magazine.
2012 Nautique Wake Games Day Three Results:
Amateur Women – Finals
1. Carolina Rodriguez 70.00
2. Brook Grassman 66.67
3. Becky Hall 43.33
Girls (13 and under) – Finals
1. Sofia Mendez 70.00
2. Marla Fay 53.33
Junior Boys Beginner (9 and under)- Finals
1. Carter Mather 76.67
2. Thomas Herman 66.67
3. Benjamin Brown 50.00
Junior Boys (9 and under) – Finals
1. Hunter Henderson 80.00
2. Kevin Duffy 63.33
Women’s Masters – Finals
1. Sigrid Beachler 80.00
2. Joy Manning 63.33
Amateur Wakeskate – Finals
1. Austin Polterock 76.67
2. Craig Buss 68.33
3. Seth Cathy 60.00
4. Cristobal Mendez 43.33
Women’s Pro Wakeskate – Finals
1. Jen Gilanfarr 76.67
2. Kristine Gagnier 60.00
Pro Wakeskate Men’s Semi Finals – Heat 1
1. Danny Hampson 93.33
2. Brian Grubb 86.67
3. Stu Shinn 60.00
4. Ollie Moore 45.00
Pro Wakeskate Men’s Semi Finals – Heat 2
1. Reed Hansesn 88.33
2. Brandon Thomas 78.33
3. Grant Roberts 65.00
4. George Daniels 63.33
5. James Blazer 43.33
Veteran Womens – Final
1. Paula Fay 81.67
Veterans (40 and over) Men Finals – Heat 1
1. Matt Vermillion 68.33
2. Ben Uncle 58.33
3. Darren Holsey 40.00
Junior Women (14-18) Finals
1. Larisa Morales 86.67
2. Shelby King 66.67
3. Mallorie Henry 56.67
4. Gianna Dinatale 43.33
Junior Men (14-18) Finals
1. Juan Mendez 88.33
2. Yangsu Kim 75.00
3. Mac Schramm 61.67
4. Nick Vaccari 56.67
5. Eduardo Meyers 45.00
6. Juan Martin Velez 33.33
Masters (30-39) Finals
1. Jeremy Baker 80.00
2. Brian White 63.33
3. Kevin Michael 43.33
4. Eric Miller 26.67
Overton’s Junior Pro Series Men’s Semi Finals Heat 1
1. Mike Dowdy 94.50
2. Joshua Twelker 89.25
3. Tony Iacconi 82.25
4. Robby Holihan 72.50
5. Kennan Allen 48.00
Overton’s Junior Pro Men’s Semi Finals – Heat 2
1. Freddie Wayne 92.00
2. David O’Caoimh 86.00
3. Kyle Evans 77.50
4. Christian Primrose 76.50
5. Jacobb Valdez 68.00
Pro Women Semi Final – Heat 1
1. Dallas Friday 76.67
2. Meagan Ethell 66.67
3. Nicola Butler 53.00
4. Taylor McCullough 50.00
5. Abby Delgoffe 40.00
Pro Women’s Semi Final – Heat 2
1. Mellissa Marquardt 66.67
2. Rami Merritt 60.00
3. Amber Wing 56.83
4. Miku Asai 56.67
5. Ashley Leugner 45.00
Pro Veterans Finals
1. Ricky Gonzales 71.67
2. Chad Lowe 58.33
Pro Men’s Quarter Finals – Heat 1
1. Bob Soven 86.67
2. Steel Lafferty 73.33
3. Adam Fields 65.00
4. Kirby Liesmann 56.57
5. Adam Wensink 51.67
6. Tony Carroll 40.00
Pro Men’s Quarter Finals – Heat 2
1. Aaron Rathy 71.67
2. Rusty Malinoski 66.67
3. Daniel Powers 58.33
4. Jimmy Lariche 53.33
5. Shawn Watson 48.33
6. Jason Bannatyne 38.33
Pro Men’s Quarter Finals – Heat 3
1. Shaun Murray 78.33
2. JD Webb 66.67
3. Dean Smith 65.00
4. Jefferson Langley 58.33
5. Shane Bonifay 46.67
6. Dante Digangi 30.00
Pro Men’s Quarter Finals – Heat 4
1. Phillip Soven 80.00
2. Raphael Derome 75.00
3. Adam Errington 68.33
4. Kyle Alberts 50.00
5. Danny Thollander 41.67
Pro Men’s Quarter Finals – Heat 5
1. Harley Clifford 85.00
2. Andrew Adkison 68.33
3. Shotta Tezuka 61.67
4. Olivier Derome 56.67
5. Sam Crane 50.00
6. Kyle Rattray 43.33
