SML Sunday 10/6/13

Fun day behind Adam's Malibu VLX. Alex Broyles landed his first (progressive) HS Backroll but unfortunately the Malibu's double ups took another victim with Doug getting 6 stitches and a chipped tooth as a reward for boosting off the 2nd roller. Check it out:

SML Sunday 10/6/13 from Adam V on Vimeo.

Regionals Recap

Last weekend VT Wake travelled to Knoxville, TN for 2013 Eastern Regionals. Hosted by University of Tennessee again, this year's competition was smaller than past years but featured some very good riders and a tight battle between VT and UT. The competition was held at the same great site as last year and was pulled by UT's sick new 2014 Mastercraft X-Star.

Due to current president Sean O'Toole's huge recruiting push this fall, VT brought three teams to the event. We are excited to have so many new members who are so pumped about the sport. This is the biggest group of young riders that we have had in years and there is plenty of young talent on the rise.

VT's "A team" this fall was composed of:
Men's A-Adam Van Dyke
Men's B-Joe Cofer
Men's C-Doug Cofer
Men's D-Sean O'Toole
Women's A-Sydney Hobart
Women's B-Julie Benjamin
Wakeskate-Eli Archer

Highlights included Joe Cofer posting the only stand up run of the entire contest and Eli Archer having one of the strongest wakeskate runs we have ever seen at Regionals despite only riding once in the last month! His run included wake to wake grabs, a flawless 360 shuv-it, and a wake to wake nosegrab HS FS 180. Sean O'Toole had one of his best sets ever, showing the hard work he has put into his riding this year. Unfortunately, despite an early lead, UT's Men's riders were too much and the Vols pulled away toward the end, edging us out 605 to 595 for the final team scores. Savannah State rider Colby Bernier and UT rider Adam Holdsworth both had impressive runs featuring a Pete Rose, KGBs, and a TS 720. Either way, we still had a lot of fun and qualify for Nationals. With the rate of progression by several of our riders, the future looks bright for the competition scene in 2014.

Results:
Julie Benjamin-1st place Women's B
Sydney Hobart-2nd place Women's A
Eli Archer-1st place Wakeskate
Sean O'Toole-1st place Men's D
Doug Cofer-2nd place Men's C
Joe Cofer-2nd place Men's B

Jeff Goldblum Uncut

VT Wake Alum Jeff Goldblum takes a set on the James. Some steezy tricks, no editing. See all 4 clips here

This kicker is sketchy but fun. Filmed in Pittsburgh on the Monongahela river

Janky from Edan Fletcher on Vimeo.

Gaper Day Celebrations

We hope everyone had a great 4th of July yesterday! Not only a holiday to honor our great country; the 4th is also recognized as "Gaper Day" to a select group of wakeboarders. Details on the origins of Gaper Day are hard to find, but it is generally believed to be started by some of the original Smith Mtn. Lake wakeboarders years ago. While SML is a great lake most days of the year, on the 4th of July it turns into a madhouse with tourists. If you can't beat em, join em...right? Thus, Gaper Day was born. If you missed it, be sure to bust out your orange PDFs, jet skis, kneeboards, and neon next July 4th and enjoy the holiday...the gaper way.

GoPro Session with Adam Van Dyke

Tuesday morning quick-hitter for you...

Coble GoPro Session from Adam V on Vimeo.

VT Wake Awards 2012-2013

As we look back on the 2012-2013 school year, we wanted to recognize some of the stars of the VT Wakeboard Club. Introducing the first annual VT Wake Awards. Some are serious, some not at all, but this is the best (and worst) we have to offer.

Rider of the Year AND Best Freerider: Edan Fletcher

Honestly, Edan could have won Comp Rider of the year too. He's just good at everything. Sickest style of anyone in the club and has been rock solid in every competition he has entered in the past couple years. He was the anchor of the team this year both in competitions and in freeriding. Well deserved.




Most Improved: Sean O'Toole

Sean was a solid rider going into last semester but he really turned it on in 2012-2013. It seemed like he was learning new tricks every day he went out. Scarecrows, TS Backrolls, Tantrums, etc. Realistically, he probably doubled his bag of tricks in one year and is looking like he is on pace to become one of the top riders in the club next year.







Rookie of the Year AND Most Fun Person to be on the Boat with: Eli Archer

Eli came into the club as a Freshman this year and immediately it was clear that he was going to be a great addition. In addition to his great wakeskating skills (our first true wakeskater in a few years), he has a great attitude. He's always stoked to watch other people ride and is the happiest guy on the boat no matter what. We are all looking forward to having the Giraffe around for several more years.



Best Comp Rider: Joe Cofer

Joe is another rider that really stepped it up this year. He has a great bag of tricks now but to give you an idea of just how consistent he is, get this: He learned TS Backrolls on his second try and landed 5 more in a row that day. 2 weeks later that trick was firmly in his competition run even in the super challenging conditions at Shreveport. Not many people can do that.



Crash of the Year: Sydney Hobart
Sydney falls a lot. Usually on little things like this and not trying the new bangers that freak her out. This IS NOT the actual crash of the year (not filmed) that occured at Nick's house last fall, but it's a gem. It's a good thing she's resilient because I know if I took that many edge catches (and she doesn't even use fins) I'd probably sell my wakeboard. Call her the Mohammed Ali of the club because she sure can take a punch.
Sydney Takes A Tumble from Nick Schrein on Vimeo.

Best Video Section: Joel Wagner-Gnarcolepsy (produced by Nick Schrein)
No surprise here. Joel's bag of tricks is unrivaled, and Nick Schrein picked an awesome song for this edit. @33:42

Gnarcolepsy from Nick Schrein on Vimeo.


Favorite Groupie: Claire Papp

Every team needs a "Team Mom" and for VT Wake that is First Lady Claire Papp. She's always on the boat and even made the trip down to Nationals. She can stay as long as she keeps bringing sliced oranges, water bottles, and bandaids.








The Nicholas J. Schrein "Bad Luck" Award: 
                                     Adam Van Dyke
Torn ACL, Torn Lateral Meniscus, Blood Clot, 3 ER visits, 3 months on blood thinners, getting the flu 2 days after knee surgery, getting an infection because he was allergic to the stitches, and getting a second knee surgery...the stats speak for themselves.








The Jeffrey J. Goldblum "I just can't quite leave yet" Award: Nick Schrein

5 years at VT just wasn't long enough. It's like that guy who just can't break up with his girlfriend. It's OK though, Nick is a great guy to have around and he was able to make a SICK full-length video of the club by being in the area. Thanks Nick! While we wish him luck in pursuing his dream of moving to FL, we don't mind if you stick around for a little bit more riding.

VT Wakeboarding goes on a field trip

Last weekend, a group of VT Wake riders made a trip to meet up with the numerous Richmond VT Wake residents to do some wakeboarding and finally hit some of the great winch spots on the James River like this one:

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/24295670

...and then Tropical Storm Andrea came through and the city of Richmond closed the river due to extremely high river levels.

So the winching didn't quite work out. The second thing we learned is that Richmond is HUGE. Everything was 30 minutes to 1 hr+ away. So the logistics never worked out for riding boat either.

So we did the next best thing...and went to King's Dominion in matching VT Wake tanks.

We had a blast riding some of the best rollercoasters in the area and riding the log flume. VT Wake always slams our boats...

Dude Log

Thanks a bunch to Jeff and the Bradys for letting us stay at their houses and for the hospitality. Even though the wakeboarding (and the bacon festival) didn't work out, it was a great time. We'll have to try again sometime soon. 

Nationals 2013 Video

Check out the highlights from VT Wake's trip to 2013 Nationals!

VT Wake Nationals 2013 from Nick Schrein on Vimeo.

Nationals Recap

Last weekend VT Wakeboarding made the trek down to Shreveport, Louisiana for USA Wakeboard Collegiate Nationals. Always a first class event, this year didn't disappoint. We rode for 3 days against 11 other schools: Ball State, Central Washington University, University of Florida, Florida Gulf Coast University, University of Louisiana-Monroe, Louisiana Tech, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas Tech, and Wisconsin.

Fortunately, the weather cooperated for the most part, but the riding conditions were challenging all weekend. The event site was great for spectators (right through the middle of downtown), but the rough river water gave riders from all schools problems. VT battled it out all weekend as one of the legitimate contenders. This year was one of the most complete teams we have ever put together...not out-of-this-world in any one division but strong in each. Central Washington came in as the heavy favorite, and soon showed everyone why. Their team was strong throughout with elite Men's talent, winning Men's A, B, C, and D much like the impressive Tennessee national championship team in 2011. If that wasn't enough, they brought a second Men's A rider to compete individually, who took 3rd place! After the dust settled, VT finished 4th overall behind Wisconsin (3rd), Florida Gulf Coast University (2nd), and Central Washington University (1st). The University of Florida rounded out the top five.

Individual highlights included several podium finishes by VT riders. Grant DePhillips finished 3rd place in Men's D and Joe Cofer finished 2nd in Men's C in their Nationals debut. Jessica Smith put up some of the highest scores in Women's B all weekend, including the highest semifinals score, but had a fluke run in the finals. She still finished an impressive 4th place in her first ever Nationals as well! Edan Fletcher returned to Nationals and kept up his competitive success. Largely considered the best freerider and most stylish currently in VT Wake, he still somehow has managed to be our most consistent competition rider over the last few years. After riding Men's C for VT in 2011, he moved up to Men's B and placed 2nd in a very competitive division that featured 2012 Men's A 2nd place rider, Tom Olson (CWU). Lastly, Joel Wagner got some redemption from his disappointing 2012 Nationals performance and made the finals in Men's A in his last Nationals appearance. We will definitely miss Edan and Joel next year!

All in all, VT advanced 6 of 7 riders to the semifinals, 5 of 7 to the finals, and ended with 3 podium finishes. With this fourth place team finish, we have now placed in the Top 5 in three of the past five years (2009, 2012, 2013) and are proud to be one of the elite teams in collegiate wakeboarding. We hope to acquire a true wakeboard boat this summer/fall and take our riding to new levels in the coming year. Thanks to everyone who has helped us along the way and for all of the support! See full Nationals results here.

Check out all 500 Nationals photos that Grant took here!