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The two words that immediately come to mind when I think about the 2003 U.S. Open are hot and sticky. The tournament was being held once again right outside of Houston, Texas. The weather in the middle of August in Houston is far from refreshing, and I think the unbearable heat was reflected in the women’s slalom scores. Not the worst I have seen, but it is safe to say that the women were skiing well below their potential when only two women in the entire tournament completed the 38off pass (and at least 10 were capable of running 38off). The heat was slowing everyone down, but it did not stifle anyone’s desire to win. All of the women were once again chomping at the bit to get out there and show their stuff. I was one of the first girls out in the finals, and I knew that if I wanted to be on the podium it meant deep 38off. I scrapped my way through my 35off pass and then fell around 3 ball at 38off leaving me with 2 @ at 38off. I was disappointed as I made my way to the shore since I had run the pass at the same lake in the same tournament only a year before. I knew that this wasn’t going to be my day as I made it back to the fans on the beach. The best women in the world were going after me and I thought they would have a lot more in them than that. To my surprise the next girl out, Natalie Hamrick, who I think is one of the best female skiers out there, fell in the same place as me. After that Emma Sheers, by far the toughest female slalom skier I have ever seen, only did 1 buoy more. I began to wonder what was going on! Then it was all up to Karen Truelove and she went out and did what she had to do, 4 @ 38 off for the win. That left me tied for 3rd place which meant I would actually be 4th place because they take the score from the prior round to break ties. Although it wasn’t as exciting of a finish as the year before, I at least proved that I could stay with them and that meant a lot to me at the time.
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