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Butler Looks to Make it Four in a Row in Fort Worth
Fort Worth, Tex. – The wakeboarding action continued today in Fort Worth, as the sport’s top pros hit the waters of Texas MasterCraft’s Lake Moser for day two of the MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour, presented by Rockstar Energy Drink. The three-day-long contest, which concludes Saturday, June 4, featured preliminary rounds today for the Jr. Pro Men, Pro Women and Pro Men’s divisions, narrowing down the field of riders for tomorrow’s final day of action.
In the Pro Women’s division, the top 12 female rippers on tour hit the water in three heats of four for their semifinal round. With only the top two riders in each heat advancing, the competition was quickly cut in half to form tomorrow’s six-woman final. Among the finalists is England’s Nicola Butler, who looks to extend her winning-streak in Fort Worth.
The two-time Queen of Wake champion has won the previous three Pro Tour stops in Fort Worth, and after pacing her heat today, is poised to make it four in a row.
“I had two stand-up passes, so I’m pretty pumped on the way I rode today,” said Butler. “I’m stoked to make it into the finals and can’t wait to ride tomorrow.”
Should the current world champion win tomorrow, she will hold the record for the most consecutive Pro Tour stops wins in the Lone Star State. Butler credits her success in Fort Worth to the fans that continuously come out to Texas MasterCraft to support her and the entire Pro Tour.
The Pro Women’s finals are scheduled for 4:30 p.m. tomorrow afternoon, where Butler will face off against Melissa Marquardt, Amber Wing, Anna Hajek, Raimi Merritt and Emily Durham for the win.
In the Pro Men’s division, 42 pros faced off in 10 heats for one of 20 spots in tomorrow morning’s quarterfinals. The prelims were filled with upsets in nearly every heat today, setting up a very exciting matchup for the final day in Fort Worth.
Among the top quarterfinalists are current Pro Tour points-leader Harley Clifford, 2010 Fort Worth tour stop winner Phillip Soven and rookie sensation Steel Lafferty.
In the Jr. Pro Men’s division, 26 amateur rippers hit the water today for their quarterfinal round of action. 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 are Kyle Evans and Marc Kroon, who each posted a perfect score of 100 points to win their respective heats today. Also advancing to the Jr. Pro Men’s semifinals is the division’s points-leader Shota Tezuka.
Tezuka is the top-seeded rider in the division after becoming the first Japanese-born rider to win a Pro Tour event, during the 2011 season opener in Acworth, Ga. last month.
The Jr. Pro Men riders will take to the water for their semifinal round tomorrow at 1:30 p.m., following the pro men quarterfinals.
The MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour will wrap up in Fort Worth tomorrow, Saturday, June 4, with the ticketed event beginning at 11 a.m. and ending at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are available at the gate: $13 (adult); $5 (ages 6-12); free (ages 5 and under).
To checkout photos from today, “Like” us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/prowakeboardtour
June 3 Results:
**Pro Women
Semifinal Round – Heat #1
1 Nicola Butler GBR 76.67
2 Emily Durham USA 66.67**
3 Miku Asai JPN 50.00
4 Corrie Dyer USA 43.33
**Pro Women
Semifinal Round – Heat #2
1 Melissa Marquardt USA 73.33
2 Raimi Merritt USA 65.00
**3 Tarah Mikacich USA 56.67
4 Alexa Score USA 41.67
**Pro Women
Semifinal Round – Heat #3
1 Anna Hajek USA 70.00
2 Amber Wing AUS 61.67
**3 Hayley Smith AUS 60.00
4 Shawna Hoffman USA 46.67
**Pro Men
Round of 40 – Heat #1
1 Austin Hair USA 71.67
2 Danny Thollander USA 60.00
**3 Corey Bradley USA 59.17
4 Chad Sharpe CAN 51.67
**Pro Men
Round of 40 – Heat #2
1 Trevor Hansen USA 71.67
2 Jason Bannatyne CAN 60.00
**3 Jimmy LaRiche USA 53.33
4 Josh Palma USA 43.33
**Pro Men
Round of 40 – Heat #3
1 Andrew Adkison USA 71.67
2 Kyle Rattray CAN 56.67
**3 Julian Cohen USA 48.33
4 Terry Bailey USA 40.00
**Pro Men
Round of 40 – Heat #4
1 Rusty Malinoski CAN 75.00
2 Jeff House USA 60.00
**3 JB O’Neill USA 53.33
4 Dean Smith AUS 50.00
**Pro Men
Round of 40 – Heat #5
1 AJ Racinelli USA 71.67
2 Padiwat Jaemjan THA 63.33
**3 Adam Errington USA 58.33
4 Dante Digangi USA 50.00
**Pro Men
Round of 40 – Heat #6
1 Bob Soven USA 73.33
2 Olivier Derome CAN 66.67
**3 Jefferson Langley USA 55.00
4 Joey Bradley USA 48.33
**Pro Men
Round of 40 – Heat #7
1 JD Webb USA 70.00
2 Nick Jones USA 61.67
**3 Shaun Murray USA 58.33
4 Zane Schwenk USA 38.33
**Pro Men
Round of 40 – Heat #8
1 Steel Lafferty USA 76.67
2 Aaron Rathy CAN 71.67
**3 Danny Burnstein USA 50.00
4 Jimmy Trask USA 48.33
**Pro Men
Round of 40 – Heat #9
1 Phillip Soven USA 78.33
2 Tony Carroll USA 65.00
**3 Phillip Aslinger USA 50.00
4 JoJo Lemberg USA 41.67
5 Stephen Pierce USA 33.33
**Pro Men
Round of 40 – Heat #10
1 Harley Clifford AUS 80.00
2 Tom Fooshee USA 61.67
**3 Kirby Liesmann USA 55.00
4 Sam Thomson AUS 54.17
5 Sean O’Brien USA 45.00
**Jr. Pro Men
Quarterfinal Round – Heat #1
1 Kyle Evans USA 100.00
2 Paulie Koch USA 78.75
**3 Freddie Wayne USA 74.50
4 Pierce Homsey USA 71.25
5 Joey Buss USA 64.00
6 Connor Bitton USA 61.50
**Jr. Pro Men
Quarterfinal Round – Heat #2
1 Joshua Twelker USA 96.00
2 Morgan Pederson USA 87.00
**3 Gunnar Shuler USA 79.75
4 Colby Bernier USA 73.00
5 Gunner Daft USA 47.75
**Jr. Pro Men
Quarterfinal Round – Heat #3
1 Marc Kroon NED 100.00
2 Dylan Prideaux AUS 80.50
**3 Trey Romine USA 75.25
4 Gus Shuler USA 73.75
5 Hayden McEntire USA 70.50
**Jr. Pro Men
Quarterfinal Round – Heat #4
1 Michael Dowdy USA 94.00
2 Jacob Valdez USA 90.50
**3 Keenan Allen USA 80.75
4 Robby Holihan USA 74.75
5 Yancey Crew USA 60.00
**Jr. Pro Men
Quarterfinal Round – Heat #5
1 Shota Tezuka JPN 90.00
2 Daniel Powers USA 88.00
**3 Gordon Harrison USA 86.50
4 Robbie McMillan CAN 69.75
5 Cody Hesse USA 65.75
