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2013 MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour Season Opens in Acworth
Acworth, Ga.– The world’s top professional wakeboarders opened the 22nd season of the MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour in grand fashion today at Lake Acworth Beach. Taking to the water at Cauble Park the season-opening day featured remarkable performances from a slew of athletes across all three divisions including last year’s Pro Men’s season champion Harley Clifford.
Looking as focused and talented as ever, MasterCraft team rider Clifford used the X-Star’s huge wake to put on a fan pleasing run that was highlighted by massive aerials, gravity-defying rotations and technical rail work. Clifford placed first in his heat, posted a division high-score of 90.00 and advanced to tomorrow’s quarterfinals. In addition to Clifford’s performance, fan favorite Rusty Malinoski also put in a top-tier run posting an 88.33 score to claim his heat and place him as a favorite going into the final day of competition.
“It’s great to start another season of the MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour here in Acworth,” said Chris Bischoff, competition director. “The city is great to work with, the venue is a favorite among the athletes and the conditions on the lake today, matched with the perfect wake from the X-Star, things were firing on all cylinders.”
The Pro Women also showed up in Acworth in top form. Leading the charge were Nicola Butler and Raimi Merritt, who both put in scores of 73.33 to tie for the day’s best scores among the females. The sport’s all-time winningest woman, Dallas Friday, also dropped a stellar score of 71.33 and will be among the six finalists tomorrow.
Wakeboarding’s future stars in the Overton’s Junior Pro series competed at today’s event as well. Poised to have a huge year, Aussie-ripper Tony Iacconi had a perfect run posting the day’s only 100-point ride. The Junior Pro Men will commence competition again tomorrow with the semifinals elimination round followed by the finals.
Following the final rounds of action on Saturday, fans can stay for the jaw-dropping Polaroid Action Big-Air Contest. The event will feature top athletes performing exciting and innovative new tricks that aren’t typically attempted in a traditional contest setting.
Immediately following the event, a Block Party will be held in Historic Downtown Acworth that will feature an awards ceremony, live music, outdoor dining opportunities, and much more. The Block Party will run from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Parking will be available in Historic Downtown Acworth and shuttles will be running from various locations to bring visitors down to the party.
Tickets for Saturday’s finals are available online for $7 (46% off the gate price) and include an exclusive Overton’s discount code for online buyers only. Gate prices are: $13 (adult); $5 (ages 6-12); free (ages 5 and under).
For information on the MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour presented by Rockstar Energy Drink, visit www.kingofwake.com.
Day 1 Results from the MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour Acworth
Pro Men Qualifying Round Heat 1 (Top 2 advance)
1. Christian Primrose 80.00
2. Austin Hair 78.33
3. Sam Crane 68.33
4. Daniel Powers 57.33
Pro Men Qualifying Round Heat 2
1. Jimmy LaRiche 83.33
2. Oli Derome 78.33
3. Keenan Allen 60.00
4. Ben Allbright 41.67
Pro Men Qualifying Round Heat 3
1. Shota Tezuka 73.33
2. Chad Sharpe 53.33
3. Ryan Anderson 26.67
4. Stephen Pierce 18.33
Pro Men Qualifying Round Heat 4
1. Aaron Rathy 81.67
2. Adam Errington 75.00
3. Brett Lee 61.00
4. Josh Twelker 45.00
Pro Men Qualifying Round Heat 5
1. Andrew Adkison 81.67
2. Danny Thollander 58.33
3. Jason Bannatyne 50.00
4. Brandon Lee 21.00
Pro Men Qualifying Round Heat 6
1. Tony Carroll 81.67
2. Jeff Langley 66.67
3. Vinny Knapp 43.33
4. Brad Smeele 36.67
Pro Men Qualifying Heat 7
1. Dean Smith 80.00
2. Trevor Hansen 71.67
3. Josh Palma 66.67
Pro Men Qualifying Round Heat 8
1. Rusty Malinoski 88.33
2. Kyle Rattray 76.67
3. Gunnar Shuler 46.67
Pro Men Qualifying Round Heat 9
1. Phil Soven 83.33
2. Pierce Homsey 66.67
3. Dylan Prideaux 46.67
Pro Men Qualifying Round Heat 10
1. Harley Clifford 90.00
2. Dante Digangi 40.00
3. Kirby Liesmann 35.00
Pro Women Semifinals Heat 1 (Top 2 advance)
1. Dallas Friday 71.67
2. Melissa Marquardt 55.00
3. Tarah Mikacich 53.33
4. Corrie Dyer 38.33
Pro Women Semifinals Heat 2
1. Raimi Merritt 73.33
2. Amber Wing 68.33
3. Emily Durham 61.67
4. Shelby King 41.67
5. Charlotte Bryant 35.00
Pro Women Semifinals Heat 3
1. Nicola Butler 73.33
2. Bee Gange 68.33
3. Taylor McCullough 61.67
4. Chloe Mills 53.33
5. Raequel Hoffman 43.33
Junior Pro Men Quarterfinals Heat 1 (Top 2 advance)
1. Parker Siegele 93.00
2. Brad Teunissen 89.25
3. John Hunt 87.75
4. Ian Cole 50.75
Junior Pro Men Quarterfinals Heat 2
1. Gordon Harrison 91.75
2. Yangsu Kim 86.00
3. Joey Buss 83.25
4. Justin Lee 79.00
Junior Pro Men Quarterfinals Heat 3
1. Noah Flegel 97.75
2. Cory Teunissen 92.25
3. Jorge Gill 74.25
4. Arnie Watkins 70.50
5. James Loisel 65.25
Junior Pro Men Quarterfinals Heat 4
1. Freddie Wayne 98.50
2. Gus Shuler 80.50
3. Robby Holihan 80.25
4. Jimmy Frandsen 76.25
5. Jeongwook Kim 64.50
Junior Pro Men Quarterfinals Heat 5
1. Massi Piffaretti 97.25
2. Kyle Evans 83.00
3. Jamie McCauley 77.50
4. Damien Adam 73.75
5. Merrett Fay 68.50
Junior Pro Men Quarterfinals Heat 6
1. Tony Iacconi 100.00
2. Juan Mendez 83.75
3. Marc Kroon 78.75
4. Mac Schramm 73.25
5. Zachary Brown 64.25
