RECETTO, Italy (September 2, 2025) - The International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation hosted the World Championships from August 26-31 at Parco Nautico del Sesia in Italy. The event is held every other year. For this year's edition, the Rollins waterski team was not only well represented...they were well accomplished.
Three current Tars took part in the event, with sophomore
Charlie Ross leading the way with a silver medal finish in men's slalom. The Canadian native actually tied for first-place alongside Nate Smith (USA) as both athletes ran one buoy at 43 off, tying the world record. This led to a run-off for the gold, where Smith was able to out-maneuver Ross, beating him by half a buoy. Ross is the reigning collegiate slalom national champion, earning his first national title as a freshman last October.
In men's tricks,
Pablo Font Corona claimed 7th place, scoring 10,660 in his final run for Team Mexico. It his his top finish at the World Championships in the event. On the women's side of tricks, sophomore
Hannah Stopnicki (Canada) took 13th with a 7,460 point effort, missing the final round by one spot.
Additionally, a handful of Rollins alumni also took part in the week-long showcase. Dorien Llewellyn '19 stole the show, capturing the men's overall gold medal with final positions of 3rd in jump, 6th in tricks, and 24th in slalom. His final score of 2774.93 was 19 points better than France's Louis Duplan Fribourg. Dorien is the son of IWWF Hall-of-Fame skier Jaret Llewellyn, who won his first World Championship in Recetto, Italy in 2001.
Neilly Ross '22 (Canada) once again claimed the gold medal in women's tricks, her second time finishing as the best in the world following her gold in 2017. In this year's event, she defeated fellow Tar alum Erika Lang '18 (USA, who took gold in 2023) by a score of 11,300 to 11,170 in the final. Ross also took part in women's slalom, finishing eighth.
Pato Font (Mexico) also took a spot on the podium for his bronze medal performance in men's tricks with a final run of 12,010. He is a two-time gold medalist in the event, winning in 2019 and 2023.
Chantal Singer '17 (Canada) was the final alum to ski in the event, grabbing a 16th place finish in women's tricks.
