Saint Mary’s Hits the Local Papers

Brian Detrick founded Saint Mary's Water Ski Team in the Spring of 2008. In its first two years, the team has become one of the most successful in the Western Region.

After hosting their first successful collegiate tournament, Saint Mary’s Water Ski Team has gotten some local coverage in the Lamorinda Weekly Newspaper.  As journalist Mikaela Cowles illustrates, this team has done a terrific job getting off the ground, and in only its second year of existence, becoming competitive in the Western Region.  Captain Brian Detrick deserves most of the credit for the rapid success of his team, as it was his work that got the team started through his school and with the National Collegiate Water Ski Association.  I spoke with Brian to discuss the barriers he faced in the initial stages, in an effort to break down those roadblocks for any others interested in developing collegiate ski teams.

“Without a doubt,” he said, “the most difficult part was working with the school to become an official school-sponsored club.  I knew we had to be affiliated with the school to compete, so this was the direction I took from the start.  I had been around collegiate water skiing before, so I knew what to expect.  After I had everything figured out with the school, working with the NCWSA was relatively easy.”

Brian attributed his motivation to his earlier experience with AWSA competition, an organization that gave him a comprehensive understanding of the sport and the drive to continue skiing through college.  Although many students end up joining water ski teams in college and competing for the first time, it generally takes the experienced skier like Brian to get a new club going.  This is not a factor of skill or ability, but a tribute to the lack of visibility of our sport; the majority of the student population is unaware that competitive water skiing exists at any level.

The National Collegiate Water Ski Association is the governing body for collegiate, 3-event water skiing.

While Saint Mary’s captain was particularly independent in his efforts, there are a number of resources available for any other students interested in establishing a new water ski team.  The first step is to contact the Chairman or Vice-Chairman of your region.  They can be found under the ‘Board’ page at NCWSA.com.  These individuals will be able to provide you will all sorts of information on all topics from working with the school to recruiting new members, and they will likely put you in touch with someone in your area who can work with you directly.

Western Regionals Wrap-Up

Cal Poly skier Jason De Groot places 16th in men's slalom with a score of 4.5 buoys at 28 off.

The 2009 Western Collegiate Regional Championships has been concluded.  As a tournament notorious for close calls and unexpected outcomes, this year’s event had no trouble living up to its reputation.  The host school, Saint Mary’s College, was extremely well organized, and their extensive crew of volunteers and officials helped them to get the site dialed for a very smooth weekend.  Between Shortline Lake itself and our perfect weather throughout both Saturday and Sunday, conditions were ideal for all competitors, setting the stage for some very big scores.

A 7:00 AM start time for men’s slalom on Saturday morning got the action going right away, and by the end of the first event, teams were already head to head in the standings.  In a show of their mens team’s great depth, Chico State was able to edge out ASU, but the 20 point margin was too slim for them to stay ahead for long.  Perhaps more exciting, however, was the slew of teams in the race for the last Division I spot.  Separated by only 35 points, Western Washington, San Diego State, UC Davis, and Cal Poly were essentially even going into women’s slalom, while St. Mary’s trailed only 110 points out of third.  Sac State was the only team to fall back prematurely, but with their critical three-eventer,Matt Nantze, unable to compete for the weekend, they would have had to ski flawlessly to have a shot at D II.  The Cal Poly men’s team had also hoped to do better, but an error with their eligibility letter left sophmore skier Joe Ira sidelined for the weekend as well.  Nonetheless, in the true spirit of collegiate skiing, both of these guys got out there anyway and became their respective teams’ greatest supporters of the weekend, cheering on their teammates for a solid two days straight.

ASU's Storm Selsor puts up the largest collegiate jump score this fall, with a distance of 174 feet, to secure first place in both jump and overall.

After women’s slalom and 10 rounds of men’s and women’s trick, scores were still close as the teams prepared for jump the following morning.   Before the next event could take place, however, St.Mary’s captain Brian Detrick, and his parents invited the region for a barbecue dinner at their house on the lake.  My personal thanks goes out to their family for all their hospitality this weekend, and I know the sentiment is shared among all of those in attendance.

The following morning got off to a similar start as the first, and by the time men’s jump got through the third round, anticipation was high for nearly all of the region’s teams.  Chico was safely behind Arizona State, but Cal Poly only held the third place spot by 35 points over SDSU.  Even tighter was the 30 point gap between 5th place Western Washington and Sac State.  In the end the Aztecs out-jumped Cal Poly to land their first Division I Nationals appearance since 2004, and Western Washington was able to secure their highly sought out fifth place ticket to D II.  The final combined team scores yielded the following results:

1. ASU
2. Chico State
3. San Diego State
4. Cal Poly SLO
5. Western Washington
6. Sac State
7. St. Mary’s
8. UC Davis
9. UCLA
10. UC San Diego
11. University of Nevada Reno
12. UC Santa Barbara
13. University of San Diego

A look at the podium. From left to right, these teams will represent the Western Region at the 2009 National Collegiate Water Ski Championships: Western Washington University, San Diego State University, Arizona State University, Chico State University, and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. The NCWSA Championships will take place October 22nd through 24th at Ironwood Ski Ranch in Arvin, California.

Sac State’s Regional Warm Up and Western Regional Predictions

Jenny Waits placed 1st in women's Trick and Jump events and 2nd in women's Overall this weekend at Winchester to help Cal Poly finish first in team standings.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS:

• Performances from Sac State’s tournament at Winchester Lake
• Implications of last weekend’s results on upcoming regionals
• Predictions for the Western Region’s Nationals teams

Anticipation was high this weekend at Winchester Lake.  Instead of the relaxed feel found at most collegiate water ski tournaments, the Regional Warm Up hosted by Sac State possessed an energy usually reserved for Regional Championships or Nationals itself.  The level of excitement present is a testament to the strong level of competition this year between several very solid teams.  The Western Region will send at least five teams, with the possibility of a sixth, to the Collegiate Water Ski National Championships in Arvin, California, and these will be determined solely by placement at next week’s tournament in Elk Grove.

With a strong showing from all of our skiers, Cal Poly managed to take the top spot of the tournament, followed by Chico State and Sac State respectively.  As much as I would like to see it happen, Cal Poly is not likely to repeat this unprecedented first place finish next weekend.  In addition to a few less than standard performances by competing members, Chico’s lineup was missing some critical support in the likes of 3-eventers Justin Pingatore and Al Perez.  This team will no doubt come back next weekend ready to play, and will definitely be trying for first.  The other contender here is the always dominant ASU.  The Sun Devils opted to look ahead this weekend, skipping the trip to Sacramento to instead take a training outing to the Nationals site at Ironwood Ranch.  With Storm Selsor and Kevin Melnuk leading the guys, and easily the strongest women’s team in the region, I am anticipating ASU will be able to defend their Western Region title.  Thus my prediction for the top three teams at Regionals, who will be granted berths for Division I Nationals are:

1. ASU
2. Chico State
3. Cal Poly

Cal Poly's Greg Olsen pulls for 2-ball at 32' off in a collegiate tournament last spring at Winchester Lake.

Although these top places are not nearly concrete, the teams in play for the two remaining Division II spots are far more questionable.  Sac State’s team placed third this weekend, easily outpacing fourth place UC Davis, however both San Diego State and Western Washington decided, like ASU, to stay home for training.  SDSU’s successful first outing at Chico, and their second place performance at ASU’s tournament this fall cast them in a favorable light for the upcoming competition, and Western’s depth of their girls team will keep them in contention all the way to the end.  Before this weekend I had expected the newly formed St. Mary’s Water Ski Team to make a run of their own, but with Captain Brian Detrick out due to a neck injury, I don’t anticipate the rest of the team will be able to make up for his not being able to ski.  To round out the Western Region’s representation in Division II, I expect the following:

4.  San Diego State

5.  Sacramento State

6.  Western Washington (Wildcard)

Whatever the end results, this weekend will no doubt be an exciting one.  If Western Washington manages to qualify, be it by placing in the Top 5 or securing the wildcard spot, it would be a first at least as far as I can recall, and I would love to see this happen.  Additionally, I would like to see all the teams from the West out at Nationals to support the region, whether they qualify to compete or not.