Date: 10/18/04
Author: USA Water Ski Press Release

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Mastercraft to Sponsor 2004 WWC Wakeboard World Championships

POLK CITY, Fla. - The U.S. Wakeboard Team clinched its first world team title and three U.S. riders earned individual medals Sunday at the World Wakeboard Council’s (WWC) fifth annual Wakeboard World Championships in Seville, Spain. The four-day tournament included 171 riders from 24 countries. Australia, the defending champion, finished runner-up and Switzerland was third in what was the largest WWC Worlds to date.

"Congratulations to this year’s U.S. Wakeboard Team for capturing its first world team title," said Steve McDermeit, USA Water Ski’s executive director. "The team members worked hard to prepare for this event and their talent and dedication definitely paid off."

Three U.S. Wakeboard Team members earned individual medals. Phillip Soven (Longwood, Fla.) won the gold medal in Open Men, scoring 77.30 points; Robert Soven (Longwood, Fla.) earned the gold medal in Junior Boys, tallying 59.11 points; and Patty Hicks (Wheeling, Ill.) earned the bronze medal in the Girls' division, scoring 25.24 points.

Other members of the U.S. Wakeboard Team were Steel Lafferty (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), Boys; Austin Hair (Tega Cay, S.C.), Junior Men; Derek Conway (Granite Bay, Calif.), Junior Men; Tim Keepers (East Troy, Wis.), Open Men; Loren Levine (Madison, Wis.), Open Men; and Denise Parris (Covina, Calif.), Open Women. Mark Norwell (Arlington Heights, Ill.), Masters; and Jeff Solie (Orlando, Fla.), Open Men, were the alternates. Mike Ferraro was the coach and Dan Levine and Janifer Ellis served as the team captain and team manager, respectively.

The selections to the team were made by the American Wakeboard Association (AWA) following the 2004 Malibu USA Wakeboard Championships. The U.S. Wakeboard Team earned the silver medal at the 2003 Worlds in Brisbane, Australia.

MasterCraft was the main sponsor and exclusive towboat of the 2004 WWC Wakeboard World Championships.

USA Water Ski was formed in 1939 as a non-profit organization promoting water skiing in the United States. USA Water Ski is affiliated with the IWSF (world governing body) and is recognized by the United States Olympic Committee and Pan-American Sports Organization as the national governing body of organized water skiing in the United States. With more than 40,000 members, USA Water Ski is the largest water ski federation in the world.

Final Day Results

Open Men Finals
1. SOVEN, Phillip - USA - 77.30
2. SMITH, Dean - AUS - 75.53
3. KRAUSE, Morgan - RSA - 65.41
4. PRICE, Lockey - CAN - 59.77
5. LEVINE, Loren - USA - 57.50
6. LAMMERS, Matt - RSA - 53.37
7. VERVENNE, David - BEL - 50.94
8. VEDEL, Jesson - FRA - 30.02

Open Women Finals
1. RENDO, Robbie - ARG - 38.33
2. PRICE, Sheena - CAN - 36.56
3. FOUNTAIN, Andrea - NZL - 35.89
4. MOORE, Louise - GBR - 33.36
5. ECUYER, Alexandra - SUI - 32.88
6. MAIN, Tressa - CAN - 30.99
7. JANSSON, Caroline - SWE - 25.33
8. MASSON, Lauriane - FRA - 22.21

Jr Men Finals
1. SMEELE, Brad - NZL - 63.91
2. HANCOCK, Mick - AUS - 55.93
3. EVANS, Tony - NZL - 52.15
4. BURTON-MOORE, Nicholas - RSA - 51.69
5. HAIR, Austin - USA - 47.79
6. ROSSITER, Marc - GBR - 45.11
7. RATTRAY, Kyle - CAN - 40.67
8. CALLEBERT, Michael - BEL - 32.33

Boys Finals
1. SOVEN, Robert - USA - 59.11
2. YOUNG, James - GBR - 56.41
3. CLIFFORD, Harley - AUS - 49.78
4. WILLIAMS, Steven - USA - 45.57
5. LAFFERTY, Steel - USA - 40.35
6. BURNSTEIN, Danny - USA - 34.90
7. MOLLI, Giuliano - ITA - 23.48
8. WILLIS, Caleb - USA - 18.90

Girls Finals
1. TUAZ, Estelle - FRA - 27.69
2. BUTLER, Nicola - RSA - 26.03
3. HICKS, Patty - USA - 25.24
4. MERRITT, Raimi - USA - 24.12
5. BLAAUW, Caitlyn - AUS - 19.70
6. CHRISTIAN, Sasha - SIN - 13.60

Masters Men Finals
1. MEYENBERG, Andy - SUI - 50.91
2. LAWSON, Oliver - SUI - 41.94
3. ROSE, Tallun - AUS - 38.12
4. CAMPOS, Luis - POR - 35.72
5. MACKIE, Stewart - GBR - 29.45
6. GEOFFROY, Nicolas - FRA - 25.80
7. GODFREY, Michael - AUS - 25.14
8. JESSIMAN, Duncan - CAN - 21.90

Open Men Semifinals

Heat #1 (top four in each heat advance to Finals)
1. SMITH, Dean - AUS - 77.23
2. LAMMERS, Matt - RSA - 70.84
3. VERVENNE, David - BEL - 67.63
4. LEVINE, Loren - USA - 62.22
===
5. KRAUSE, Clayton - RSA - 61.88
6. HITCH, Ben - GBR - 53.70
7. CALVEZ, Yann - FRA - 39.14
8. BONNET, Xavier - BEL - 32.80

Heat #2
1. SOVEN, Phillip - USA - 75.18
2. KRAUSE, Morgan - RSA - 72.55
3. VEDEL, Jesson - FRA - 67.99
4. PRICE, Lockey - CAN - 64.42
===
5. NOTT, Dan - GBR - 58.26
6. BROOME, Scott - AUS - 43.47
7. CORNADO, Cyril - SUI - 35.25
8. ASTRUP, Ross - RSA - 33.35

Masters Men Semifinals (top four in each heat advance to Finals)

Heat #1
1. LAWSON, Oliver - SUI - 48.61
2. ROSE, Tallun - AUS - 46.29
3. JESSIMAN, Duncan - CAN - 41.80
4. CAMPOS, Luis - POR - 40.41
===
5. RUIZ, Laurent - FRA - 38.50
6. BECKER, Gilles - FRA - 38.05
7. SAVINA, Luca - ITA - 31.02
8. KHUDNITSKY, Konstantin - RUS - 21.60

Heat #2
1. MEYENBERG, Andy - SUI - 50.14
2. GODFREY, Michael - AUS - 43.22
3. GEOFFROY, Nicolas - FRA - 42.14
4. MACKIE, Stewart - GBR - 39.37
===
5. ZWATJES, Christian - BEL - 38.02
6. LUCA, Marcello - ITA - 35.47
7. BRAGA, Luis - POR - 34.67
8. SIEBEN, Pieter Jan - NED - 31.80

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