Orlando, Fl – In his own words, defending champion Parks Bonifay said he was only 60%. But after riding in the MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour today in Orlando, that 60% was good enough. Bonifay riding with a torn meniscus and bone contusion in his right knee fell once, but still made the cut advance to tomorrow's action.
"I felt if I could stand up, I would make it in. But once I fell, it was a question, said the 23-year-old Bonifay, from Lake Alfred, Florida. Because of his injury, Bonifay could not train for the opener and was only able to hit the water a few times the last two months. Bonifay scored a 92.50 to finish second in the last heat of the day – good enough to move on.
15-year Phillip Soven from Longwood put in a dazzling display today winning his heat easily. Soven hit a whirley 720, crow mobe 5, 720 and a whirley 5 to dominate the field. "I've been very consistent with my hard tricks. I had a really hard run and I landed them," said Soven.
The pro wakeskaters riding behind the Sea-Doo put on an impressive show for the big crowd today at the Orlando Watersports complex. Brian Grubb, Thomas Horrell, Danny Hampson and Clint Tompkins all won their respective heats to move to the semis. Defending tour champion Phillip Basino didn't finish first, but did make the cut keeping his dream alive to win in his hometown.
Women's star Dallas Friday hit the water for the first time this year and picked up where she left off last year. She finished first in her heat scoring a 51.67 to move to tomorrow's semifinals. Friday, who won the Orlando Pro Tour stop last year, is the heavy favorite to take the title. The last time Friday competed at this site last September, she won the World Championships.
In the Junior Men division, Canadian Aaron Rathy, who's the defending World Champion in the class, is a step closer to winning the Pro Tour opener. Rathy scored a 66.22 finishing first in his heat. Local junior rider Reed Hansen also scored a first in his heat to move to the finals.
The MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour wraps up tomorrow beginning at 8:30 a.m. with a new head-to-hear format for the finals. Wakeskating and pro women will be match the top two in a head-to-head final. For the men's finals, all eight will go head-to-head in an elite eight, final four and final two-man match-up. For more information, go to www.prowakeboardtour.com.
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: Sea-Doo 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.
Pro Men Quarterfinals (top 2 in each heat move to semifinals)
Heat #1
1. Brett Eisenhauer 97.00
2. JD Webb 93.00
3. Nick Weinacker 80.00
4. Perry Richmond 70.00
Heat #2
1. Chad Sharpe 95.50
2. Andrew Adkison 94.50
3. Keith Lidberg 80.00
4. Brian Francis 70.00
Heat #3
1. Trevor Hansen 97.00
2. Tino Santori 91.50
3. Shawn Watson 81.50
4. Scotty Broome 70.00
Heat #4
1. Kevin Henshaw 94.50
2. Gabe Lucas 86.50
3. Shane Bonifay 83.50
4. Jeff Weatherill 75.50
Heat #5
1. Phillip Soven 97.50
2. Josh Sanders 91.00
3. Adam Fields 81.50
4. Adam Wensink 70.00
Heat #6
1. Daniel Watkins 93.50
2. Keith Lyman 92.50
3. Marcelo Girardi 79.00
4. Erik Ruck 75.00
Heat #7
1. Dean Smith 92.50
2. Danny Harf 90.50
3. Rusty Malinoski 82.00
4. Jeff McKee 75.00
Heat #8
1. Collin Harrington 97.50
2. Parks Bonifay 92.50
3. Mikey Ennen 80.00
4. Jonty Green 70.00
Pro Women Quarterfinals (top 2 in each heat move to semifinals)
Heat #1
1. Tara Hamilton 58.00
2. Melissa Marquardt 51.11
3. Barrett Perlman 37.56
4. Sunni Anne Ball 35.00
5. Denise Parris 23.89
Heat # 2
1. Dallas Friday 51.67
2. Jenacee Jackson 32.11
3. Megan McNeil 21.67
4. Yoshiko Ishimaru 17.67
5. Tori Koch 13.33
Heat #3
1. Lauren Loe 48.00
2. Maeghan Major 46.33
3. Lauren Harf-Loveless 40.00
4. Miku Asai 27.22
5. Kayce Brewer 12.22
Heat #4
1. Emily Copeland-Durham 56.67
2. Laura Lohrmann 43.89
3. Cheryl Newton 37.33
4. Megumi Tombechi 25.56
5. Taylor McCullough 10.00
Pro Wakeskate Quarterfinals (top 2 in each heat move to semifinals)
Heat #1
1. Brian Grubb 81.67
2. Scott Byerly 65.00
3. Collin Wright 56.67
4. Joshua Steele 50.00
Heat #2
1. Thomas Horrell 70.00
2. George Daniels 61.67
3. Tim Kovacich 53.33
4. Kyle Walton 35.00
Heat #3
1. Danny Hampson 80.00
2. Brandon Thomas 64.17
3. Chase Gregory 56.67
4. David Hanson 30.00
Heat #4
1. Clint Tompkins 73.33
2. Phillip Basino 65.00
3. Aaron Reed 48.33
4. Reed Hansen 31.67
Junior Men Semifinals: (top 2 in each heat move to finals)
