Collegiate

<BODY TEXT=#000000 LINK=#FF8040 VLINK=#FF8000 BGCOLOR=#FFFFFF > <BASE TARGET="_top"> <DIV class=s0> <TABLE WIDTH="96%" BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="2" > <TR> <TD WIDTH=100% VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#000095> <DIV ALIGN=center class=s9 style='text-align: center;'> <B></B><FONT style='color:#FFFFFF;font-size:18pt;'><B><I>Lohr makes quite a splash  </I></B></FONT></DIV> <DIV ALIGN=center class=s9 style='text-align: center;margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#FFFFFF;font-size:18pt;'><B><I></I></B><B><I>in her first college meet </I></B></FONT></DIV> </TD></TR></TABLE></I></B></DIV> <DIV class=s0> <TABLE WIDTH="88%" BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="2" > <TR> <TD WIDTH=124% VALIGN=TOP > <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='color:#000080;'><I>Published September 23, 1998, in The Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg, Virginia </I></FONT></DIV> </TD> <TD WIDTH=37% VALIGN=TOP > <DIV class=s1> <IMG SRC="classic103_i000008.jpg" BORDER=0 ALIGN=MIDDLE WIDTH=72 HEIGHT=38 > </DIV> </TD></TR></TABLE></DIV> <DIV class=s0> <TABLE WIDTH="88%" BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="2" > <TR> <TD WIDTH=5% VALIGN=TOP > <DIV class=s1> <IMG SRC="classic103_i000009.gif" BORDER=0 ALIGN=MIDDLE WIDTH=40 HEIGHT=56 ></DIV> </TD> <TD WIDTH=50% VALIGN=TOP > <DIV class=s7> <B>College Notebook </B></DIV> <DIV class=s7> <B></B><FONT style='color:#800000;font-size:12pt;'><B>KURT NICOLL</B></FONT><FONT style='color:#800000;font-size:12pt;'> </FONT></DIV> </TD></TR></TABLE></DIV> <DIV class=s0> <TABLE WIDTH="92%" BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="2" > <TR> <TD WIDTH=153% VALIGN=TOP > <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Susie Lohr was ready for collegiate skiing from the start. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>"Being a freshman, I had to jump first and it was early in the morning. I guess I did all right," the 18-year-old from Sparta in Caroline County says, recalling her first collegiate effort two weeks ago at Orlando, Fla. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Competing for the Rollins (Fla.) College team, Lohr jumped 144 feet twice, unofficially breaking the national collegiate record of 143 set by Rollins graduate Rhoni Barton last spring.</FONT></DIV> </TD> <TD WIDTH=50% VALIGN=TOP > <DIV ALIGN=right class=s1 style='text-align: right;'> <IMG SRC="classic103_i00000a.gif" BORDER=0 ALIGN=MIDDLE WIDTH=90 HEIGHT=123 > </DIV> </TD></TR></TABLE></DIV> <DIV class=s0> <TABLE WIDTH="96%" BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="2" > <TR> <TD WIDTH=100% VALIGN=TOP > <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Rollins coach Marc Bedsole is uncertain whether the record will be approved by a national review board, since several nonregulation judges worked the tournament. He doesn't seem too concerned, though, since his talented freshman should have plenty of opportunities to break the record over the next four years.  </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Besides water skiing for her college and on the Women of Water Sports pro tour, Lohr is also a member of Rollins' women's soccer team.  </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>With some athletes, I would be concerned [about playing two sports], but not with Susie. She has her stuff together, says Bedsole. When she's going to soccer practice, I kid with her and tell her not to get kicked in the shins.  </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Being allowed to participate in two sports was one of the things that attracted Lohr to Rollins. The water skiing team practices in the morning and the soccer team practices in the afternoon. Lohr has missed only a couple of soccer games while competing in a weekend skiing event.  </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>I came here last year to see my brother [Benny] and hung around the boathouse. All the skiers told me it was the perfect place to ski, says Lohr.  </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>I can see the lake where we trained from my window, and it was the only place where I could also play soccer.  </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Lohr has been playing soccer for approximately 10 years, including a stint with the Richmond Strikers select team. She has seen considerable playing time this fall for Rollins and has been used at several different positions, but mostly as a midfielder.  </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>I went to a preseason practice and they told me I could help the team, recalls Lohr. It's a lot of fun and a good way to stay in shape.  </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>Ranked seventh in the world for jumping and 13th overall, Lohr feels the pro tour has better prepared her for competing in tournaments under varying conditions.  </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>It's really neat to ski at these places where the conditions are not always ideal, she says.  </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>In June, Lohr finished third at the U.S. Open in Pennsylvania and last month added another third-place finish in the World Cup held in New York. In both cases, she was the highest-finishing American.  </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>One necessary adjustment she made without a hitch. On the pro circuit, the pulling boat is allowed to go 35 mph and the height of the ramp is 5½ feet; on the collegiate level, the limits are 32 mph and 5 feet. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>I probably like competing on the college level a little bit more because you're pulling for your team, she says. On the pro tour, it's a performance. You're performing just for yourself.  </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>With brother Benny looking to duplicate his All-American status from the past three years, Rollins is a good bet to finish either first or second in the Southern Conference (consisting of seven Florida colleges) and thus qualifying for the collegiate nationals scheduled next month in Louisiana.  </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;'>In Bedsole's four years as head coach, the Tars have finished third twice and fifth twice. </FONT></DIV> </TD></TR></TABLE></DIV>  </DIV>