RIO LINDA, Calif. (October 18, 2026) - The waterski team spent the past three days at Bell Acqua Lakes competing in the National Collegiate Water Ski Association National Championship. The Tars competed on both the men's and women's side in slalom, jump, and tricks. For the twelfth straight year, Rollins finished in the Top 5 overall, taking fourth place for the event.
NCWSA Results Page
Thursday, October 15
Women's Slalom
More than 60 ladies got the event started with slalom on Thursday morning. Among the Tars, freshman
Ines Sole had the best finish, taking fourth place after skiing 5.5 buoys at 35 off.
Hannah Stopnicki and
Leona Berner also recorded a top 10 finish, tying for ninth, with a final count of two buoys at 35 off. Another freshman,
Nora Handegaard, was 16th with 1.5 buoys at 35.
Martina Font snuck into the Top 25 with an effort of 1.5 at 32 off. Lafayette's Alana Jones was the individual champion.
Men's Tricks
A surprising result for the men's side saw no Tar finish in the top 10 of tricks on the first day.
Patrick Payne was the top tricker, taking 11th place with a score of 3,420.
Pablo Alvira was right behind him in 13th, scoring 3,170.
Pablo Font Corona, who had a monster run at the SAC Regional two weeks ago, went down early in his run and only managed 1,660 to finish 21st.
Charlie Ross gave it a go as well, earning 23rd place with a tally of 1,540.
Robbie Craig also had a run for the Tars, scoring 670 points. Arizona State's Jake Abelson was the gold medalist with a score of 7,170.
Friday, October 16
Men's Slalom
Rollins has dominated slalom in the past few years, and they once again looked the part in 2026.
Charlie Ross provided the highlight of the weekend for the Tars, capturing his third consecutive gold medal at the National Championship. The Canadian junior masterfully navigated 4.5 buoys at 41 off, putting him well ahead of the rest of the field. He had plenty of help in the standings though.
Kamil Belmrah tied with three others for fourth with a line of three buoys at 39.5.
Jaime Palomino took eighth place after slaying 2.5 buoys at 39.5.
Niki Attensam did not have the run he wanted, but still managed twelfth with a half buoy at 39.5. Alvira have the Tars a fifth Top 20 finisher with his final of 1.5 buoys at 38 off.
Women's Jump
Sophie Lahaie was the top jumper on the women's side, flying 100 feet for a 14th place finish. OOther Tars in action included Font (53 feet, 35th),
Izzy Tremblay (48 feet, 39th),
Louisa Behner (46 feet, 44th), and
Alex Baldwin (41 feet, 49th). Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah of Florida Southern was the gold medal winner with an impressive 154 foot flight.
Saturday, October 17
Women's Tricks
For the second straight year,
Hannah Stopnicki came up just short in her quest for trick gold. The junior took second place in the women;s division with a final run of 4,450 points.
Elsa Bergsgard was just outside the top 10 in 11th place, scoring 2,440. Lahaie was solid at 14th, posting a total of 2,110. Font was the fourth Tar to finish in the top 20, claiming 18th with a run of 1,280. Tremblay also hit the water for the Tars, posting 450 points. Hanifah claimed her second gold medal of the event with a final of 4,810 points.
Men's Jump
Patrick Payne had the best jump on the men's side, soaring 133 feet which was good for 22nd.
Anthony Shelton tied for 32nd with a 100 foot effort.
Levi Mitchell finished 36th at 94 feet, Attensame was 52nd at 65 feet, and
Carter Bruzzese saw some action, going 54 feet. Abelson also captured a second gold medal by winning the jump with an unreal 189 foot flight.
Overall, Rollins finished in fourth place as a team. Head coach Marc Bedsole has led the Tars to a Top 6 finish in each of the past twelve years. Lafayette was the overall champion, followed by Louisiana Monroe, and Florida Southern in third.
