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September 10-11
U.S. Open - Walt Disney World - Orlando, Florida
My summer was full of travel and excitement, but after I returned from the World Championships in China my body was ready for a break. I had been going for at least eleven weekends to different tournaments, and it was time to rest for a weekend. Originally I was scheduled to go to the Skyview Women’s Cash Prize Event in North Carolina the weekend following the World Championships, but the full summer had taken a toll on my body and I had no choice but to skip the event and rest for a weekend before the U.S. Open. After returning from China I had developed a virus of some type and could not leave the house for almost a week. Traveling to so many different places just really wore me out, my body wasn’t going to let me do another tournament until I rested for a little while. I decided to take a weekend off and get strong for the U.S. Open and I am glad that I did. Instead of going to North Carolina I went home for five days to Texas. I was just starting to feel better and needed to get back on the water. I couldn’t think of a better place than my home sites in the Dallas area, Ski Haven and Dean’s Lake. Going home to ski with the boys (Dean Drozd and Neil Hellums) is always refreshing. They help me come back to earth and realize that skiing is really all about fun.
After a few days of skiing with Dean I felt dialed in and confident again. I went back to Florida for a few days of school (I attend Rollins College). Then I had one practice set on Lake Roper with Lori Krueger and Glenn Campbell, my boyfriend, and I was ready. I decided I should practice the four buoy course because the U.S. Open would only be a four buoy course due to the short set up and rough conditions. The last tournament I skied in with a four buoy course, I am embarrassed to say, but I went for the fifth buoy (when there wasn’t one) on my first pass. You would think a pro would know not to do that, but we are human we make mistakes like everyone, and boy did I! It was embarrassing, and not the best start to the season because it was the first event for 2005 (WWSP Orlando Boat Show Tournament). I got over it, and I have learned since then to count to four when skiing on a four buoy course because I am definitely programmed for six buoys. Needless to say, no one else made the same mistake for the rest of the season at the Orlando Boat Show Tournament or the U.S. Open. I was the example.
In the preliminaries of the U.S. Open I knew it was going to be rough. Girls were going down on their first and second passes, with only four buoys. I wasn’t scared, because this year I had experience in this kind of water. I was ready for it. In the first round, I skied 1 buoy at 38 off (11.25 meters). No one else that day ran the 35 off pass (12 meters). I won the first round of the event, which meant I would be last seed in the semi-finals, but I was alright with my place. In the semi-finals Karen Truelove went out and skied 1 buoy at 38 off (11.25 meters) and I knew that I would have to at least get a few at 35 off to get into the finals. I ended up running the 35 off pass and getting 2 @ 38 off (11.25 meters), which meant I had one yet another round! I would be last off of the dock in the finals too! I was feeling on my game. In the finals, unfortunately the conditions were extremely difficult and I fell at 28 off (14 meters). Karen Truelove and I both kind of had a tough deal, but that is the way it goes in this sport. Sometimes you draw the right cards and get the good conditions, and sometimes it just doesn’t happen
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