HARMONY, NC (September 5, 2025) - The waterksi team performed admirably at the South & Atlantic Coastal regional at Skyview Lake over the weekend, claiming third place overall in the twelve-team event.
On the men's side, Rollins finished third overall with strong performances in all three facets of the event. The top finish for the weekend came in men's slalom where
Will Bruzzese tied for second place after skiing four buoys at 38 off, earning 375 points for the Tars. As a team, the Tars took third in slalom, with help coming from
Dylan Trask (2.5 at 28 off),
Levi Mitchell (3 at 22 off),
Patrick Payne (2.5 at 28 off), and
Grayson Arnold (1.5 at 22 off).
Men's tricks has been dominated by the Tars in recent years, but it was actually their worst of three events for the weekend as they finished fourth as a team. Payne was the top performer with a run of 2300, good for fifth.
Robbie Craig,
Anthony Shelton, Bruzzese, and Pablo Font also made runs for the Tars.
In men's jump, Rollins edged out Clemson for third place, earning 950 points to the Tigers 940. Payne had the best jump for the Tars, flying 117 feet to finish tenth. Right behind him in eleventh was Shelton (106 feet) and Mitchell (87 feet, 15th). Arnold and Craig also jumped for the Tars.
Payne finished fifth overall in the men's individual table with 830 total points.
The Tars took fourth place as a team on the women's side of things, trailing Florida Southern, Alabama, and Clemson. They finished fourth or better in all three events.
Newcomer
Leona Berner took fourth place in slalom, skiing two buoys at 35 off. She was joined in the top ten by
Elsa Bergsgard who navigated one at 28 off.
Louisa Behner was 12th and
Alex Baldwin took 18th.
Tricks saw the best team finish for Rollins as they captured third place with 1030 points. Bergsgard was the runner-up in the event, with a pass of 2670.
Izzy Tremblay took tenth after scoring a 960 in her attempt. Baldwin (15th), Berner (18th), and Behner (23rd) also hit the water to represent the Tars.
Berner found a spot on the podium in women's jump, soaring 129 feet, just one foot behind second-place Perrine Sonier of Florida Southern. Tremblay (14th), Behner (15th), and Baldwin (19th) also contributed to the Tars fourth place team finish.
Berner was the sixth-highest scoring individual in the overall table with 800 total points.
Overall, head coach
Marc Bedsole was pleased with the effort from his team, who were missing a number of their key contributors due to global competition. With the strong finish, the Tars are qualified to compete in the NCWSA National Championship which will take place at Imperial Lakes in El Centro, California from October 16-18.
