KAUAI, HAWAII – November 14, 2004 – The 2004 Tigé U.S. OPEN instituted an all-new, head-to-head rider elimination format for the Pro Men final – a format that promised a lot of riding and plenty of excitement. As the ’04 Tigé U.S. OPEN came to a close, the new format provided spectators and the best riders in the world with exactly that.
The Wailua River, one of the birthplaces of wakeboarding, located in beautiful, Kauai, Hawaii, saw Andrew Adkison and TeamTigé member Daniel Watkins in a two-man battle for the title of ’04 Tigé U.S. OPEN Champion on Sunday, November 14. Adkison won the championship after each ran their respective final sets. Notably, a double-up was added to the final match after being absent in all of the other rounds.
Both Adkison and Watkins entered the two-man, head-to-head final after surviving Saturday and Sunday’s qualifying and semifinal rounds. Adkison competed in a grueling five of a possible six heats over the two days and Watkins participated in three.
After winning Saturday afternoon’s semifinal heats, Adkison, Watkins, Darin Shapiro and Trevor Hansen were each granted a bye from Sunday morning’s last-chance-qualify round. The automatic pass proved very helpful as Keith Lyman, Tino Santori, Brett Eisenhauer and Jeff Weatherall, who won their last-chance-qualify heats on Sunday morning, were all downed in the first round of head-to-head competition Sunday afternoon.
Adkison then defeated Shapiro and Watkins took down Hansen to set up the head-to-head final behind the 2005 Tigé 20V.
“The head-to-head format is new to all of us,” remarked Adkison from the podium following the event. “All of the riders looked forward to competing in the ’04 Tigé U.S. OPEN. Tigé did a great job in getting us over here. I still can’t believe we had a tournament in Kauai, Hawaii. It was awesome.”
In the Pro Women finals, Dallas Friday finished first in back-to-back rounds to best Lauren Loe and Amanda Wing, who finished second and third, respectively.
Rob Jacques moved up on Sunday after sitting in second place after Saturday’s first round to win the Junior Men division over Danny Thollander, Kristian Kastari and Jeff House.
The ’04 Tigé U.S. OPEN is the first-ever wakeboarding event to be filmed in high definition (HDTV). Check tige.com for a listing of future tape-delayed broadcasts.
Tigé Boats Inc. manufactures eight direct drive and sport V inboard models ranging from 20 to 24 feet in length and all are backed by the Tigé LifePlus Lifetime Replacement Warranty. Each boat features the patented ConvexV hull and TAPS2 technology. Tigé has more than 80 dealers in 10 countries.
Additional promotional support for the ’04 Tigé U.S. OPEN has been provided by Apple Vacations, Hawaiian Airlines, The Radisson Kauai Beach Resort, Liquid Mountain apparel and the island of Kauai. The ’04 Tigé U.S. OPEN is sanctioned by the American Wakeboard Association.
Pro Women Finals
1. Dallas Friday – 73.33
2. Lauren Loe – 61.12
3. Melissa Marquardt – 56.65
4. Amber Wing – 52.78
5. Cathy Williams – 47.77
6. Jenacee Jackson – 41.68
7. Leslie Kent – 32.23
8. Barrett Perlman – 23.33
Junior Men Finals
1. Rob Jacques – 69.45
2. Danny Thollander – 67.22
3. Kristian Kastari – 56.63
4. Jeff House – 53.33
