This spring season, the UCLA Water Ski team has achieved tremendous success, defined by tremendous team improvements and individual success. Over the winter off-season, the team recruited many newcomers, increasing the size of the team to pre-pandemic numbers. These new skiers made a striking impact on the team, with incredible progressions from learning to get up on the skis to landing their first jumps.
At the start of the spring tournament season, UCLA's highly anticipated home tournament was devastatingly canceled due to poor weather conditions. Despite this setback, however, the Bruins kept their spirits up and opened up the season at Cal Poly SLO's tournament on 4/20. The team sent a strong mix of veteran skiers and first-timers to the tournament set at Wet Set in Arvin, CA. Over the weekend, UCLA stood out among the schools with an excellent team performance.
Jacob Borda and
Maya Swift showed up with great slalom performances, and
Athina Mihalopoulos landed her first jump.
The following weekend, the Bruins attended SDSU's tournament at Wet Set with a large squad. This tournament saw first tournament appearances by nine skiers. On Saturday,
Paul Wesley Cory earned top 5 performances in both Men's slalom and Men's trick. Additionally,
Bernd Ohler and
Amy Gaspardone had strong slalom runs, while
Jordan Kaplan and
Parker Watson impressed with their trick runs. On Sunday, the Bruins had a record number of first time landers on jump:
Sean Phen,
Estin Bunnell,
Michael Crannell, and Jack Brun.
For the final tournament, hosted by UC Davis at Bell Aqua, UCLA sent a modest yet mighty group of veteran skiers. In the face of strong winds and cold weather, the Bruins persevered with powerful displays and positive attitudes.
Catherine Gacho turned heads with a winning run in slalom on Saturday. To solidify her successful weekend, she won jump on Sunday with a personal best of 50 feet.
As the Bruins wrap up the spring tournament season, the team continues to practice and recruit skiers over the next few months with the goal of qualifying for nationals in the fall.
