2008 NCWSA Award Winners

The National Collegiate Water Ski Association is proud to announce the winners of the 2008 Awards.

Team of the Year – University of Cincinnati Bearcats

Cincinnati truly embodied what collegiate skiing is all about. The team was made up mainly of skiers that learned about competitive skiing while in college. These skiers got the bug, and worked their tails off in the offseason to put together a fantastic team for 2008. They qualified for Nationals for the first time in the history of their school. This is especially impressive when noting that they took 11th at Regionals in 2007, and followed it up with a 4th place finish this year. The Bearcats then went to Nationals in Arizona, and brought home the Division 2 National Tournament Crown. On top of all of this, they were always helping out at tournaments wherever they could, even though they weren’t the hosts. They were dock starting, announcing, judging, and doing whatever they could to help the tournament run. The University of Cincinnati Bearcats had a record year for their school this year, and helped move collegiate water skiing forward at the same time.

Male Athlete of the Year – Storm Selsor – Arizona State University Sun Devils

Sophomore Storm Selsor had a terrific collegiate year in 2008. He started out his successful year in DuQuoin Illinois at the NCWSA All-Stars. There Storm took 2nd in slalom, 1st in trick, 2nd in jump, and tied for 1st overall, while representing the Western Region. He helped lead his region to a second place finish. At this tournament he qualified for the United States Collegiate Team, which then went to Tianjin China to compete in the Collegiate World Championships. Storm also stacked up very well against the world’s best, taking 4th in slalom, 4th in tricks, 2nd in jump (by 0.1 meter), and a very impressive silver medal in overall. He was a very integral part of helping Team USA to the gold medal. Then he came back to the Collegiate Nationals and took home 4th in slalom, 2nd in trick, and was National Jump Champion. This combination also earned him Collegiate Overall National Champion for 2008. He earned the national title by edging out the skier who beat him in overall at worlds.

Female Athlete of the Year – Kate Adriaensen – University of Louisiana Monroe Warhawks

Kate had the cards stacked against her this year for having a successful year. She was coming off a devastating injury and for most they would take it slow and this would be a rebuilding year. Well this year’s Female AOTY doesn’t know the meaning of taking it slow. She started the year at the Rajun Cajun Classic and brought home 2nd in slalom and 1st in trick. Then she went to China for the Collegiate World Championships to represent her home country of Belgium. There she took an impressive 3rd in trick, and 5th in jump. The fifth in jump was particularly impressive noting that you could hear her screaming from the shore when she was jumping, as visions of her injury were creeping back into her mind as she approached the ramp. This combination also earned her the Bronze Medal in overall at the World Championships. Coming back for US Nationals – Kate took 3rd in slalom, 3rd in trick, 4th in jump and 2nd overall to help lead the Warhawks to another Division 1 National Championship.

Male Most Outstanding Leader – Adam Koehler – Marquette University Golden Eagles

Adam took a leadership role not only for his team, but for the Midwest Region and the nation as well. Adam was the brains behind the new “wild-card” qualifying format for Collegiate Nationals this year. This system created a very competitive environment at each regional championship, and it gave two additional teams the opportunity to compete at the highest level of collegiate skiing. He created 4 different ways that the wild-card format could take place, presented them all, and then ran with the 2 wild-card team format and implemented it this year. He has also presented some ideas for a medical redshirt in collegiate skiing. On the regional level, he is heading up a committee to look into splitting the Midwest into three conferences. And for the Golden Eagles, Adam is the webmaster for his team, as well as the Alumni Association Liaison. All of these contributions come without an elected position, but through love and passion for collegiate water skiing.

Female Most Outstanding Leader – Nina Daley – Arizona State University Sun Devils

Nina showed her leadership skills by heading up one of the most daunting tasks in our organization – Tournament Director of Collegiate Nationals. Nina handled the job very well, and put on a terrific tournament. From registration, to the host hotel, to evening activities, to the awards banquet, everything was done 1st class. She had all of the rest of her team ready to go and they all pitched in to pull off the largest nationals in history, with 22 teams. On top of all of this, she was able to ski well at Nationals and help her team to a 4th place finish.