Texas State University Pulls Out A Victory, Other Teams Impress

 
Ft. Worth, TX – Riders from nine universities and three states took over the waters of Texas Mastercraft Lake to see which team was the best on the water in this third-annual collegiate wakeboarding event. In the end, it was Texas State University taking home the crown in what is just their first year as an official team and first ever tournament. But, this was not without a little drama.
 
The top eight riders from the pool of 35 were to be placed into a final competition. However, a tie between the eighth and ninth place riders, Andrew Masi of University of Texas and Texas State’s Reese Phillips, allowed Texas State an additional rider in the finals. From there, they were able, with three riders in the finals, to gain the points to put them on top in the end.
 
"We came out and did what we wanted and expected to do, which was perform to the best of our ability," said Texas State team president Jack Guenther. "In the end, that got us the victory."
 
Even an unseasonably cold day couldn’t keep all these riders from throwing down some of their best tricks on what some called ‘the biggest wake they had ever hit.’ It also didn’t stop two wakeboarding legends, Dallas Friday and Parks Bonifay, from coming to check out the action.
 
"Anytime you come to Texas, there is just so much passion for wakeboarding and that showed here today at Red Bull Boarder Wars," said Bonifay.
 
Baylor rider Patrick Hamner said, "This is the highest level of competition that I’ve seen at a collegiate event."
 
Other participating teams were Baylor, Oklahoma State University, Tulsa Tech, University of Texas Arlington, Midwestern State, Louisiana State and Tarrant County Community College.
 
On top of the collegiate team division, awards were also given to the best female rider and the best individual overall rider. Nick Vacari of Louisiana State University was named best individual rider with Holland Finley of University of Texas being named best female.
 
In overall team results, University of Texas and Louisiana State University came in second and third respectively.
 
Winning teams and riders gained bragging rights and premium gear from event sponsors Oakley, Fox and Ronix, with winners Texas State also taking home a $1,000 prize purse. Participants also got the chance to ride behind the 2013 Mastercraft XStar, which was the official competition boat.