Tennessee Wakeboarder Makes a Splash in Knoxville

Knoxville, Tenn. — The top professional wakeboarders on the planet hit the waters of Volunteer Landing today for the opening rounds of the MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour stop in downtown Knoxville. The event, which concludes tomorrow, Saturday, Aug. 14, opened with preliminary rounds for the Pro Men, Pro Women and Jr. Pro Men’s divisions.

Among the 34 riders who competed in the Pro Men’s division qualifiers today was Tennessee native Phillip Aslinger. Aslinger, a 20-year-old rookie from Chattanooga, placed second in his heat, behind Rusty Malinoski, to advance onto tomorrow’s quarterfinals.

“I had a fall in my run, but other than that, I thought I rode really well,” said Aslinger. “Rusty [Malinoski] killed it today and won the heat, but I’m still pretty happy to make it to the quarterfinals.”

Aslinger and Malinoski will be joined by 18 other pros in tomorrow’s quarterfinals, as all 20 riders will try to battle their way to the finals and emerge as the winner in Knoxville.

“My rookie season has been a lot of fun, but I’m still looking for my first win,” said Aslinger. “My family and friends are coming out tomorrow, so it would awesome to get my first win in front of them.”

Aslinger will hit the water at 11 a.m. for the Pro Men’s quarterfinals.

Fellow Tennessean, Corrie Dyer, hit the water today to compete in the Pro Women’s division semifinals. Dyer, 20, out of Crossville, placed fourth in her six-woman heat, falling just short of advancement.

“I didn’t do as well as I could have,” said Dyer. “I’m a little bummed that I didn’t make finals, but I still had a lot of fun today.”

Emily Copeland Durham, Raimi Merritt and Amber Wing took the top three spots, respectively, in Dyer’s heat to advance onto tomorrow’s finals. Joining the trio in the six-man final is Nicola Butler, Shawna Hoffman and Anna Hajek, who also advanced past the semifinals.

In the Jr. Pro Men’s division, the top amateur rippers on Tour hit the water for their quarterfinal round of action. Riders competed in five heats, with only the top two athletes from each group advancing to set up tomorrow’s 10-man semifinal.

Among the 10 semifinalists is Florida native Daniel Powers. Powers won his quarterfinal heat today with a perfect score of 100 points.

The MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour wraps up in Knoxville tomorrow, Saturday, Aug. 14, with the ticketed event starting at 11 a.m., with the Main Event running from 5 p.m. 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.

Following Saturday’s event, the MasterCraft Pro Wakebouard Tour is inviting the general public to join the athletes at the Bijou Theater for its season-ending award ceremony and after-party. Doors to the Bijou Theater open at 9 p.m.

To catch all the high-flying, rail-sliding, water-sports action of the Knoxville Pro Tour stop on television, tune in to FUEL TV on Oct. 11 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, August 13 – Day 1 Results:

Pro Men
Round of 40: Heat #1
1. AJ Racinelli                                 66.67
2. Bryan Hutton                               58.33
3. Adam Errington                            50.00
4. Lewis Link                                     43.33

Pro Men
Round of 40: Heat #2
1. Andrew Adkison                         75.00
2. Shaun Murray                             68.33
3. Andrew Shearer                           53.33
4. James Hindes                                43.33

Pro Men
Round of 40: Heat #3
1. Josh Palma                                   71.67
2. Danny Harf                                   65.00
3. Jason Bannatyne                         53.33
4. Terry Bailey                                  40.00

Pro Men
Round of 40: Heat #4
1. Olivier Derome                           73.33
2. Chad Sharpe                                63.33
3. Kirby Liesmann                            50.00
4. Padiwat Jaemjan                           40.00

Pro Men
Round of 40: Heat #5
1. Austin Hair                                  78.33
2. Joey Bradley                                70.00
3. Kyle Rattray                                  60.00

Pro Men
Round of 40: Heat #6
1. Trevor Hansen                             75.00
2. Jimmy LaRiche                           66.67
3. Zane Schwenk                              50.00

Pro Men
Round of 40: Heat #7
1. Dean Smith                                  73.33
2. Tony Carroll                                63.33
3. Bob Soven                                    43.33

Pro Men
Round of 40: Heat #8
1. Rusty Malinoski                         83.33
2. Phillip Aslinger                          68.33
3. Shawn Watson                             60.00

Pro Men
Round of 40: Heat #9
1. Harley Clifford                            83.33
2. Sam Thomson                              53.33
3. Danny Burnstein                          51.67

Pro Men
Round of 40: Heat #10
1. Phillip Soven                                83.33
2. Danny Thollander                       70.00
3. Keith Lyman                                 63.33

Pro Women
Semifinals: Heat #1
1. Emily Copeland Durham            63.33
2. Raimi Merritt                              59.83
3. Amber Wing                                53.33
4. Corrie Dyer                                    46.67
5. Tarah Mikacich                            40.00
6. Emylee Wright                              31.67

Pro Women
Semifinals: Heat #2
1. Nicola Butler                               71.67
2. Shawna Hoffman                         58.33
3. Anna Hajek                                  50.67
4. Hayley Smith                                46.67
5. Raequel Hoffman                         40.00

Jr. Pro Men
Quarterfinals: Heat #1
1. Ryleigh Pfitzner                         97.75
2. Freddie Wayne                            92.25
3. Aaron Brown                                75.75
4. Joey Buss                                      74.25

Jr. Pro Men
Quarterfinals: Heat #2
1. Julian Cohen                               94.50
2. Dylan Prideaux                            85.50
3. Kyle Evans                                    84.00
4. John Jeffries                                  76.00

Jr. Pro Men
Quarterfinals: Heat #3
1. Steel Lafferty                               95.75
2. Michael Dowdy                            90.00
3. Joshua Twelker                            84.25

Jr. Pro Men
Quarterfinals: Heat #4
1. Daniel Powers                             100.00
2. Pierce Homsey                            85.75
3. Gunnar Shuler                               84.25

Jr. Pro Men
Quarterfinals: Heat #5
1. Nick Galotifore                           95.75
2. Hunter Stich                                90.25
3. Keenan Allen                                66.00