Hair’s Style Continues to Impress on the Pro Tour; Soven Brothers Post Twin Scores

Elizabethtown, Ky. – The top professional wakeboarders in the world took to the waters of Freeman Lake at Freeman Lake Park in Elizabethtown, Ky. today to kick off the third stop of the 2010 MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour. The Pro Tour stop, which runs through Saturday, June 19, opened with preliminary rounds for the Pro Men and Jr. Pro Men’s divisions.

Among the 40 pros, who competed in Elizabethtown today, was Austin Hair – a four-year veteran rider of the Pro Men’s division, who has found success on Tour this season and continues to impress.

“Right before the season began, I started learning some new tricks, training to become more consistent and just got into a groove from there,” said Hair. “To ride with the top guys, you have be able to go big and ‘throw hammers’, and that’s what I’ve been doing so far this season.”

The 22-year-old South Carolina native has made back-to-back appearances in the previous two Pro Men’s finals and currently sits in fourth place in the standings.

“My goal is to make the podium at this stop,” said Hair. “This is a really tough contest, there’s a lot of talent to compete against, but I’m feeling confident about this weekend.”

Hair won his four-man heat today with a score of 83.33, a 13.33-point differential from his next closest competitor – one of the largest margins of victory of the day.

With today’s win, Hair advances to tomorrow’s quarterfinals, where he will be joined by 19 other riders, including Phillip and Bob Soven. Both Soven brothers not only won their respective heats today, but also posted identical scores at 76.67 points.

The Pro Men are first off the dock tomorrow, beginning at 12 noon for the quarterfinal round.

In the Jr. Pro Men’s division, the top 20 amateur rippers on Tour hit the water for their quarterfinal round of action. Riders competed in five heats of four, with only the top two athletes from each heat advancing, narrowing the field of competitors down to 10 for tomorrow’s semifinals.

Among the 10 semifinalists is current Jr. Pro Tour leader Nick Galotifore. Galotifore, 18, of Orlando, Fla., won his quarterfinal heat today with a score of 94.00 and remains the top seed in the contest.

The MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour wraps up in Elizabethtown tomorrow, Saturday, June 19, with the ticketed event running from 12 noon to 8 p.m. Tickets to Saturday’s event can be purchased at the gate for $10 (general admission), $5 (ages 6-12) or free (ages 5 and under).

In addition to all the action on the water; on land, there’s plenty of great food; athlete autograph signings; chances to win freebies; and shopping at the most cutting-edge stores for water-sports equipment including boats, wakeboards, wakeskates, sunglasses and the latest in wakeboarding and surfing fashions.

Be sure to pick up your share of $10,000 in free gift cards from Overton’s, the official water-sports retailer of the King of Wake series. Fans can also register to win a $500 Overton’s catalog shopping spree.

To catch all the high-flying, rail-sliding, water-sports action of the Elizabethtown Pro Tour stop on television, tune in to FUEL TV on Aug. 17 at 8 p.m. EST.

The MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour is organized by World Sports & Marketing of Orlando, Fla., and has the support of the following sponsors: MasterCraft, Rockstar Energy Drink, Overton’s, Indmar, Peavey, Mona Vie, Billabong, Hyperlite, CWB, Ronix, Liquid Force, Byerly, Oakley, Sayiwon’t, Epiphone, WakeBoarding magazine, Fuel TV and Allisports.com.

About MasterCraft
MasterCraft is the exclusive tow boat for the Pro Wakeboard Tour, as it has been since the tour’s wakeboarding events began in 1992. Indmar Marine engines will provide the power for MasterCraft’s X Series line of competition tow boats.

About ROCKSTAR
ROCKSTAR is the world’s most powerful energy drink. Enhanced with the potent herbal blend of Guarana, Ginkgo, Ginseng and Milk Thistle, ROCKSTAR is formulated to provide an incredible energy boost for those who lead active and exhausting lifestyles – from athletes to rock stars. ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK is available in thirteen amazing flavors: Original, Sugar Free, Zero Carb, Juiced Mango Orange Passion Fruit, Juiced Guava, Juiced Pomegranate, Tropical Punched, Punched Citrus, Roasted Mocha, Roasted Latte, Roasted Light Vanilla, Cola, and Recovery. ROCKSTAR ENERGY SHOTS are available in Wild Berry and Tropical Punch flavors. ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK is available at convenience and grocery retail outlets across the United States, Canada, Australia, Austria, Belgium, France, Ireland, New Zealand, Japan, Germany, Switzerland, Finland, Spain, The Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, and throughout the United Kingdom.

About FUEL TV
FUEL TV is the action sports lifestyle network for skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing, BMX, motocross, and wakeboarding. Through its original and commissioned series and specials, short-form content, films, and prestigious event coverage, the channel features action sports athletes, emerging musicians, celebrities, and breaking news. FUEL TV was launched July 1, 2003 and is seen in more than 30 million U.S. homes. FUEL TV has networks in Australia (FUEL TV Australia) and Portugal (FUEL TV Portugal) and its content is viewed in more than 50 countries around the world.

About King of Wake
The King of Wake is the world’s elite pro wakeboarding series, attracting the sport’s top athletes from throughout the globe. Over the course of a season, athletes compete for the ultimate wakeboarding crown in a series points race of eight events throughout the United States to see who rules the wake. The 2010 series consists of the Wake Games, the WWA Wakeboard National Championships, the WWA Wakeboard World Championships and all five stops on the Pro Wakeboard Tour. The King of Wake is organized by World Sports & Marketing – the leading wake-events producer since 1988.

Friday, June 18 – Day 1 Results:

Pro Men
Round of 40: Heat #1
1. Erik Ruck                  86.67
2. Shawn Watson          75.00
3. Joey Bradley               58.33
4. Andrew Shearer         45.00

Pro Men
Round of 40: Heat #2
1. Olivier Derome         83.33
2. Adam Errington        75.00
3. Tony Carroll               63.33
4. AJ Racinelli                 35.00

Pro Men
Round of 40: Heat #3
1. Keith Lyman              78.33
2. Bryan Hutton             65.00
3. Palm Palma                  58.33
4. Jason Bannatyne       48.33

Pro Men
Round of 40: Heat #4
1. Jimmy LaRiche         80.00
2. Dean Smith                68.33
3. Danny Burnstein       58.33
4. Nick Weinacker          40.00

Pro Men
Round of 40: Heat #5
1. Andrew Adkison       75.00
2. Shaun Murray           68.33
3. Kirby Liesmann          61.67
4. Paul Hernaez               48.33

Pro Men
Round of 40: Heat #6
1. Chad Sharpe              76.67
2. Danny Harf                71.67
3. Zane Schwenk            65.00
4. Derek Grasman           41.67

Pro Men
Round of 40: Heat #7
1. Austin Hair                83.33
2. Sam Thomson            70.00
3. Danny Thollander     60.00
4. Daniel Walden           48.33

Pro Men
Round of 40: Heat #8
1. Harley Clifford          95.00
2. Phillip Aslinger        71.67
3. Trevor Hansen           61.67
4. James Hindes             46.67

Pro Men
Round of 40: Heat #9
1. Bob Soven                   76.67
2. Rusty Malinoski       70.00
3. Aaron Rathy               63.33
4. Terry Baily                  31.67

Pro Men
Round of 40: Heat #10
1. Phillip Soven             76.67
2. Kyle Rattray              71.67
3. Nick Jones                  56.67
4. Patrick McMenamin  23.33

Jr. Pro Men
Quarterfinal: Heat #1
1. Ryleigh Pfitzner       92.50
2. Freddie Wayne          90.50
3. Gunnar Shuler            82.50
4. Aaron Abel                 74.25

Jr. Pro Men
Quarterfinal: Heat #2
1. Steel Lafferty            94.00
2. Hunter Stich              87.00
3. Michael Dowdy         83.50
4. Joshua Twelker          75.50

Jr. Pro Men
Quarterfinal: Heat #3
1. Raphael Derome       95.75
2. Kyle Evans                  94.25
3. Taylor Kress               80.00
4. Gus Shuler                  29.75

Jr. Pro Men
Quarterfinal: Heat #4
1. Daniel Powers           97.25
2. Keenan Allen             87.00
3. John Jeffries               83.00
4. Joey Buss                   72.75

Jr. Pro Men
Quarterfinal: Heat #5
1. Nick Galotifore         94.00
2. Jacob Valdez              84.25
3. Pierce Homsey           81.00
4. Julian Cohen               80.75