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With the sun shinning bright over a glassy Lake Tye, the top professional wakeboarders in the world took to the water for their final rounds of action at the MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour stop in Monroe, Wash. Fans packed the shoreline, as the sport’s top pros battle it out for crucial points toward the season standings at the fourth stop of the five-city circuit.
With the season’s end in site, the two with most to gain or lose from today’s contest was Phillip Soven and Harley Clifford. The two Pro Men’s division riders were separated by a mere 10 points heading in to Monroe tour stop.
Clifford, who needed the win today to overtake Soven in the Pro Tour standings, seemed to send a message to the current points-leader by landing three 900 variation tricks during the semifinals.
“Knowing that Phil and I were 10 points apart really put the pressure on us today,” said Clifford. “But my semifinal run was pretty standard for me and I didn’t want to hold back heading into the finals.”
While Clifford was clearly the semifinal standout, the Australian wakeboarding phenom could not hang on to that kind of momentum in the finals, with Soven taking first place in Monroe, extending the points-leader’s win-streak to three.
“Going into this stop, with only a 10-point lead, I knew I need to be able to handle the pressure and do everything I needed to do to win this contest,” said Soven. “With Harley not doing so well in the finals, I take a 45-point lead heading into the last stop, where I plan to defend my title.”
While Soven took first place today in Monroe, Clifford finished last in the six-man heat, with Aaron Rathy and Andrew Adkison rounding out the top three, respectively.
In addition to winning the Pro Men’s division finals, Phillip Soven also took first place in the Overton’s Double Up Contest, winning the $1,000 prize for landing a massive Nose Crow 540.
Also in the Pro Men’s division, Dean Smith took home the $1,000 prize in the Rockstar Energy Drink Big-Air Kicker Contest with his Hootchie Glide Backside 360.
In the Pro Women’s division, all eyes were on top seed Amber Wing to see if the former world champion could extend her winning-streak to three consecutive Pro Tour stop victories with a win today in Monroe.
While Wing faced off against a talented six-woman final, the 28-year-old Australian’s biggest challenge was staying focused.
“I was super nervous about finals today,” said Wing. “I really want to be the overall winner, and as the season gets closer to the end, the more the pressure builds up.”
But Wing didn’t let the pressure get to her today, landing a clean Whirly Bird, Moby Dick and a massive Scarecrow to take first place in Monroe and extending her streak.
With today’s win, Wing remains at the top of the standings list, with nearly a 100-point lead over the next closest competitor Nicola Butler.
Emily Copeland Durham and Nicola Butler took second and third place, respectively, in today’s contest.
In the Jr. Pro Men’s division, newcomer Gordon Harrison made his finals debut today, facing off against Joshua Twelker, Daniel Powers and current points-leader Shota Tezuka.
While Harrison turned heads by landing a Crow Mobe 540 in his first-ever finals run, all eyes remained on Powers to see if the 17-year-old Orlando, Fla. would stretch his winning-streak to three consecutive Pro Tour stop victories.
While all the Jr. Pro Men riders threw down impressive runs, Powers Heelside 720 off the double up lifted the 2011 Masters champion to his third straight Pro Tour stop victory.
“It feels great,” Powers said about his win today. “It’s cool to be on a winning-streak and I hope to keep it going through the last stop of the season.”
Harrison and Tezuka rounded out the podium, respectively.
With today’s win, Power sits in second place overall in the standings; 17 points shy of Tezuka.
With Monroe wrapped up, the MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour, presented by Rockstar Energy Drink will now head to its final stop of the season in Knoxville, Tenn., on August 27 & 28. Additional 2011 Pro Tour venues include Acworth, Ga., Fort Worth, Tex., and Colorado Springs, Colo.
For photos from today’s event, visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/prowakeboardtour.
**July 9 Results:
**
Pro Men
Final Round – Heat #1
1 Phillip Soven USA 80.00
2 Aaron Rathy CAN 70.00
3 Andrew Adkison USA 60.00
4 Dean Smith AUS 50.00
5 Bob Soven USA 45.00
6 Harley Clifford AUS 40.00
Pro Women
Final Round – Heat #1
1 Amber Wing AUS 80.00
2 Emily Durham USA 66.67
3 Nicola Butler GBR 62.67
4 Anna Hajek USA 58.33
5 Raimi Merritt USA 54.00
6 Shawna Hoffman USA 50.00
Jr. Pro Men
Final Round – Heat #1
1 Daniel Powers USA 92.50
2 Gordon Harrison USA 85.50
3 Shota Tezuka JPN 85.00
4 Joshua Twelker USA 77.00
Pro Men
Semifinal Round – Heat #1
1 Harley Clifford AUS 85.00
2 Dean Smith AUS 70.00
3 Aaron Rathy CAN 65.83
4 Steel Lafferty USA 61.67
5 Tony Carroll USA 56.67
Pro Men
Semifinal Round – Heat #2
1 Phillip Soven USA 81.67
2 Bob Soven USA 75.00
3 Andrew Adkison USA 63.00
4 Olivier Derome CAN 60.00
5 Shaun Murray USA 36.67
Jr. Pro Men
Semifinal Round – Heat #1
1 Daniel Powers USA 93.25
2 Joshua Twelker USA 86.75
3 Mike Dowdy USA 86.00
4 Dylan Prideaux AUS 72.50
5 Joey Buss USA 61.50
Jr. Pro Men
Semifinal Round – Heat #2
1 Shota Tezuka JPN 92.75
2 Gordon Harrison USA 84.25
3 Jacob Valdez USA 82.50
4 Freddie Wayne USA 73.50
5 Robby Holihan USA 67.00
Pro Men
Quarterfinal Round – Heat #1
1 Bob Soven USA 80.00
2 Dean Smith AUS 73.33
3 Rusty Malinoski CAN 66.67
4 Jason Bannatyne CAN 61.67
Pro Men
Qualifying Round – Heat #2
1 Andrew Adkison USA 75.00
2 Aaron Rathy CAN 70.00
3 AJ Racinelli USA 61.67
4 Chad Sharpe CAN 51.67
Pro Men
Qualifying Round – Heat #3
1 Steel Lafferty USA 73.33
2 Tony Carroll USA 66.67
3 Jimmy LaRiche USA 58.33
4 Nick Jones USA 50.00
Pro Men
Qualifying Round – Heat #4
1 Harley Clifford AUS 80.00
2 Shaun Murray USA 73.33
3 Kyle Rattray CAN 63.33
4 JD Webb USA 51.67
Pro Men
Qualifying Round – Heat #5
1 Phillip Soven USA 78.33
2 Olivier Derome CAN 66.67
3 Austin Hair USA 60.00
4 Jeff House USA 50.00
