With one solid year under our belts, and a national champion University of Texas, it is time to talk about the second season.  We can’t even begin to think how much bigger this season is going to be with all the clubs on the same page and the goal of getting to Long Beach California in April to be crowned at Collegiate Wake Series Champions!

We contacted the clubs and have put together our preseason guess at who the top 5 will be.  This year being ranked preseason helps your chances on getting to the finals. If you start out number 1 and fall to a weaker team it is going to bump you way back in the rankings. Remember we only pull the top 16 teams in the country.

Coming in at number 10 is University of North Carolina Wilmington. We know these guys should always be number 1 but they can’t ever seem to get a solid team to the finals. This season they are adding a strong up and comer that I think is one of the best riders in the Mid Atlantic region, Steven Pierce. We will see if he is enrolled this fall and what Drew Heath can do to get his club to the events.

Number 9 is Baylor.  These guys did really well last year as a new club. They have spent a lot of time on the water and progressing as a team.

8 is Virginia Tech the 2009 Team of the year. They are adding some new upper level riders and always have run a solid club.  Josh Settlage and Adam Van Dyke have it together.

7 – Long Beach State. One of the most fun teams around. They are all great friends and always bring a solid team each year. They get home water advantage at the Championships this year, so maybe it will be their year.

Number 6 is University of South Florida.  Chris Waters has taken over the team and hopefully they won’t get knocked out early this year.

5 is the mighty Florida State University. They get to pull from a team of over 100 members. Last year they were number 1 coming into the finals but were taken out by National Champ Texas.

The top 4 are just as we left them. They are all returning their entire team and then adding some stronger riders. We are going to see all advanced and open riders from these guys. Could it be a repeat final 4?

4– Chico St
3– Texas A&M
2 – University of Central Florida
1 – University of Texas

If you are a new club and would like to be part of the Collegiate Wake Series, please contact Empire Wake at empirewake@gmail.com and we will get you all the info you need. You can also see more at www.EmpireWake.com/collegiate/index.html

See everyone in the fall! — Rob Mendieta