By Roy M. Wallack
Wakeboarders like smooth-as-glass water. In a sense, they are actually “lakeboarders,” because most of them are used to perfect freshwater lakes. Choppy waters and gusty air can slightly throw off the precise aerial tricks of this sport that are too numerous and complicated to name right now. That is why the rippling, wind-whipped salt water of Mission Bay turned out to be an issue at the 2009 Collegiate Wakeboarding National Championships, despite some comments that it was the best venue ever due to the weather. And why the best competitor might just turn out to be the smartest strategist.
Sixteen teams of seven riders, including two women and one wake skater, competed for the team title. Three teams came from each of five regions in the U.S. —East, West, South, Midwest, and Southeast—along with three wildcards. A big upset occurred early when the University of Texas, led by star Hank Carter’s array of 540 spins, Tootsie Rolls, Whirlybirds, and backside 180s, took down its hated arch-rival, #1 seed Texas A & M.
Despite his skill set, Carter, a former Jr. Pro Tour star unique among wakeboarders in never having been injured (knee injuries are rampant in this sport), revealed that he had deliberately throttled back. “To win, be consistent,” he said. “Every time you fall, you lose time to do another trick.” He took that philosophy into the semis.
Good talent often went down because they didn’t think like Carter. Despite sticking an Whirlybird, a Roll the Blind, and an Indy Glide, Victor “Big Vic” Sanchez of Louisiana Tech, who was ranked 10th in the world in waterskiing at age 16 in 2002, was knocked out by Matt Morgan of the University of Florida in the quarter finals.
Raequel Hoffman, a junior English major at Chico State and the second woman in history to land a 720, now her signature trick, was competing against the boys in her first major competition since rehabbing from ACL surgery. “I’m not nervous because I’m with my team. They complete me,” joked the pro rider.
In the semi-finals against Morgan, Hoffamn pulled off a couple of good tricks on her first pass, including a Whirlybird, but wiped out twice on the way back. Morgan launched into a huge Air Raley on his first run, but likewise had trouble staying on his feet on the way back. He made it to the final, but not by much.
The crowd was buzzing. “It must be harder going back, because you’re against the wind,” someone said, noting that conditions seemed to get rougher as the afternoon lengthened.
In the other semi, Carter put together four flawless tricks on his first run, including two Whirlybirds, a toe-side 540, and a heel-side 360, and did a back roll to revert before failing to execute a 720 on the return trip. On the whole, it was a great pass—and it put a lot of pressure on his very good rival, Dan Bright of Sacramento State.
“He’s gonna have to go big,” said local businessman and wakeboard junkie Michael Smith. He was right. Bright, a pro wakeboarder who’d already twice done a Big Worm, a toe-side front flip with an overhead 540 spin, pulled out all the stops: Air Raley, Scarecrow, roll to revert, off-axis 540, followed by a toe-side backroll. Then he wiped out after the three-quarter mark on the return pass.
Carter was in; Bright out.
For the final, the boat added more ballast. After a test run to determine if the perfect wake was achieved, Morgan versus Carter commenced.
Carter’s first pass went like a highlight reel: Toe-side 360, Whirlybird, Dum Dum, Scarecrow. The last two drew cries of “Sweet!” from Cameron Steiner, an undeclared freshman at the University of Kentucky who Carter knocked out in the first round by 2 points.
“That was pretty good, but actually nothing blew my mind,” said Steiner. “He did a 360, not a 720. I could do what he did, no problem—he only barely beat me. But now, at least he landed them. The second pass will be key.”
Off-Axis 180. Backside 180. Roll to revert. Backroll. Eight tricks. Not spectacular, but no falls.
“He might have been riding conservatively because conditions are getting rougher,” said Steiner. “Carter didn’t throw down; that may or may not be smart. Morgan, going second, may have the advantage, in that he now knows what he has to beat.“
Morgan took off. Tantrum. Scarecrow. Roll to Revert. Toe-side off-axis 360. “Those were easy tricks,” said Steiner, now fully accustomed to his role as color commentator and analyst. “For instance—a Whirlybird is a tantrum with a 360 added. He’s blowing it—or he just doesn’t have it!”
To seal the deal, Morgan self-destructed on the return trip. After a heel-side off-axis, he fell, leaving him room for only two more jumps. He decided to go for broke, his only hope, shooting for a Big Worm — a Scarecrow with an Ole. It was “harder than anything Carter did,” said Steiner, but it failed. Morgan crashed. Carter was the 2009 Collegiate Wakeboard Champion.
“It was windy, so I did all my hardest tricks on the run out, and easier ones coming back in, so I wouldn’t fall,” Carter said. “A lot of people think they’ll do their hardest trick at the end, but that doesn’t work against the wind.”
Carter, a junior majoring corporate communications, didn’t say what his GPA is, but it is clear that he is smart. His U of Texas teammates could only agree with that assessment as they scelebrated his win with their second place (behind Florida) in the team competition.
