Acworth, Ga. – The action continued in Acworth today, as the top professional wakeboarders in the world hit the waters of Lake Allatoona at Dallas Landing Park for day two of the MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour, presented by Rockstar Energy Drink. Day two featured preliminary rounds for the Jr. Pro Men, Pro Men and Pro Women’s divisions, narrowing down the field of riders for tomorrow’s final rounds of action.
The Pro Women’s division, who will attend all five stops on the 2011 Pro Tour, highlighted today’s competition, as the top female pros made their first appearance in Acworth, since 2008.
“It feels awesome to be back here,” said Nicola Butler, who won the 2008 Acworth Pro Tour stop. “There’s an awesome vibe here and the fans are really supportive. We’re all stoked to be back in Acworth.”
Butler and 11 other female rippers faced off today in three heats of four during the Pro Women’s semifinals.
Former Pro Tour titlist Emily Copeland Durham and west coast rider Melissa Marquardt posted identical winning scores to top their respective heats, with Nicola Butler notching the highest score of the division – 65.00 – to win her heat, as well.
Butler, Marquardt and Copeland Durham will be joined each of their heat’s runner-ups in tomorrow’s six-woman final. The Pro Women’s finals are schedules for 4 p.m.
In the Pro Men’s division, 24 qualifiers were joined by the top-16 seeded riders on tour for the Round of 40. All 40 pros were split into 10 heats of four, with only the top two riders from each heat advancing on to tomorrow’s quarterfinals.
Among the 20 quarterfinalists is Georgia native Corey Bradley. Bradley, 26, who lives roughly an hour away from Dallas Landing Park, in Gainesville, Ga., is the only local rider left in the competition.
“It’s cool to have all my friends and family come out to the park and watch me ride,” said Bradley. “I rode really well today and made it through to the next round.”
The North Hall High School graduate’s standup run, which included a Toeside 720 and an Off-Axis 540, put Bradley through to the next round of the competition.
Bradley and the rest of the Pro Men’s division will kick off the Pro Tour’s final day in Acworth tomorrow morning at 10:30 a.m. for their quarterfinals.
In the Jr. Pro Men’s division, 23 amateur rippers hit the water today for their quarterfinal round of action in Acworth. Only the top two riders from each of the five heats advanced onto tomorrow’s semifinals, sending more than half of competition home.
Among the 10 semifinalist is birthday boy Freddie Wayne, who celebrated his 17th birthday today. Wayne posted a perfect score of 100 points to win his heat.
Wayne and the rest of the Jr. Pro Men riders will take to the water for their semifinals tomorrow at 1 p.m., following the pro men.
Tickets to tomorrow’s event are available at the gate: $13 (adult); $5 (ages 6-12); free (ages 5 and under).
May 20 Results:
** ****Pro Women**
Semifinal Round – Heat #1
1 Emily Durham USA 61.67
2 Raimi Merritt USA 60.00
3 Tarah Mikacich USA 40.00
4 Emylee Wright USA 31.67
Pro Women
Semifinal Round – Heat #2
1 Nicola Butler GBR 65.00
2 Anna Hajek USA 60.00
3 Miku Asai JPN 51.67
4 Corrie Dyer USA 45.00
** Pro Women**
Semifinal Round – Heat #3
1 Melissa Marquardt USA 61.67
2 Amber Wing AUS 58.33
3 Hayley Smith AUS 51.67
4 Alexa Score USA 31.67
** Pro Men**
Round of 40 – Heat #1
1 Adam Errington USA 80.00
2 Danny Burnstein USA 66.67
3 Sam Thomson AUS 56.67
4 Josh Palma USA 50.00
Pro Men
Round of 40 – Heat #2
1 Trevor Hansen USA 75.00
2 Shaun Murray USA 70.00
3 Scott Stweart USA 63.33
4 Danny Thollander USA 41.67
Pro Men
Round of 40 – Heat #3
1 Bob Soven USA 81.67
2 Dean Smith AUS 75.00
3 Shane Bonifay USA 60.00
4 Jefferson Langley USA 46.67
** Pro Men**
Round of 40 – Heat #4
1 Andrew Adkison USA 68.33
**2**** Corey Bradley USA 58.33 **
3 JB O’Neill USA 56.67
4 Chad Sharpe CAN 41.67
** Pro Men**
Round of 40 – Heat #5
1 Kyle Rattray CAN 63.33
2 Jimmy LaRiche USA 58.33
3 Padiwat Jaemjan THA 53.33
4 Erik Ruck USA 43.33
Pro Men
Round of 40 – Heat #6
1 Olivier Derome CAN 85.00
2 AJ Racinelli USA 75.00
3 Joey Bradley USA 55.00
4 Shawn Watson USA 53.33
Pro Men
Round of 40 – Heat #7
1 Phillip Aslinger USA 83.33
2 Austin Hair USA 76.67
3 JD Webb USA 66.67
4 Terry Bailey USA 30.00
Pro Men
Round of 40 – Heat #8
1 Rusty Malinoski CAN 86.67
2 Nick Jones USA 75.00
3 Tony Carroll USA 65.00
4 Jeff House USA 55.00
** Pro Men**
Round of 40 – Heat #9
1 Harley Clifford AUS 95.00
2 Steel Lafferty USA 68.33
3 Aaron Rathy CAN 60.00
4 Dante Digangi USA 41.67
Pro Men
Round of 40 – Heat #10
1 Phillip Soven USA 80.00
2 Kirby Liesmann USA 63.33
3 Julian Cohen USA 55.00
4 Jason Bannatyne CAN 50.00
Jr. Pro Men
Quarterfinal Round – Heat #1
1 Mark Kroon NED 94.25
2 Gordon Harrison USA 91.75
3 Keenan Allen USA 80.25
4 Pierce Homsey USA 73.75
Jr. Pro Men
Quarterfinal Round – Heat #2
1 Michael Dowdy USA 97.75
2 Joshua Twelker USA 88.00
3 Massi Piffaretti ITA 84.25
4 Colby Bernier USA 70.00
** Jr. Pro Men**
Quarterfinal Round – Heat #3
1 Freddie Wayne USA 100.00
2 Gunnar Shuler USA 84.00
3 Morgan Pederson USA 81.75
4 Yancey Crew** **USA 69.75
5 Cody Hesse USA 64.50
Jr. Pro Men
Quarterfinal Round – Heat #4
1 Kyle Evans USA 96.00
2 Dylan Prideaux AUS 83.25
3 Gus Shuler USA 75.00
4 Trey Rom USA 70.50
5 Robbie McMillan CAN 42.25** **
Jr. Pro Men
Quarterfinal Round – Heat #5
1 Jacob Valdez USA 93.75
2 Shota Tezaka JPN 86.00
3 Daniel Powers USA 79.25
4 Joey Buss USA 72.50
5 Robby Holihan USA 68.50
