1998NCWSA

<BODY TEXT=#000000 LINK=#FF8040 VLINK=#FF8000 BGCOLOR=#FFFFFF > <BASE TARGET="_top"> <DIV class=s0> <TABLE WIDTH="93%" BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="2" > <TR> <TD WIDTH=100% VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#000095> <DIV ALIGN=center class=s9 style='text-align: center;'> <FONT style='color:#FFFFFF;font-size:12pt;'><B><A NAME="an0"></A></B></FONT><FONT style='color:#FFFFFF;'><B>1998 NCWSA National Collegiate Water Ski Championships </B></FONT></DIV> </TD></TR></TABLE></B></DIV> <DIV class=s0> <TABLE WIDTH="95%" BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="2" > <TR> <TD WIDTH=100% VALIGN=TOP > <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:12pt;'></FONT><FONT style='color:#000080;'>Thirteen teams from across the United States, the largest field of entrants ever, assembled in Northeastern Louisiana for the 20th Annual running of the US National Collegiate Water-ski Championships. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>There was an air of anticipation as the teams arrived, a few with aspirations of carrying away the much-coveted team title. The heavily touted squad from Arizona State University came with a strong band of skiers, as did the Crimson Tide crew from the University of Alabama. However, the focus of attention was directed at the teams from the state of Louisiana - the defending champions from the University of Southwestern Louisiana and the hosts from Northeast Louisiana University. With everything in place, the teams readied themselves for the first event - Women's Slalom. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'></FONT><FONT style='color:#000080;'><B>Thursday 15th October  </B></FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'></FONT><FONT style='color:#000080;'><B>Women's Slalom </B></FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>With a hefty list of 65 skiers for this and every event in the Nationals, the officials felt that it was necessary for a 7:30 start time. However, this didn't have a real significant effect on the top skiers as the event progressed on very quickly. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Amongst the early leaders was sophomore from NLU, Marjolein Jongepier. Her early score of 3.50 at 32'off (13 metres) provided the target for the top guns to shoot for. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Teammate Maureen LaMarche skied in the next rotation of teams, and smoked the 32' off pass. Finally settling for 0.5 at 35'off (12 metres), she made it clear it was going to take something special to claim the title. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Several skiers came and went before the lead changed hands -another NLU skier Dana Fitts ran a superb 32'off pass and added to that with a final score of 2 at 35'off. It was now obvious that the battle for the National title was going to be a tough one, in the calm yet backwashy conditions of the Bayou Desaird. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Drawn to ski in the fourth rotation of five, Courtney Buntjer of ASU set about her task aggressively. Showing true contempt for the previous scores, she displayed true grit in posting up an impressive tally of 4 @ 35'off to wrestle to lead away from Dana Fitts. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>USL's Maria Luisa Botero skied shortly afterwards. Scoring 2 @ 35'off, she split the NLU group that occupied the majority of the top slalom placements and set up a real fight for the finish as the fifth and final rotation of skiers commenced. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>ASU's Renee Miller, the defending co-champion in this event, set out confidently into her challenge for the title. However, disaster struck early on as an over-zealous turn on the first buoy dumped her into the water and left her performance in tatters with a half a buoy score at 35' off. Buntjer still in the lead. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>The remaining skiers came in and provided a titanic scramble for the lead. Alabama's Fiona Nairn charged hard for the win, but she too came up short with 2 Buoys at 35'off. The story was much the same afterwards, as NLU's Sandy Robinette, and USL's Ageliki Andriopoulou each came through 2 @ 35'off to round off the event. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>After confirming the scores, Courtney Buntjer was pronounced the winner of the Women's Slalom title with 4 @ 35'off. Sandy Robinette, Dana Fitts, Ageliki Andriopoulou and Fiona Nairn all joined her as members of the National Women's Slalom All American squad, with their tied 2nd place score of 2 @ 35'off. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'></FONT><FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:9pt;'>1 Buntjer, Courtney Asu 20 Santa Rosa, Ca 4.00 34 1200 64.00 640 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:9pt;'>2t Fitts, Dana Nlu 21 Shreveport, La 2.00 34 1200 62.00 615 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:9pt;'>2t Robinette, Sandy Nlu 19 Texarkana, Tx 2.00 34 1200 62.00 615 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:9pt;'>2t Narin, Fiona Ua 18 New Zealand 2.00 34 1200 62.00 615 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:9pt;'>2t Andriopoulou, Angeliki Usl 22 Athens,Greece 2.00 34 1200 62.00 615 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:9pt;'></FONT><FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:9pt;'><B>Total after one event: </B></FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:9pt;'>Northeast Louisiana Un NLU 2355.0 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:9pt;'>Arizona State Univ ASU 2235.0  </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:9pt;'>Univ Of Alabama UA 2210.0 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:9pt;'>Univ Southwestern La USL 2065.0 </FONT></DIV> <DIV ALIGN=center class=s7 style='text-align: center;margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'></FONT><FONT style='color:#000080;'><B><A class=s7 HREF="#an0" TARGET=_self>return to top</A> </B></FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'><B>Men's Slalom </B></FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>With the men's collegiate slalom record changing hands several times in the last few Western Conference tournaments, everybody here was eagerly anticipating the competition ahead between Marcus Brown, Dimitri Gamzukoff and Chris Parrish for the title and a possible new record. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Before those skiers took to the water, there were still plenty of action waiting to unfold within the first four team rotations with potential upsets in the making. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>With the highly competitive nature of the slalom event out west, it seemed hardly surprising that the top scorers early on were those from the that conference. Jose Mesa, drawn early on by his ASU team, came out with an excellent 5.5 @ 35'off to take the lead above JR Wheeler (5 @ 35'off) and Sean Mahannah (4 @ 35'off) from California State University - Sacramento. Only hometown NLU skier Ryan Fitts threatened to spoil the party at this stage, by splitting the pack with 4.5 @ 35'off. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>California State University - Chico came out with CC Brown to put the cat amongst the pigeons, which he surely did. Posting up a score of 1.5 @ 38'off (11.25 metres), he held the lead for a short while before Marcus Hayward from ASU and Brian Sparks from Alabama took it, both finishing up with 2.25 @ 38'off. Now the stage was set for the fifth and last rotation - the batch containing the top guns. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Opening out here was New Zealander, Carey Nairn from Alabama. He made a confident start by running 28'off (14.25 metres) on his first pass, but it wasn't long before he hit trouble - a hard turn on buoy 1 left him unable to recover and having to settle with a disappointing total of 0.5 @ 32'off.  </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Marcus Brown from Cal State - Sac stepped up to the plate to take on the leaders. Running pass after pass with consummate ease, he came into the 38'off pass displaying superb style. Using great gate-2-4 side turns to his advantage, he ran that pass to easily take the lead. He continued his form into the 39.5'off (10.75 metres) pass before having to settle with 4 buoys - a score that would have taken the slalom record itself just a few weeks prior to these championships. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Next up was his main west-coast rival - ASU skier and European Slalom champion from France, Dimitri Gamzukoff. Using his tall frame, the early passes were completed effortlessly as he worked his way unto the 38'off pass. Here, his talent really came into its own - using his superb 1-3-5 side, he continued with turn after turn and came into the 6th buoy with room to spare to cruise the pass. 39'off was next on the agenda, with an equally great start again. However, a slight mistake on number 2 buoy meant that was late going into the third buoy, which in turn prevented him from getting outside the fourth for a share of the title. Brown out in front, with Gamzukoff in second and Sparks and Hayward sharing third spot, as the man of the moment prepared to do battle - Chris Parrish. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Having missed three weeks of the collegiate season through a nose injury, he was determined to make up for lost time as he set out into the course for his first run at 28'off. Not a problem for him, as he also disposed of the 32', 35' and 38' off passes in quick and easy succession. The challenge of 39.5'off came up next for the Pro-Tour skier. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Turning in for the gates at buoy 1, he executed a fine turn to set himself up well for buoy 2. From here, he had a rhythm going - three ball came up as easily as the first, which lead onto the fourth ball. Tying the lead from there, he headed outside five for the win. At that point, he could have been content for just the win, but no. He cruised five and skied all the way to six and through the exits to set a new pending National Record and become the only collegiate skier to go through 39.5'off successfully. What a rush! </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>There was still the little matter of 41'off (10.25 metres) to content with next. With the same kind of start as before, he squeezed just outside buoy one and just had enough space to do the same outside number 2. The final score, two buoys at 41'off and a new National Record with that mark.  </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>With the remaining skiers in the fifth rotation unable to get even close to his total, it wasn't long before Chris Parrish's National Collegiate Slalom Title was confirmed. The National Men's All American team was completed with Marcus Brown in second, Dimitri in third and Marcus Hayward tying in fourth place with Brian Sparks. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>1 Parrish, Chris NLU 19 Orlando, Fl 2.00 36 1025 80.00 640 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>2 Brown, Marcus SAC 19 Biggs, Ca 4.00 36 1075 76.00 630 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>3 Gamzukoff, Dimitri ASU 21 Paris, Fr 3.00 36 1075 75.00 620 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>4t Hayward, Marcus ASU 20 Victoria, Au 2.25 36 1125 68.25 605 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>4t Sparks, Brian UA 21 Knoxville, Tn 2.25 36 1125 68.25  </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'></FONT><FONT style='color:#000080;'><B>After two events: </B></FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Northeast Louisiana Un NLU 4625.0 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Arizona State Univ ASU 4530.0 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Univ Of Alabama UA 4160.0 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Univ Southwestern La USL 3935.0 </FONT></DIV> <DIV ALIGN=center class=s7 style='text-align: center;margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'></FONT><FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:9pt;'><A class=s7 HREF="#an0" TARGET=_self>return to top</A> </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'></FONT><FONT style='color:#000080;'><B>Friday 16th October </B></FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'><B>Men's Tricks </B></FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Another early 7:30am start greeted the skiers, as the traditionally crucial Men's tricks event got under underway. With two boats for each skier to choose (Mastercraft Pro-Star 190 or Correct Craft Nautique, both 1998 models), the event moved like lightning. Almost as soon as one skier completed his single twenty-second run, the next boat took off with the next skier. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>With this fast pace, it wasn't too long before the first post-2000 run was registered. USL freshman from Great Britain Tony Lightfoot produced a 100% credit toe-pass of 2240 points to take the early lead and help the Ragin' Cajuns claw back some valuable team points.  </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Several trickers and finless wakeboarders passed by before that lead was surpassed, by Cal State Chico's Brendan Becker. His total score of 2270 points stood up at the top for a short while before USL came back with their next skier, Ryan Wynne. Virtually standing up all the way through his pass, he collected a point score of 2300 points for the new lead - and then he collected his gear to travel to Dallas for the World Wakeboard Championships straight afterwards. What a trooper! </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>The University of Alabama took center stage in the next to last rotation of skiers. Carey Nairn, eager to make for his disappointment in slalom in the previous day, tricked a solid run to rack up a 2720 point effort. However, the Ragin' Cajuns weren't prepared to let the lead to go away from them for too long, as Quebecois Guillaume Pare stormed through his flip-filled pass to produce the first score over 3000 points. His total of 3220 set the target for the remaining skiers in the final rotation to gun for. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>The last batch brought in the trick-stars, the first in the form of ASU's Richard Abelson. He started out with confidence on the first three ski-line tricks that he had planned before under-rotating his fourth move to send him into the water. His disappointing total of 1100 points represented a bitter pill for him to swallow. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Shortly afterwards, Rollins College came out with their next skier, Benny Lohr. Heavily predicted to blast through Kyle Peterson's collegiate record of 5450 points prior to this event, he succumbed to the pressure of expectation with an early fall on his flip-laden pass. Scoring only 1950 as a result, he can now only look back and reflect on the missed opportunities to take the record, this after skiing in his last collegiate nationals. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Alabama came out next with more artillery, in the form of Eric Hall. With multiple flips being the key to success, he came through with a 3090 point run to squeeze behind Pare. USL responded just as quickly, with Colombian maestro Simon Siegert. With almost every flip under the sun, he conjured up a 3720 point run to reassert his team as the leading trickers in this tournament and put some heat on the final skier, Ryan Fitts. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>With the confidence of tricking on his home water, he threw ski-lines and flips at every opportunity in his twenty-second repertoire. Standing up all the way, he threw the iron fist in the air to show his delight in his performance. His confidence was justified shortly afterwards, as the judges awarded him 4890 points to claim the win in the tricks event. Joining him in the National Men's Trick All-American squad are the USL duo of Simon Siegert (2nd) and Guillaume Pare(3rd), and the Alabama twosome of Eric Hall (4th) and Carey Nairn (5th). </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>1 Fitts, Ryan NLU 19 Shreveport, La 4890 0 4890 640 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>2 Siegert, Simon USL 23 Columbia, Cb 3720 0 3720 630 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>3 Pare', Guillaume USL 19 Quebec, Cn 3220 0 3220 620 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>4 Hall, Eric UA 21 Midlothian, Va 3090 0 3090 610 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>5 Narin, Carey UA 20 New Zealand, Nz 2720 0 2720 600 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'></FONT><FONT style='color:#000080;'><B>After three events: </B></FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Northeast Louisiana Un NLU 6605.0 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Univ Of Alabama UA 6400.0 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Univ Southwestern La USL 6335.0 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Arizona State Univ ASU 6140.0 </FONT></DIV> <DIV ALIGN=center class=s7 style='text-align: center;margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:9pt;'></FONT><FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:9pt;'><B><A class=s7 HREF="#an0" TARGET=_self>return to top</A> </B></FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'><B>Women's Jump </B></FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>The final of Friday had an air of expectation, with the eagerly awaited introduction into the collegiate national jump championship of Rollin's Susie Lohr. Leading up this tournament, she has encountered very few problems in producing leaps in excess of 135 feet. However, sterner competition loomed over the horizon for her in this tournament, in the form of New Zealanders Leander Currie (NLU) and Fiona Nairn (UA). </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Whilst the main confrontation loomed in the fifth rotation of teams, the action prior to that had no shortage of incident. In the first rotation, USL's Lina Maria Botero came into the jump course for her first attempt, as a moderate tail-breeze started to blow. With slack rope in her turn, she cut into the ramp horrendously late, forcing her to cut loose from the rope. Out of control, she hit the ramp, which sent her into a back-flipping crash. Rescue crews went in quickly to assist, as she was carried off with a concussion. After several minutes delay, the event continued on. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>NLU's Marjolein Jongepier came out onto the water, with the aim of increasing the gap between themselves and the others in the race for the team championship. Handling the tail wind to great effect, she produced a leap of 125' to set the target for the rest of the skiers to follow. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>With the pressure of getting four jump scores in the bag, Patricia Anderson set out to do just that for the Ragin' Cajuns. Keeping the line tight out of the turn, she dug in hard and landed a best distance of 121' to slot herself in just behind Marjolein for second place. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>From here, the jump event turned to be a virtual procession for the NLU skiers - Maureen LaMarche stuck out a leap of 126 to lead, whilst teammate Dallas Harrop followed up in the next rotation with a 122' effort. Dana Fitts kept her team closely bunched together, by flying 123'. Only Maria Luisa Botero from USL and Courtney Buntjer from ASU threatened to upset the applecart with their 126' ties for the top spot. At this stage, the Indians seemed to have the measure of this event, as the fifth rotation loomed large. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Leander Currie stepped out onto the water, with the potential of further extending her NLU team's lead in this event. That she did, and took the individual lead herself, with a best distance of 130'. This well and truly put the heat on the remaining skiers, the first of which was USL's Ageliki Andriopoulou. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Still trying to recover from a heavy back injury sustained only weeks before this tournament, she immediately went to work. In very obvious pain, she did what she could for the USL cause by landing a best effort of 120' - certainly not her best by any means but it meant that USL now had the four scores that it needed to carry on the chase for the National Team Title. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Alabama's Fiona Nairn was next up to challenge for the crown. Her approach tactics with the tail-breeze ensured that the line stayed tight in her turn. However, it meant that she had to sacrifice some speed into the jump, which lead a rather lackluster jump of 126' that tied her with LaMarche, Buntjer, and Botero for second spot with just one competitor remaining - Susie Lohr. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Right from the get-go, she had the situation dialed in - her turn, the subsequent speed into the ramp, the lift and the final landing all came together for an opening flight of 138'. With the title in the bag, she went for the record with the remaining jumps. However, the lack of favorable wind meant that she came up slightly short in this respect. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Still, Susie and her Rollins College teammates were happy with the performance, as she comfortably clinched the title. Joining her on the National All-American Women's Jump squad were Leander Currie in second, and tying in third spot was Fiona Nairn, Maria Luisa Botero, Maureen LaMarche and Courtney Buntjer. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'></FONT><FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:11pt;'><B>1 Lohr, Susie ROL 18 Sparta, Va 5 32 41.7 42.2 138 550 </B></FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>2 Currie, Leander NLU 20 New Zealand 5 32 39.2 39.8 130 540 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>3t Buntjer, Courtney ASU 20 Santa Rosa, Ca 5 32 35.3 38.4 126 515 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>3t Lamarche, Maureen NLU 20 New Lenox, Il 5 32 37.7 38.4 126 515 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>3t Narin, Fiona UA 18 New Zealand 5 32 38.3 38.4 126 515 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>3t Botero, Marie Luisa USL 21 Colombia 5 32 36.8 38.5 126 515 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'></FONT><FONT style='color:#000080;'><B>After four events: </B></FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Northeast Louisiana Un NLU 8630.0 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Univ Of Alabama UA 8180.0 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Univ Southwestern La USL 8165.0 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Arizona State Univ ASU 7855.0 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Shortly before the end of the jump event, USL's Lina Maria Botero returned to the site from hospital, with nothing more than a bruised right hand to show for her ordeal. This meant that she could continue to ski. Welcome relief for the Ragin' Cajuns as the final two events of these championships drew ever closer. </FONT></DIV> <DIV ALIGN=center class=s7 style='text-align: center;margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'></FONT><FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:9pt;'><A class=s7 HREF="#an0" TARGET=_self>return to top</A> </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'></FONT><FONT style='color:#000080;'><B>Saturday 17th October </B></FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'><B>Women's Tricks  </B></FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>With only this and one other event remaining in the tournament, these were nervous times for many of the skiers representing colleges that were in need of points to catch up in the race for the title. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>That point was evident almost right off the bat, as Patricia Anderson (USL) went down early in her single twenty-second pass to notch up only 570 points. Again, the Cajuns were now looking for better performances from its remaining four skiers to stay in touch. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>The action that followed was a real head-to-head tussle between the two Louisiana teams. Leander Currie (2280) and Dana Fitts (2380) both stood up their runs for the Indians of NLU, but a strong response from Lina Maria Botero (2290) and Sylia Standiti (2320) made sure that USL was still very much in the hunt for the team honors.  </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>The fourth rotation saw Maria Luisa Botero assert herself in this discipline. Like her USA teammates, she stood up all the way through her pass, taking the lead score with 2740 points. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Alabama's skiers were not completely out of the picture either, as Kim Cross pilled on the pressure on the others teams with a 2290 point score. Going into the fifth rotation, her teammate Fiona Nairn raised the bar a little higher with 2930 points for the lead in this event. The heat was most definitely on, with only a few skiers left to go. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Needing only a solid stand-up run for the Women's Overall Team Title, Marjolein Jongepier cruised though her twenty seconds to score 2530 points and ensure that the women's team honors went NLU's way. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Pressure of an altogether different kind was present for Ageliki Andriopoulou. Modifying her hand-pass to account for the back pain, she started easily and then worked her way to the flips she had planned. Nailing all but one of those flips, she recorded a total of 3340 points for the new lead. Again, the USL were grateful to the Greek Superstar for getting them off the hook. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>One skier remained, in the form of </FONT><FONT style='color:#000080;'><B>Susie Lohr</B></FONT><FONT style='color:#000080;'>. With her Rollins College virtually out of all contention for team honors, the pressure she had was for just the individual trick title. Showing true championship form, she blasted through with a superb 3400 point total to win her second Collegiate National Title. The National All-American Women's Tricks squad was completed with Ageliki Andriopoulou (2nd), Fiona Nairn (3rd), Maria Luisa Botero (4th) and Marjolein Jongepier (5th). </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'></FONT><FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:11pt;'><B>1 Lohr, Susie ROL 18 Sparta, Va 3400 620 </B></FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>2 Andriopoulou, Angeliki USL 22 Greece 3340 610 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>3 Narin, Fiona UA 18 New Zealand 2930 600 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>4 Botero, Marie Luisa USL 21 Colombia 2740 590 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>5 Jongepier, Marjolien NLU 18 Nederlands 2530 580 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>The National All-American Women's Overall Team was also confirmed shortly afterwards, with the winner Fiona Nairn being chosen as the team captain. Joining her were Maria Luisa Botero, Angeliki Andriopoulou, Dana Fitts and Courtney Buntjer. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>1 Narin, Fiona UA 18 New Zealand 615 600 515 1730.0 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>2 Botero, Marie Luisa USL 21 Colombia 590 590 515 1695.0 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>3 Andriopoulou, Angeliki USL 22 Greece 615 610 445 1670.0 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>4 Fitts, Dana NLU 21 Shreveport, La 615 570 480 1665.0 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>5 Buntjer, Courtney ASU 20 Santa Rosa, Ca 640 500 515 1655.0 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'></FONT><FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:11pt;'><B>Women's Team Overall: </B></FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Northeast Louisiana Un 6550.0 1 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Univ Southwestern La 6200.0 2 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Univ Of Alabama 5995.0 3 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Arizona State Univ 5890.0 4 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Rollins College 4840.0 5 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Florida Southern Colle 3700.0 6 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Clemson University 3235.0 7 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Cal State Univ Sac 2985.0 8 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Cal State Univ Chico 2585.0 9 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Purdue University 2480.0 10 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Univ Of Michigan 2440.0 11 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>University Of Texas 2175.0 12 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Bates College 1585.0 13 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'></FONT><FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:11pt;'><B>After five events: </B></FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Northeast Louisiana Un NLU 10800.0 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Univ Southwestern La USL 10470.0 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Univ Of Alabama UA 10185.0 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Arizona State Univ ASU 9795.0 </FONT></DIV> <DIV ALIGN=center class=s7 style='text-align: center;margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'></FONT><FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:9pt;'><A class=s7 HREF="#an0" TARGET=_self>return to top</A> </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'></FONT><FONT style='color:#000080;'><B>Final event - Men's Jump </B></FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>There was still everything to play for in the race for the team title, with any one three teams in the running for the crown - the two Louisiana teams plus Alabama. Individual titles were also up for grabs, as skiers such as Jared Heimbigner, Dana Hinman, Simon Siegert and Ryan Fitts prepared to do battle for the prestigious jump crown. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>The starting list was re-ordered with the top-teams skiing at the end of each rotation, meaning that this event had an air of intense excitement right off the bat. Britt Strong from Alabama opened his team's account in the first rotation, with a 133' (40.6 metres) leap. Shortly afterwards Esteban Siegert started USL's challenge with a best leap of 138' (41.9). JJ Woodley from NLU then came through with a 126' (38.4). USL and Alabama clawing back some points. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>The second rotation saw The Crimson Tide roll right back, with Tadd Schraiber uncorking a huge 143' (43.7) for the lead. USL's Chris Branton could only muster a jump of 132' (40.4) in defense, whilst NLU's Jerrod Wheeler had to settle for 128' (39.1). </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Rotation Number three - Brock Manning reminded everyone that ASU were still competing, with a jump of 139 (42.5). However, Alabama continued to gain more ground with Carey Nairn snatching the lead away from his teammate with a 154' (46.9). The Ragin' Cajuns went out next with Brian "Catfish" Rucker, whose jump of 145' (44.20) landed short of the mark. NLU came back at the right time, with Matt Gosse slotting himself in between by flying 153' (46.6) on his final and only attempt. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Rollins College continued to contribute with their fourth rotation jumper, Jeff Pohlig. His final jump of 152' (46.2) was good for third, as the main teams in the race readied themselves. ASU had some Aussie artillery in the form of Marcus Hayward, who broke through with 165' (50.4) for the top slot. Alabama brought in Eric Hall for this rotation, who kept his team in touch with a 156' (47.6). The boys from USL were not dead and buried yet, as Guillaume Pare launched out with a huge jump of 162' (49.4). Under intense pressure, NLU's Frankie Wedd buckled and had to settle for a lackluster 144' (43.8) to round off this rotation. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Going into the fifth and final phase of the jump competition, the team scores looked like this: </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Northeast Louisiana Un NLU 12220.0 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Univ Southwestern La USL 11990.0 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Univ Of Alabama UA 11745.0 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Arizona State Univ ASU 11185.0 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Here, the top guns started to fire - Rollin's </FONT><FONT style='color:#000080;'><B>Benny Lohr</B></FONT><FONT style='color:#000080;'> launched the opening salvo, posting up a 157' (44.7. Next, Jared Heimbigner from ASU recorded a colossal 168' (51.1) effort to lead the pack. Alabama's turn came next, with Dana Hinman eager to go. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Despite great expectations, he could not replicate the form that brought him a new pending collegiate record of 181'. Instead, he had to settle for a leap of 167' for second place with two skiers remaining.USL's Simon Siegert came onto the water next, showing his aggressive character to the full. Using late cuts, he tried to stretch out every little inch of distance he possibly could. However, he could not surpass the top distance of Heimbigner and had to settle for a score of 162 (49.2) for tied fourth place with just one skier to go. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>NLU's Ryan Fitts, who recently set a pending national record at the same site with 183', only needed to jump reasonably well to clinch the team title for the hometown college. However, he was not prepared to hold back as he uncorked a mammoth leap of 173' (52.8) on his first attempt. With his job for the team successfully completed, he took the remaining two jumps aggressively. Despite his best efforts, he was unable to increase upon his first jump but it didn't matter - NLU greeted him warmly as he skied back to the dock, title won, mission accomplished. The three "H's" of Heimbigner, Hinman, and Hayward join him on the National All-American Men's Jump squad, as do the USL duo of Guillaume Pare and Simon Siegert. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>1 Fitts, Ryan NLU 19 Shreveport, La 5 32 52.3 52.8 173 580 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>2 Heimbigner, Jared ASU 21 Kenncwick, Wa 5 32 49.1 51.1 168 570 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>3 Hinman, Dana UA 18 Harford, Ct 5 32 50.0 50.8 167 560 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>4 Hayward, Marcus ASU 20 Victoria, Au 5 32 44.6 50.4 165 550 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>5t Pare', Guillaume USL 19 Quebec, Cn 5 32 .P 49.4 162 535 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>5t Siegert, Simon USL 23 Columbia, Cb 5 32 42.2 49.4 162 535 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Ryan had further reason to celebrate, as he also clinched the individual overall and the National All-American Men's Overall Team Captaincy.  </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>1 Fitts, Ryan NLU 19 Shreveport, La 560 640 580 1780.0 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>2 Pare', Guillaume USL 19 Quebec, Canada 480 620 535 1635.0 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>3 Siegert, Simon USL 23 Colombia 460 630 535 1625.0 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'></FONT><FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:11pt;'><B>4 Lohr, Benny ROL 21 Sparta, Va 490 510 520 1520.0 </B></FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>5 Narin, Carey UA 20 New Zealand 375 600 500 1475.0 </FONT></DIV> <DIV ALIGN=center class=s7 style='text-align: center;margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'></FONT><FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:9pt;'><A class=s7 HREF="#an0" TARGET=_self>return to top</A> </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Despite narrowly losing out to their rivals in the combined team overall placements, the USL Ragin' Cajun Team found some consolation in winning the Men's Team Overall Title. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Univ Southwestern 6250.0 1 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Univ Of Alabama 6210.0 2 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Northeast Louisiana Un 6170.0 3 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Arizona State Univ 5795.0 4 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Clemson University 4350.0 5 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Cal State Univ Sac 3975.0 6 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Rollins College 3945.0 7 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Cal State Univ Chico 3460.0 8 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Florida Southern Colle 3425.0 9 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Univ Of Michigan 3140.0 10 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Purdue University 2630.0 11 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>University Of Texas 2260.0 12 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Bates College 855.0 13 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Combined Overall Title: </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Northeast LA 12,720 1 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Univ. SW LA 12,450 2 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Univ. Alabama 12,205 3 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Arizona State 11,685 4 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Rollins 8,785 5Clemson 7,585 6 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Florida Southern 7,125 7 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Cal State Sacramento 6,960 8 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Cal State Chico 6,045 9 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Univ. Michigan 5,580 10 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Purdue Univ 5,110 11 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Univ. of Texas 4,435 12 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 13mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Bates College 2,440 13 </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Using the NCWSA method of averaging out the final team scores from each conference, the South Central Conference (represented here by NLU, USL & UT) and the South Atlantic Conference (Alabama & Clemson) will be allowed to send three teams to next year's Nationals, which will hosted by Cal State Sacramento, at Shortline Lakes. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>ConclusionThese Nationals will on record as being one of the best organized in the history of collegiate water-skiing.  </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Coach Bill Bagley and the rest of his NLU team did a superb job of hosting this tournament, with the best officials (lead by Chief Judge, Peter Chase) on hand to ensure the event ran smoothly. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>A superb Nationals to mark twenty years of National Collegiate water-skiing - here's to the next twenty! </FONT></DIV> <DIV ALIGN=center class=s7 style='text-align: center;margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'></FONT><FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:9pt;'><A class=s7 HREF="#an0" TARGET=_self>return to top</A> </FONT></DIV> </TD></TR></TABLE></DIV> <DIV class=s0>  </DIV> <DIV class=s0>  </DIV> <DIV class=s0>  </DIV> <DIV class=s0>  </DIV>