Going into this event, Team USA had secured 9 spots in the finals. 4 in slalom (Cale, Storm, Regina, and Alex) and 5 in tricks (Cale, Storm, Tomlin, Alex, and Regina). We knew it was important to try and get at least 4 of those finals spots in jump. That way not only does it give our team a chance to improve our score, it also denies another skier a chance to improve their score.
Conditions were not ideal for jump. Nothing that anyone can do, but it was a howling cross/tailwind going left to right over the jump. Lots of issues with this. It makes the skier narrow on their counter, and it doesn't give the jumper much tip pressure when in the air, allowing for some crashes. You needed to be dialed in to jump well in this wind.
Our first high flying athlete was Ryan Selsor. Ryan did not have the advantage of knowing how far he needed to go for the finals. He simply had to go out there and put out the best score that he could, and then watch the rest of the field try to match him. 1st jump - Ryan got thrown back on his heels a bit in the air, but then recovered and landed about 41 meters (134 feet). He brought it down on his second jump, and really worked hard to stay wide and not be dictacted by the wind. He brought a lot of speed into the base and popped off a beauty - 49.6 meters (163 feet)!! Mind you, Ryan's best jump of his life is 51.9 m (170 feet) and that was in perfect conditions. Ryan was stoked and so were we on the shore. He came in for his third jump and put on another pretty one, just a bit shorter than jump 2. So he returned to the dock with a 49.6 for the books. We then had to watch and wait. If that score beat 6 more jumpers after him, he would snag a spot in the finals. Well I will save you the anticipation, his score did not beat 6 more after him.......it beat 7!!! Ryan finished the prelims in 11th place - and a ticket punched to the finals on Saturday! Now every member of Team USA has made the finals - in one event or another. Amazing.
Next up was Ryan's cousin Storm. He is one of the higher seeded competitors in this event. He had the advantage of knowing exactly what he needed to advance to the finals guranteed. At the time, he knew he needed to go 50.2 meters to secure a spot no matter what. Jump #1 - Storm scored a 0 - a pass. We were all hoping he wouldn't save it for his third jump and give us all a heart attack (he has a knack of doing that). On the second one, he did take it over, and it was a beauty - 53.8 meters (177 feet)! And to be honest, it was an easier cut for him, he has more in the tank for the finals. Jump #3 - things didn't look right again, but he was already in the finals. Storm finished the prelims with the #3 seed, and only one meter off the lead.
Next up was Cale. Cale has been focusing very hard on his slalom this summer, taking his first stint on the pro tour for slalom. This doesn't leave a lot of time for jump. But at the end of this summer, Cale really started focusing on jump again so that he would be ready for this tournament. Jump #1 - was a good opener of about 41 meters. Jump #2 was a bit farther. Cale brought it down on the third one and popped off a 47.6m (156 ft) jump. This put him right on the bubble, depending on what the rest of the skiers produced. Cale remained on the bubble until the last two skiers and then it did unforunately pop. He finished in 14th, just two little spots away from the finals. All in all, still terrific though, as he has the slalom AND trick finals tomorrow.
Our ladies hit the water next, and man can they jump. First was Regina and she did 3/4 cuts on each of her jumps. She wanted to make sure she had a feel for the wind and the site. She came away with a leap of 44.4 m (146 feet). That put her in 2nd place after the prelims.
Second to whom you may ask..... (do you see a trend these ladies are starting here?). Thats right, teammate Alex Lauretano hit the jump with a fury and was able to best Regina by 0.3 m (1 foot) with a jump of 44.7m (147 feet). So our ladies are ready for the jump finals - sitting in 1st and 2nd. Not only do they have the advantage of knowing what scores they will need in the finals, but they also will be on the starting dock together able to help each other as they go out one by one. Outstanding skiing.
But before Alex barely had time to dry off - she needed to rip off the jump suit and helmet, and strap on her jacket and slalom ski, because it was time of the Ladies slalom finals.
The wind died down for slalom and the conditions were pretty nice. Alex is the #6 seed, and Regina is the top seed - going last. Alex had a score of 5 at 13m (32off) in the prelims. She knew she could do more in finals, and knew it would take more in the finals. Alex opened at 14.25m (28off) and rounded 6 with ease. She could have rounded 12 of them if they were out there. Next up was the 13m (32 off) loop. No one had finished off the 13m pass yet. Well Alex was the first one, taking it down. She came back in at 12m (35off). Rounded 1, got a slice around 2, and skied inside of three. That put her in first with 5 more skiers to go.
The next skiers were not messing around. Claire from France got 2.5 at 12meters, Maryia from Belarus took3 at 12 meters. Then Karen from Canada went out and smoked the 12 m pass coming back in at 11.25 m (38off). Her personal best is 2.5 at 11.25 and she got 2.
Only one skier left. The bar had been set with 2 at 11.25m (38off). Regina Jaquess came in at 14.25 meters (28off) and ran 6 of 6. Swinging back around, she also took all 6 at 13 m (32). Next was the tough 12m (35off) pass. Well 16.95 seconds after she started it, she went through the exit gates with 6 in her hand. She was guranteed 2nd place, but she didn't want silver, she wanted gold. Coming back into the course with a rope shorter than the distance from the boat to the ball, Regina came around 1, pulled as hard as she could around 2, and then threw her fist in the air and she came around 3, knowing that she was World University Slalom CHAMPION!!
The medal ceremony was awesome. Huge podium, flags raised for the country of the top 3. Heavy really nice medals were handed out, along with a beautiful bouquet of flowers handed to them by the dignitaries of the event. Congratulations Regina!
Tomorrow is a huge day for our skiers. 5 finals - Men's Slalom first, then Women's Trick, then Men's Trick, then Women's Jump, and finally the always entertaining Men's Jump. Good luck to all of our skiers.
By the way - this is the site we were left with next to the medal stand - not bad eh?
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