Collegiate Wake Series Hits Texas
Now THAT is how a championship is done!
They came from all over the U.S. They were asked to bring 8 riders per team, but they brought more. They were asked to compete, but they came to win. Each team showed up in Austin Texas rain and shine, and weren’t phased one bit.
It began Thursday at 10am behind a beautiful fully weighted Epic Boat on an unknown lake east of Austin known as Decker Lake. Baylor, a team just 8 months old and powered by BioBor EB (www.Hammondscos.com) and ranked 14th came in ready to take on a Central Florida team that is young and loaded with talent. Head to head they went back and forth until all 16 riders had competed. Although Baylor didn’t advance, everyone was now aware how close this event could be.
The upsets came day one, and day two. Number 11 North Texas took down number 6 South Florida on the first day, and number 12 NC State sends home number 5 Long Beach St. Long beach didn’t actually go home however. They rented a 24 foot U-Haul and drove around Austin in it for the next 4 days.
Another big surprise was the efforts of the University of Oregon. Barely squeaking into the 16th spot after the Collegiate Wake Series tour this fall, they came all the way to face a very powerful Chico St. Chico prevailed but by the skin of their teeth. They later easily beat NC State to make it to the final four along with Texas, Central Florida and Texas A&M.
The stage was set for one of the best final four in all of college wakeboarding. One team from the east, one from the west one from the host city and another from the host state. The first matchup on Sunday consisted of Texas A&M against UCF in a battle that came down to a one rider difference. The second match up of the day was one of the tournament. Texas who had been consistently getting better each round faced a national title contender. It wasn’t a matter of who was better, but who was going to falter first. It wasn’t Texas
Freshman Steven Cahail lead his team with an outstanding run in not so outstanding water conditions to a UCF v Texas showdown. Could it be, the first year of the Collegiate Wake Series Championships that the home team could win it all?
After speaking with President Rod Reinheart, the road to get here has been long and frustrating. He now is a senior and has been trying to get this team to this level the past 3 years. They have found sponsors, riders, and raised money all while trying to win a national title.
The result: The Texas Longhorns are your 2010 Collegiate Wake Series Champions!!
“”I’ve ridden WWA’s nationals, Worlds, and five of the pro tour stops in the Junior Mens division, and Empire Wake’s Collegiate Wake Series has proven to be every bit as professional. “ Said Witt Finley, Texas Team Manager. “Everything from the judging, the format, the sponsors, and the vision are on par with a world class event. The guys involved were personable, fun, and down to earth with the common goal of making the event enjoyable for everyone. But what makes CWS even better than it’s counterparts is that it brings collegiate wakeboarding together in a community. The whole weekend everyone was doing something together as a whole.”
Big thanks to all the companies that stepped up to support one of the best levels in wakeboarding: Epic Boats, Red Bull, Shadow Box Live, BioborEB, Pro-tec Helmets, Smith Optics, Freestyle Watches, Oakley, Urban Rider Winches, Indo Board, Texas Ski Ranch, Liquid Force, Audio Formz, Vitamin Water and Alpine Stars.
For more results and details hit up www.EmpireWake.com/collegiate/austin.html
“Thanks for Wakeboarding!”
April 22, 2010
Congrats to the Texas Longhorns for this BIG win!!
April 22, 2010
UT is where its at
April 22, 2010
Such a good weekend, props to Rob and the Empire wake crew for putting on a great event. Congratulations to all the schools who made it, Texas went out there and killed it and earned the win. We met alot of great clubs from across the nation, And without a doubt Texas Tech will be back next year trying to catch up to the bar UT has set.
April 22, 2010
That's how a championship is done? How do you post no scoring results for the whole tourney, i find that pretty interesting….
April 22, 2010
This was a great event to be a part of. Seeing the stoke of the riders and the solid execution by Rob and the rest of the Empire crew..all enduring some serious rain and still getting it done. Nice job!
April 22, 2010
You already know FSU will be there next year and fully ready to challenge the UT team in both competition and partying. Bring it on bitches! Empire Wake throws the best collegiate wake series around. F USA WATER SKI!
April 23, 2010
F Texas.
April 23, 2010
Great job Rob and crew for another incredible Empire Wake competition. Collegiate Nationals was a great opportunity for people alike to come together and support such an awesome sport. Thanks to all of the schools for joining in on the fun. UNCW will be back next year. Also thanks Epic Boats, Shadowbox, BioborEB, Smith Optics, Red Bull, Famous Vodka, and everone that had a part in throwing such a sick event.
April 23, 2010
The results are posted on EmpireWake.com. Why would I post every detail here? They were also posted 2 days after the event. I think that is pretty solid. All the teams there were really good. So many upsets and so many close match ups.
Can't wait to see what next year brings now that everyone is excited about College Wakeboarding again.
April 23, 2010
Baylor will be back next year don't worry! The whole event was badass, but i cant wait to get to Long Beach!!
Congrats to my boy Rod, and the University of Texas on their win, yall killed it.
April 23, 2010
This event had to be one of the smoothest running events I have ever been too! There was hardly a stutter step all weekend! It was a great event ran by a great staff. Texas Tech didn't quite have the showing we would have liked by even after being eliminated the next two days were awesome and full of excitement! You can guarantee we will be there next year!
Great job Rob and Empire Wake!!!
April 27, 2010
http://www.vimeo.com/11032667
April 27, 2010
yea, awesome tournaments and awesome riding by all the teams.
http://www.vimeo.com/11032667