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I nominate Charlie Brimacombe from UW-Madison
At Regionals this year, Charlie was our second round skier. After some delays due to technical difficulties, and a few throw-ups over the side of the boat, Charlie full sent his first 3/4 split and landed it, beating his previous PB (74) by 18ft (new PB of 92). This inspired full sends from the rest of our men jumpers, and brought our scores to the top to help us win Regionals for the first time in years.I nominate Ridge Vanderhei from UW-Madison.
Ridge was a huge reason why the team was in a solid financial place to be able to upgrade our boat this past season. Since he became treasurer in 2019, he has worked to increase our savings to be able to have a cushion for situations such as our boat’s engine seizing and needing to be replaced (perfect timing). Without his contribution these last two years, our team would not have had the funds to fix the engine on our boat. Ridge has had a forever impact on the Madison ski team, as his push to start saving financially will ensure longevity of the team for years to come.I nominate Lilian Schober from Marquette.
She coordinated practice days with an alumni for groups of potential members to try out waterskiing. Having had numerous board members drop out, Lili absorbed the roles as president and did all the positions effortlessly. There is no way this team would have grown as significantly as it did in the last season without Lili’s hard work and dedication to expanding the team. It has been an absolute honor to be able to work and ski with Lili this season and I can think no one more worthy of the award then her.Devin Mulrooney – UW-Madison
As a junior, Devin was new to the world of 3 event skiing this season. I have never met someone so driven to make everyone feel special. Each tournament, you could expect to see him on the dock with music pumping anyone up regardless of the team or ability. It was incredible to see members instantly become more comfortable and less nervous when he was around. Devin initiated many of the team runs to our skier and managed to get skiers to laugh or smile even when they hadn’t had the best set. I have never seen a member so determined to watch every single person ski on the team (especially considering the 40+ roster UW-Madison would bring). He is always looking to help others improve and learn more about the sport, and a sponge in regard to learning himself. Devin will be an amazing captain next season and I am excited to see how he improves in his own personal skiing ability.I nominate the University of Wisconsin-Madison team.
The UW-Madison waterski team has had significant growth as a team on and off the water this season. After a year off due to the pandemic, the UW-Madison team’s hard work to increase financial security and membership paid off. The team profited from the sale of their 2005 Mastercraft Prostar to purchase a new 2014 Centurion Carbon. The team had a significant increase in membership, with a 78% increase in new club members. This increased membership led to growth within the MCWSA as the UW-Madison team brought over 40 members to the Hawkeye Skifest, Jacob Kaufmann Memorial Classic, and Great Plains Conference Championship tournaments, exposing and instilling a love for three event skiing for many members that will last a lifetime. About halfway through the fall, the boat suffered damage but this did not hinder the continued improvement of the team. The team reached out to supporters of the club and found other ways to practice this season including private lake time, hosting “ski camps” at member’s lake houses, and taking sets with alumni. This season, the team placed first at Hawkeye Skifest, Jacob Kaufmann Memorial Classic, and Great Plains Conference Championship. The team went on to win 1st place at Midwest Collegiate Regionals, which landed the team a D1 spot at Nationals where the team took 7th. This team is one that truly loves water skiing for water skiing. The boat upgrade, membership growth, MCWSA expansion, and tournament performance warrant why UW-Madison deserves to be the team of the year.
I nominate Laney Peterson for best team captain. The UW-LaCrosse team had many team members graduate last semester (2021) so there was a lot of concern on having a big enough team at the beginning of the season. I watched Laney recruit for months, get the new members excited about 3-event skiing, and organize the tournaments for her team. She was able to coordinate practices for the team members, keep the trips affordable with her massive fundraising, and made sure everyone had a good time. During the hiccups that occurred, just one example being missing bibs at Nationals, Laney remained calm and figured out a solution for the team. Laney went above and beyond this past season for LaCrosse and I’m so excited to see what she does for the team next year.
Elizabeth O’Callaghan who, as a freshman, absolutely destroyed every one of the UW-Madison women’s team records
Noah Lazzara (UW-Madison, graduating class of 2021) attended every tournament except Nationals and was the TC for these tournaments. On top of being the TC, he judged and drove. He was constantly there to help answer questions for new skiers & was a huge contributor to bringing boats down to tournaments. When we were short cars for Regionals, Noah offered to drive skies and a few skiers down to IL. Noah set up sets for our teammates to ski at a local private ski lake, which was incredible considering our boat’s engine seized a few weeks into the season. Noah has dedicated so much time to this sport and making sure it continues (and grows).