The ASU Water Ski Club was born to succeed.
Founded 11 years ago by a group of ASU skiers that wanted to compete, the club won the Western Conference Championship in its inaugural season and has defended that title to this day.
In 2001, the Sun Devils were crowned national champions, accomplishing the feat in just six years of existence.
They won the Western Regional for the 11th time in a row this year, eclipsing tournament host Sacramento State and the University of San Diego.
The team's overwhelming success can be attributed to head coach Dave Phillips and his steady hand at the helm. Phillips has been with the team for all 11 years.
"He really strives for the team to be good and to win regionals every year," team captain and junior Brody Reid said. "He's always worked hard to find the really good skiers that are coming up in the junior divisions, and he puts the word out to them."
Phillips has recruited five All-Americans over the years, highlighted by Jimmy Siemers, now competing at the professional level.
Reid is the team's current top skier, ranked third in the nation overall.
"When people look at me they say, 'Hey you water ski ,and you do other stuff too,'" Reid said. "It's just something I fell in love with."
Despite committing most of his time to the lake and the team, Reid still views water skiing as a hobby rather than a job.
"For me it would be cool to ski professionally, but I'm really not striving for it," he said. "I'm really striving for schooling first and skiing just happens to be something I've grown up with and I'm pretty good with."
He began competitively skiing at age nine.
"Jumping is my favorite event," Reid said. "It's just so much fun. I can't get away from it."
The Sun Devils next turn their attention to the Collegiate Nationals being held in Kentucky this Thursday through Saturday.
Team members are excited about the opportunity but admit the pressure to perform compounds at this level.
"There is a lot of pressure because if one person fails, that's a huge blow to the team score, especially since it's going to be so close between us and a couple of other schools," freshman Adam Fletcher said.
"You can just feel it when you're walking down or standing on the dock," Reid added. "You're competing against other people and you don't talk to them. Everyone is zoned in, and it's really intense and quite a lot of pressure."
The added pressure also stems from emphasis placed on the teams rather than the individuals at the collegiate level.
"If you don't do well, you're not letting yourself down, you're letting the whole team down, so the pressure kind of builds on you," Reid said.
Nationals score teams based on their top four skiers in any given event and assign point totals to each position. The men and women compete in separate events, but their scores are later added together to create the final team total.
"I like it because it joins the two sexes basically," Phillips said. "The men want the women to win as much as the women want the men to win."
The club approaches the tournament eyeing a third- place finish, knowing that they will be facing a severe mismatch against the top two teams in the nation.
Louisiana Monroe and Louisiana Lafayette boast powerhouse programs due to virtually unlimited funding and scholarship options to attract top-level foreign talent.
"As it is right now, these guys are stacking up on talent, and they're able to get foreign skiers that we're not able to get because they can pay for all the tuition," Phillips said. "They're able to go into Russia and to France, and they get these up-and-coming international stars."
As if the two Louisiana juggernauts were not enough of a challenge for ASU, the club faces further adversity after losing five seniors in the offseason as well as women's A-team sophomore Krista Rogers, who suffered a major knee injury.
"This year I'll be ecstatic with third place," Phillips said. "Would I be satisfied with third for the rest of my life? No way. But that may be our lot with those two guys (Louisiana Monroe and Louisiana Lafayette) spending all that money every year."
Reach the reporter at steven.bohner@asu.edu.
