Red Bull Wake Rivals
HOMETOWN TEAM WINS NIGHTTIME WAKEBOARD CONTEST IN ORLANDO
UCF Wakeboard Team Beats FSU, UF and USF to Claim Red Bull Rivals Crown
ORLANDO, Fla., – April 9, 2015 – Collegiate wakeboard teams from Florida State University, the
University of Central Florida, the University of Florida and the University of South Florida took
their talents to the water at Orlando Watersports Complex (OWC) cable park for a one-of-a-kind
collegiate wakeboard contest. After a series of tricks and flips under the lights, it was the UCF
Knights who claimed the winning title.
“The level of riding here tonight was almost on par with professional wakeboarding, it was
amazing,” said UCF Wakeboard Club President, Kellen Rudnicki. “UF was throwing down
hammers, USF and FSU were throwing down as well, it was really crazy to see,” he said. The
University of Central Florida Knights beat the competition with a final score of 10-2-0-0 against
UF, FSU, and USF.
Student athletes from the four colleges navigated the nighttime obstacles under the instruction of
professional wake athletes, Mike Dowdy (UF), Dallas Friday (FSU), Steel Lafferty (USF) and
Brian Grubb (UCF). With some mentoring in the riders’ pockets, the second round saw every
team striving to stay in the competition. The intensity was palpable in round two as every team
was on the leader board at some point.
“It was a unique format that hasn’t been done before,” said winning coach and UCF graduate,
Brian Grubb. “There were some pretty awesome crashes coming off the kicker that got the crowd
hyped, so it was pretty fun to watch.”
Red Bull Collegiate Wake Rivals provided a new format to kick off the competitive season. Riders
hit the water with the goal of performing the top trick, causing the obstacles to light up in their
team color. With a mixture of boat and cable riders, Saturday’s event brought together a collective
mix of wakeboard disciplines and styles from around the state.
“The craziest thing I saw tonight was UF’s Will Green do a Mute Half Cab Roll almost as high as
the cable,” said Rudnicki. “It was absolutely amazing to see someone go that big, especially at
night!”
The history of rivalries between these teams made a serious splash on the collegiate wake
scene, leading to new tricks and never-before landed double mobius variations.