SOVEN WINS!!!!

Soven Rides Away with 2007 MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour Title




Portland, OR – Rusty Malinoski, 23, and Phillip Soven, 18, have battled on the water all season long for the 2007 MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour title. Today, both riders went head-to-head in the season-ending match that determined who would earn a year's worth of bragging rights and the largest cash payout in tour history, the $10,000 Indmar Performance Award.




In an intense match-up on the water, Phillip Soven immerged victorious. In doing so, the Florida native earned his fourth win of the season and captured his first overall tour title. Malinoski finished both second in the contest and for the season. Chad Sharpe placed third overall.




The Rip It Apparatus Award went to Brett Eisenhauer for his healside backside off-axis 720.




The Pro Women's Division also hit the water today for their final round of competition. Shelby Kantar upset frontrunner Amber Wing in the finals to capture the victory in Portland and claim the her first overall title. Wing placed second at the contest and overall. Emily Copeland Durham took third for the season.




AJ Racinelli went into today's Rip It JX Series finals looking to claim his fourth win of the season, but was upset by the only other rider to win a tour stop this year, Mitch Langfield. However, all was not lost for Racinelli, as he earned enough points in the final event of the season to capture the overall title for the Rip It JX Series. Jimmy LaRiche took second place on the season with Ryan Anderson finishing third.




To catch all the wakeboarding action from home, tune into Fuel TV on Mondays at 9:30 p.m. For exact air dates, go to www.prowakeboardtour.com.




Fuel TV is a 24/7 action-sports lifestyle network for skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing, BMX, freestyle motocross and wakeboarding. A unit of Fox Cable Networks, Fuel TV was launched July 1, 2003, and is seen in 24 million U.S. homes. To subscribe to Fuel TV, call 877-4-FUEL-TV. For program times and other information, visit www.fuel.tv.




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. Rip It Energy Fuel is the exclusive sponsor of the JX Series, the proving ground for amateur male riders 18 and under.

Pro Men Wakeboard – OVERALL

1 Phillip Soven

2 Rusty Malinoski

3 Adam Errington

3 Danny Harf

5 Trevor Hansen

5 Chad Sharpe

5 Daniel Watkins

5 Shawn Watson




Women's Professional - Finals Heat 01

1 Shelby Kantar USA 71.67

2 Amber Wing AUS 68.89

3 Nicola Butler USA 63.89

4 Raequel Hoffman USA 53.33

5 Laura Lohrmann USA 46.11

6 Melissa Marquardt USA 37.78

7 Sunni Anne Ball CDN 31.67

8 Maeghan Major USA 29.44



Junior Men (14-18) - Finals

Heat 01

1 Mitchell Langfield AUS 70.56

2 Kyle Alberts USA 63.33

3 Jimmy LaRiche USA 54.44

4 A.J Racinelli USA 48.33




Pro Men Wakeboard – Round 2

1 Adam Errington

2 Chad Sharpe




1 Rusty Malinoski

2 Daniel Watkins




1 Danny Harf

2 Shawn Watson




1 Phillip Soven

2 Trevor Hansen




Pro Men Wakeboard – Round 1

1 Adam Errington

2 Keith Lidberg




1 Chad Sharpe

2 Derek Grasman




1 Daniel Watkins

2 Aaron Rathy




1 Rusty Malinoski

2 Shane Bonifay




1 Shawn Watson

2 JD Webb




1 Danny Harf

2 Bryan Hutton




1 Trevor Hansen

2 Dean Smith




1 Phillip Soven

2 Brett Eisenhauer




Junior Men (14-18) - Semi Finals

Heat 01

1 Kyle Alberts USA 60.00

2 Jimmy LaRiche USA 53.89

3 Danny Burnstein USA 47.78

4 Julian Cohen USA 45.56

5 Ryan Anderson USA 33.33




Heat 02

1 Mitchell Langfield AUS 53.89

2 A.J Racinelli USA 46.67

3 Tony Carroll USA 40.00

4 Bradey Price CAN 28.89

5 Raphael Derome CAN 21.67

Sovens insane. Props go out to Rusty I think he will claim it next year. I also hope to see Adkinson kill it again. Sharpe is riding great as well. Who will win KING OF WAKE?

Congrats to Raequel Hoffman.

Congrats to Shelby for her Portland win, and Overall Tour Title!!!

She is such an amazing rider and has worked hard for this! Let's here it for the local Delta/sac rider! Yeah!

damn. i was cheering for chad sharpe. hopefully him or rusty will take the king of wake title.
props to soven though, he's a sick rider.

Stoked for Phillip. Rusty gave him a good run but sovens my boy!!! Congrats to everyone!

Woooooah! Go Shelby!

Congrats to Raquel for getting on the board. Nice!

Congrats to Soven. We all knew this day was coming.

soven is a cocky little kid...but a good wakeboarder. I wish Rusty would have won.

Froggy is the man! He kills it! Way to go!!

Soven has been at the top for a while. It was his time. He worked hard for it. Rusty has climbed the ranks fast. He will have his day

for sure soven rips and is so consistent...it's overstated but he really is...he lays it down every run...

I'm with benjamin^^^^ Soven is a cocky little Bastard, but an awesome wakeboarder. You cant take that away from him. My dad used to tell me " Son, its OK to be confident but not cocky". I never did listen to the other thing he used to say, about not being a smartass.

Hey Benjamin,
Watch what you say... This is about wakeboarding.
Sovens driven, just like Rusty

i really wanted rusty to win! i was glad to see soven fall in his last run is that bad?

What was the trick list for the runs?

congrats to AJ. That is awesome. I expect great things from him next year as a pro!

I'm with Entrust & Billy, but I do agree with what Ryan said.

Ron, AJ still has another year in Jr. men's if he wants to stay, I think he will.

i think its fine to be cocky if you can back it up. but to me soven is a robot, hes clean and lands everything but he doesn't seem to be all that innovative and to me it's not that exciting to watch him ride.

Ho Ryan..bradda..da kine…bra..The only reason I say that is because there was this time he was at TSR and the line was long…he skipped everyone and went to the front. Someone said “Soven why don’t you get in line like everyone else?” he replied with “I’m a professional!” He’s just a little too cocky for my taste, that’s why I said I would’ve rather Rusty won. I mean you have pro’s like Tom Fooshee, Gabe Lucas, and other pros that you would never see doing or saying anything like that. Granted he kills it and he’s very talented, but there is more to being a professional than just wakeboarding.

benjamin, same thing happens every time he rides at odub...which is why everyone hates him.

That's a bummer if he does cut in line.

However, I'm surprised by entrust's comment. I think Soven's section in the Truth is the best video section out right now. I watch it again and again, which surprises me because I figured he's so tech that I wouldn't enjoy watching him ride.

Actually I guess I shouldn't be so surprised. "Soven is a robot" is exactly what peole said about Shapiro back when he reigned supreme and to a lesser extent what people said about Parks. I guess if you're the best then you just don't have "style."

At Malibus photo shoot Soven refused to get up early in the morning. He said he would only do photos later in the day, and if they wanted pics they would wait. (Cocky.) I'm so glad MC signed Rusty instead of Philip, I would hate to pull for Soven in tourneys.

I would think aj would stay. it wouldn't hurt. Better to ride Sunday with jr men than be watching as a pro. Pro level is tough.

lol I received a real cute email from this email address whirly5@mac.com

"dude
change that gay raley pic on your profile!
soven rules!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
give respect you'll get it in return"

Agreed that the Soven section in the Truth is killer.

Congrats to Phil. I can't wait to see Rusty try a 1080 in a contest.

Danny & Rusty both went for the 1080 in the finals.

OK here it goes... And this is only aimed at a few of you...

I come on this forum to keep up with a sport I left a long time ago. I love to see the progression and stoke that most people on this forum share. I also learn a lot form guys like electricsnow and others who have seen this sport grow for the last 20 years.

I find it hard to believe grown men come on here to talk sh@t about young athletes who unfortunately have to grow up under a microscope. Maybe we should start a forum called the sewing circle.

I'm not saying he didn't cut the line or is right to do so. If I was there I would of thrown him in the water because I can. I’m also not saying he might be a little confident or cocky. I'm sure if the whole WW community got to see all the stupid stuff you did and said at 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, etc. you'd all still be in therapy.

I grew up with most of these pros and almost all of them let fame get to them at one point or another. Everyone of them did something stupid. Myself included. It's part of growing up.

I've only meet Rusty once and from what I know of him he's a stand up guy and the most motivated pro since Shapiro. I grew up with Phillip when he was a little whippersnapper. He's a good kid.

A Hui Hoe

I'm with Ryan....If you guys were that good at something at such a young age,I bet you guys wouldn't be any better.


IMO,If I was at odub and Soven try to cut line.....He would definitely be 1st in the water....head 1st that is.

Amen. I don't give a crap who he is. He wouldn't of cut in line if I was in that line.

there both better than me

I agree with Ryan

In pro sports your always going to have the cocky and not so cocky.
ie; Terrell Owens
Keyshawn Johnson
Randy Moss
These all are great players but not liked very much because of the way they choose to act.
Then you have other guys that are great role models like,
Chris Carter
Warrick Dunn
Derrick Brooks
Tom Brady.
These guys are equally as talented but liked by most fans and players.
You have a choice on how you want to act, young or old no matter what level of talent you have.
I wonder if this topic would have come up if Rusty won? He's a pretty confident guy, but I think he is liked by most.

yeah Billy but you're talking about guys in the mid 20's that are out of college to a guy that's not even out of puberty....

Soven is 17 or 18 by now.

correct me if I'm wrong but puberty is approx. 12-18 maybe 19 years of age....

wow...got a late start, huh ed? puberty usually takes place between the ages of 10 and 15.

(Message edited by dakid on July 24, 2007)

Sounds like Phil Soven is the Kobe Bryant of wakeboarding. Phenom at an insanely young age that is great and knows it. Just gives off a vibe that makes him the guy that everyone loves to hate for being so great. Remember Kobe getting booed for winning the All-Star MVP? Heck, I was even booing the TV and this was before the spat with Shaq or the rape trial. Then there are guys in the same position at very young ages (Tiger Woods and LeBron James) who everyone adores. Just something about the vibe they give off, I guess.

YUP definitely not 15!



out of the wikipedia....

Ethnic/racial differences have been recognized for centuries. For example, the average age of menarche in various populations surveyed in the last several decades has ranged from 12.0 to 18.5 years. The earliest mean is reported for African-American girls and the oldest for high altitude subsistence populations in Asia. However, it is clear that much of the higher age averages reflect nutritional limitations more than genetic differences and can change within a few generations with a substantial change in diet

And I was more making a point that the age group that Billy was comparing were worlds apart.Didn't quite mean it so literally but as you can see,I was not that off!

i was just messin' w/ you ed.

So with age being the reason for his cockiness, then the Jr Men should be HUGE azzhowles to hang out with. Its not his fault, the actions of a young successful athlete should be the parents responsibility to keep him somewhat humble but proud.

compare apples to apples is all I'm saying!

Congrats Phillip Soven,A.J Racinelli,Shelby Kantar for your pro tour titles, very impressive with all the talent on the tour!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Another Congrats to all the athletes on the tour in all divisions, for all your hard work on and off the water!!!!!THANK YOU FOR A GREAT PRO TOUR in 07, so much fun to watch and follow with all the great riding going down!!!!!!

Jeff, your right. This thread got a little off the mark. PWT 07 was a GREAT season, seems like a lot higher level of riding this year by many different riders. Hopefully next year we will see Parks in the mix, as well as a few 1080's from the Clermont Crew.

Ryan, thanks for all your support. However,I believe alot of what was written about Phillip probably is true. However, I think alot of the issues are old. Remember, he turned pro when he was 11. As far as cutting in line at Texas, he hasn't been there in 3 years so perhaps when he was 14 or 15 it happened. I think over the last few years Phillip has matured alot, just like most 18 years. He's unfortunately had to grow up under a microscope in an adult's world. Think how you would react at the age of 11, 12 or 13 going to work with adults. Perhaps his cockiness was a compensation for his insecurity about riding with guys 5-10 years older than him. At this point I see him as a confident rider, not a cocky rider. Personally, I am extremely happy not only for his triumphs but for his efforts also. I'm sure Rusty will win a pro tour some day, this year however, it's Phillip's turn. And winning 4 out of 5 pro tour events was some way to do it.

i dont know him from adam but he freakin dominated this year. kudos to him. his section in relentless is still one of my favorite video clips of all time. congrats.

one of his fellow LF teammates (who i will not name), said it's mostly his parents' fault for his attitude bc all they do is complain at most of the competitions

Wayne, Has anyone else ever won 80% of the events. Thats amazing. His riding is near flawless.

Brad, don't believe everything you hear.

he told it to me at a LF demo & clinic. i didnt just catch it off of gossip. But Soven is still the best rider out there right now

Wayne, I'm glad to see on here. I believe Phillip exudes pure confidence and professionalism. I have never seen him act inapropriately. Great kid, great ambassador to the sport. You are so correct in stating how these kids have to grow up under the scope. The competitive community of wakeboarding is small, and the general public has no idea how hard these kids train to be on top of their game. Most of these bashing posters don't have the drive, committment, or cojones to even compete, but have no problem hiding behind forums like this to vent their frustrations with their own lives. It was truly a pleasure to hang out with your family at Masters, and inspired Victoria. We have endured the same critisizms, as your family will too. Continue to support, Congrats Phillip, see you at Worlds!! W.Scott Kulp

i kinda figured that. i'm sorry mr. soven. i dont even know you or your son personally. didn't mean anything by it. but still, props to your son for winning the tour!

I love how so many people talk smack about the sports' greatest, and then start sucking up and giving props as soon as a rider or family member shows up to defend. In Brads case it was worse because he couldn't even put the last names toegther.

Geez Brad...you're on a roll this week! You got REEMED on that last thread. Carefull what you say dawg. You're a lot younger than most of the regulars here...just so ya know.

Hey everyone first off i would like to say that this is my second time ever writing on one of these forums but i do check them every now and then just to see what people have to say and i would like to thank all of you for your support it has been an amazing year for me and i could not ask for more right now the one single person who has made the biggest impact on this year for me is rusty we have pushed each other throughout the year to perform at our highest level and i can guarantee he will be winning a pro tour title as well very soon but on another note there is alot being said on here by people who have never even met me and believe everything they hear I have actually never ridden the cable at tsr and when i go to owc (which i have not in almost a year) i usually will only do one or two laps if the line is short mostly ride the boat but if the line is long i drive back home and come at a later time so if there is anyone there cutting in line and you think it is me be my guest to throw me/whoever it actually is right over the railing head first i may have done and said some things when i was younger that put a bad tag on me but over the years i have grown i am now 18 and can look back and say wow i really was an ••••••••• have learned to change that now and if you do get the chance to meet me you can see that for yourself yes i am very confident in myself and i am aware of everything that has been given to me and am extremely grateful for it i have lived my entire childhood with a camera in my face and someone ready to let the world know whenever i mess up and you have your right to your own opinion by all means take it but please do not spread rumors about me that are not true is all i ask. My dad has traveled with me for years now he travels with my brother so he does get to go to all the pro tour stops and he sees what goes on with everything although not only would i never let him complain to a judge for me but it is actually against the rules to have a second body look at any officials judging scores although i have heard this rumor in the past but i have learned to love the life i have i could not ask for anything different i live to compete and am blessed to be able to make a profession out of it in the sport i love and being "under the microscope" is just a part of what i do everybody makes mistakes though yeah even all of you i guarantee there is someone out there that does not like you but in my case that one person can just go onto a chat like this and talk bad about me then next thing you know i have a fan club of people who dont like me but that is something that i will always have to live with because i have met many many people in my life and the fans i do have are the greatest people in the world it is absolutely amazing to know and actually see people showing up at a tournament to watch me and cheer me on whether they be a young child who tells me that they want to be just like me or an attractive girl which is always awesome or it be an older man who just owns a fishing boat and saw what was going on and thought it was cool i wakeboard for the love of the sport and competing is my life but now i have a whole nother reason to do what i do and that is for those people i gave my jersey to a young boy who i met in portland at a LF clinic a few years ago i have thousands of those things i was my car with them even but to this kid it was not just a jersey you could see in his eyes he was in shock it was a huge thing for him i thought to myself wow this kid actually looks up to me and i have a responsibility to be a good role model and that is what i try to do unfortunately the way i acted growing up will always be in some peoples eyes and they will always say i am a cocky kid who thinks hes hot •••••••• that is life you have to live to learn THANK YOU everyone who has supported me and been behind me throughout my career and i plan to continue on the track that i am going
THANKS
Phillip

That sounds like a young man who has his head on pretty straight. Could use some punctuation and grammar lessons though.
Seriously though, I don't think very many of us would like to be judged or labeled based on a few stupid things that we said or did in our adolescent years.
BTW, whatever else you want to say about Dr. Soven, the man is there for his boys, and for that I admire him.
Congratulations Phillip!

(Message edited by deltawake on July 24, 2007)

phillip, thanks for posting, but for cryin' out loud, PLEASE use punctuations every now and then!

haha thanks peter yeah sorry about the puctuation and grammar i have only done one semester of college so far have not finished english class haha but i was trying to get in what i had to say punctuation was not on my mind sorry

He gets paid to wakeboard; screw English class!

Congrats on the victory man!

that was the longest sentence ever!!!!!!!!!!! haha

continued sucess and when will you be landing a 1080?????

alright guys i get it my grammar was not quite perfect haha i was trying 1080s and backside 9s today a few times i will be working on both all day tommorow so hopefully tommorow is your answer

NICE!! take some video and post it up

Just in case anyone didn't get it, the Kobe Bryant comparison is a backhanded complement. KB is the greatest in the game today. If you would prefer I use Alex Rodriguez, then we'll go with that one. Folks love to give A-Rod a hard time and it is also because he's the best in the game at such a young age and has taken full advantage of it. Just wanted to make sure I didn't get lumped in with the haters! (I said it above and have said it elsewhere, the PS section in The Truth is the best of the year.)

Damn, remind me never to be famous. 95% of the people you run into are never going to get to know you, nor will you probably ever see them again. Therefore, whatever their first impression of you is, it's going to stick in their minds forever. Pretty much every bad day or bad moment Soven has is viewed by a dozen people who will form an opinion solely off of that. No one can keep up a positive attitude 24/7. I know people a lot of people would dislike me if their first impression was their only impression. Cut the kid some slack. Congrats on winning the tour. It's pretty safe to assume this is the first of many season titles to come.

Thank for posting Phillip. And congrats on the big win. You've acheived the ultimate goals in wakeboarding.

Maybe if you guys aren't DCKS, he'll continue to visit and post.

I agree with jarrod ^^^about kissing butt 2 posts up. I would think, If you know your "under the microscope" thats probably the best time to be cool.
I gotta give the Sovens props for coming on and facing this group. I really think the name "haters" is a little harsh, I may hate to pull for someone in a tourney, but I've only met Phillip a few times and I never said, I hated him personally.
Good Luck next year and be safe.
Billy

(Message edited by woreout on July 25, 2007)

^^Talk about some major backpaddling...^^


Thanks for the post Phillip and I will continue to stand up for you but I wasn't joking....NO CUTTING LINES!

Phillip, Great response. I am glad to see you step up and quiet some of the critics. Being a Wakeboard dad and traveling with Tony the last few years I know what a huge commitment your dad has made to you and your brothers. 1 son that rides is hard enough let alone 3. I have seen you grow in the last few years and you are a great ambassador to the sport.Great job on winning the tour.

i wish i could say, "well i tried some 1080s today so i'm kinda tired"... haha, i fell on some 180s today and i'm kinda tired... thats more like it

Big Ed,
No backpaddling from me, I was saying if you know your under the microscope when your a kid, as the Sovens stated. Then why let your son act like a cocky idiot? The age thing not sure about, theres been a lot of other successful young riders that are very respectful to others. If he is 18 now, when he was 16-17 he didnt leave CC on too good of terms especially when he thought MC was signing him. But hey,that was in the past,and if he has changed then thats great!! I hope so because Phillip is certainly a talented young man, that is looked up to, by many kids.

isn't it "backpeddling?"

I'd say it's the same thing, but one is on a bike, and one is in a raft!

I prefer crawdaddin myself.

Look at all the ALOHA!

Soven Rips, Rusty Rips, surfs up, I'm out...

Thanks for posting and congrats on the tour title Phil. If it wasn't a post by you, I do no think I would have made it through what may be the longest sentence in WW history though.

I know a lot of people want to be pros, but my hats off to anyone that makes a living doing it. Yes you have to be unbelievably talented and dedicated, but I think it would be a hard life with all the traveling and attention. I have never met Phil, but one thing I like about this sport is how accessible and generally friendly the pros are in this sport to other riders and fans. I know of no other sport like this.

I do, Motocross/Supercross, some of my best friends are pro Moto riders and they are very down to earth and friendly and they are accessible in the pits at the races and go out of there way to say hello or sign something for you, just like the Wake Pros.
There are also some pretty cool pro surfer's and skate pros as well, I think more so in Action Sports, then any other Sports, being they are sooo laid back.

I'll never forget the first year of the Reno stops.

The water was HORRIBLE like it always is in Reno. The guys were having trouble landing the most basic tricks. Soven came out and stomped his technical tricks (mobe 5s etc...) as if he was riding on glass. At the end of the pass, he tossed the handle and rode onto the beach (into the crowd) where he was approachable. The crowd came out of their chairs with applause. A great performance followed by a great PR move on Sovens part.

Thanks J-rod....efin Joe is all over me!

I think it's funny, that someone is actually upset over "cuts" in line? Like your camped out for Clay Aiken tickets or something. Who are these divas anyway? Like anyone wants to watch you fallout the backside of the funbox-throwin' the 180 to blind. Let Philly have cuts, and watch the pro-run go down, you just might learn something. Please, please, stop spitting stories about your neighbors-nephew-2nd cousin who thought he saw Phil at the local club, not paying his covercharge, while you waited in the cattleline-awaitin the big veto.
Congrats on the title to PSov, enjoy the rewards and anytime your in SoCal, you got cuts all day long at TacoTuesdays. There's always plenty of beans and rice for everyone.
Cutter out.