Sparks, NV – For one run on Saturday in the MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour's stop at Sparks Marina, it was like looking into the past, 2002 to be exact. That was the year that Erik Ruck dominated wakeboarding, winning the Pro Tour Season Championship and the World Championship.
It has been a while since Ruck has performed at that level in competition, but today was one of those days. Ruck won his Quarterfinal heat on Saturday, setting him up with a great position heading into Sunday's Pro Men's Semifinals.
2002 was the year the MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour switched formats with each different event. One event was all sliders, another was all wake tricks, other events combined the two. It didn't matter, Ruck thrived in all the different formats.
Saturday's run was reminiscent of those days. Ruck showed mastery on both the wake and the apparatus.
"As good as things went for me today, I think I can do better," said Ruck. "I held back at the end of my passes where I know I could have had time for a couple of more tricks. I'll keep that in mind tomorrow and pick up the pace."
It will take another great run in the Semifinals to keep Ruck in the competition and give him a chance to unseat Philip Soven and Danny Harf as the top two riders in the Pro Men's game this year. Both Soven and Harf advanced into the Semifinals for the third time in three events on the Pro Wakeboard Tour in 2005.
Action in the Pro Women's Semifinal on Saturday set up a show down between the top two female riders. Sunday's Final will again determine the course of the top female rider on the Pro Wakeboard Tour as co-Indmar Performance Award Winners Dallas Friday and Emily Copeland advanced into the Finals by winning their Semifinal heats.
In the SeaDoo watercraft Pro Wakeskate Series, three of the five top ranked riders won heats to advance to Sunday's Finals. Brian Grubb, George Daniels and Brandon Thomas all won their heats on Saturday.
In the MasterCraft Junior X Series the top four riders in the season standings move into the Finals with Aaron Rathy, Philip Combs, Austin Hair and Reed Hansen all advancing.
This marks the second year of competition at the Sparks Marina for the MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour. This event was made possible through the support of the Reno Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority.
The MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour is a five-event circuit organized by World Sports & Marketing of Orlando, Florida. Powered by Indmar Marine Engines, the Pro Tour has the support of the following: SeaDoo watercraft, Verizon Wireless, Perfect Pass, Hyperlite, Infinity Marine Audio, Toyo Tires, KMC Wheels, Liquid Force, Gator Boards, CWB, J - Star, O'Brien, Double-up, Billabong, Oakley, Reef, Body Glove, UGP, Epiphone Guitars, , buywake.com, Love Sac, Capix Helmets, Indo Boards, Execute, Mikker.com, Wakeworld.com, Wakeboarder.com, Monster Towers, Say I Won't, Ten-80 and One Percent Design.
Wake Boarding, published by World Publications, is the official magazine of the Pro Wakeboard Tour. Wake Boarding is the definitive source on all things wakeboarding, with expert coverage of professional instruction, gear, boats and the latest news.
Saturday's Results
MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour Stop #3
Sparks, Nevada: Saturday, June 04, 2005
Men's Pro. Expression Session - QuarterFinals Heat 01
1 Brett Eisenhauer AUS 100.00
2 Dean Smith AUS 87.00
3 Chris O'Shea AUS 83.00
4 Nick Weinacker USA 70.00
5 Taylor Ewing 60.00
Top 2 Riders advance to next round !
Men's Pro. Expression Session - Quarter Finals Heat 02
1 Tino Santori USA 95.00
2 Nick Heaney GBR 85.00
3 Collin Harrington USA 82.00
4 Kyle Rattray CDN 78.00
5 Scot Ferwerda USA 60.00
Top 2 Riders advance to next round !
Men's Pro. Expression Session - Quarter Finals Heat 03
1 Andrew Adkison USA 97.50
2 Shane Bonifay USA 88.00
3 Corey Bradley USA 79.50
4 Gabe Lucas USA 70.00
5 Jimmy Wolf USA 65.00
Top 2 Riders advance to next round !
Men's Pro. Expression Session - Quarter Finals Heat 04
1 Chad Sharpe CDN 94.00
2 Rusty Malinoski CDN 93.50
3 Derek Grasman USA 82.50
4 Jeff McKee USA 66.00
5 Julz Heaney GBR 64.00
Top 2 Riders advance to next round !
Men's Pro. Expression Session - Quarter Finals Heat 05
1 JD Webb USA 97.00
2 Danny Harf USA 90.50
3 Keith Lidberg USA 82.50
4 Jeff Weatherall NZL 70.00
5 Scotty Broome AUS 60.00
Top 2 Riders advance to next round !
Men's Pro. Expression Session - Quarter Finals Heat 06
1 Josh Sanders AUS 97.00
2 Keith Lyman USA 89.00
3 Parks Bonifay USA 75.00
4 Adam Fields USA 71.50
5 Mark Weikel USA 67.50
Top 2 Riders advance to next round !
Men's Pro. Expression Session - Quarter Finals Heat 07
1 Erik Ruck USA 100.00
2 Daniel Watkins AUS 87.00
3 Loren Levine USA 83.00
4 Brian Francis USA 70.00
5 Tim Keepers USA 60.00
Top 2 Riders advance to next round !
Men's Pro. Expression Session - Quarter Finals Heat 08
1 Phillip Soven USA 100.00
2 Trevor Hansen USA 90.00
3 Kevin Henshaw CDN 78.50
4 Chris Law USA 71.50
5 Jesson Vedel TAH 60.00
Top 2 Riders advance to next round !
Women's Professional - Semi Finals Heat 01
1 Emily Copeland Durham USA 58.89
2 Lauren Loe USA 53.33
3 Laura Lohrmann USA 51.11
4 Cathy Williams USA 33.89
Top 2 Riders advance to next round !
Women's Professional - Semi Finals Heat 02
1 Dallas Friday USA 67.22
2 Melissa Marquardt USA 58.89
3 Sunni Anne Ball 43.33
4 Raequel Hoffman 34.44
Top 2 Riders advance to next round !
Pro WakeSkate - Quarter Finals Heat 01
1 Chase Gregory USA 55.00
2 Collin Wright USA 49.17
3 Silas Thurman USA 45.00
4 R. Hansen USA 30.00
5 Patrick Milo 5.00
Top 2 Riders advance to next round !
Pro WakeSkate - Quarter Finals Heat 02
1 Brian Grubb USA 73.33
2 Drew McGuckin USA 56.67
3 Joshua Steele USA 48.00
4 M. McNeil USA 46.00
5 Nick Valliere USA 30.00
Top 2 Riders advance to next round !
Pro WakeSkate - Quarter Finals Heat 03
1 George Daniels USA 66.67
2 Clint Tompkins USA 60.00
3 Chad Pointer 36.67
4 Evan Lykes USA 33.00
5 Jake Hinton USA 10.00
Top 2 Riders advance to next round !
Pro WakeSkate - Quarter Finals Heat 04
1 Brandon Thomas USA 73.33
2 Steven Schoenhals USA 63.33
3 Ryan Doyle 55.00
4 Jeff Engen USA 43.33
5 Stef Tor CDN 10.00
Top 2 Riders advance to next round !
Junior Men (14-18) - Semi Finals Heat 01
1 Rhett Whatley USA 62.00
2 Austin Hair USA 59.33
3 Corey Miner USA 49.78
4 Daniel Walden USA 48.00
Top 2 Riders advance to next round !
Junior Men (14-18) - Semi Finals Heat 02
1 Brett Lee USA 61.67
2 Reed Hansen USA 61.11
3 Anthony Racinelli Jr. USA 54.44
4 Travis Propst USA 46.67
Top 2 Riders advance to next round !
Junior Men (14-18) - Semi Finals Heat 03
1 Philip Combs USA 62.78
2 Nick Jones USA 61.11
3 Jimmy LaRiche USA 51.67
4 Devin Rogers USA 50.56
Top 2 Riders advance to next round !
Junior Men (14-18) - Semi Finals Heat 04
1 Aaron Rathy CDN 72.22
2 Danny Thollander USA 66.67
3 Bryan Hutton USA 55.00
4 Robby Carter USA 50.00
Top 2 Riders advance to next round !
