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Sept. 8, 2005

ULM Water Ski Team to host ULM Bayou DeSiard Classic

The defending national champion ULM Water Ski Team is set to host the Bayou DeSiard Classic on Saturday, September 24 beginning at 8 a.m. The tournament will be the home event for the ULM water ski team, which competes in the South Central Region of the National Collegiate Water Ski Association (NCWSA). The tournament will continue all day Saturday, during the daylight and then will resume at 8 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 25.

ULM fans are encouraged to come watch as the ski team competes in three events: slalom, trick skiing and jumping. The ULM team currently holds many national and world championships in these events and will be showcasing their skills in the Bayou DeSiard Classic. The tournament will be free to the public and concessions and t-shirts will be available for purchase. Other schools competing in this conference event include University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Texas A&M, Baylor University, University of Texas, Louisiana Tech University, LSU, Texas State University and Tulane University.

Competing for the ULM women's team will be Kate Adriaensen, Belgium; Natallia Bernikava, Belarus; Carly Clifton, Ohio; Regina Jaquess, Georgia; Laura Lammi, Finland; and Breanne Wagner, Canada.

The men's team includes Joel Bohlin, Illinois; Tyler Collins, Kentucky; Kyle Dammann, Tennessee; Thomas Degasperi, Italy; Ryan Dodd, Canada; Tyler McDermeit, Florida; Federico Minelli, Italy; Ian Trapp, Louisiana; and Aleksei Zharnasek, Belarus.

Seven ULM skiers competed in the World Water Ski Championships in Tianjin, China in August. The biannual event features competition from all over the world and is sanctioned by the International Water Ski Federation. The big winner for the ULM women was Regina Jaquess, who captured the Women's World Slalom title as well as the Overall title.

Prior to her wins at the World Championships, Jaquess won Slalom, Jumping, and Overall titles at the Under 21 World Championships in Feldberg, Germany in July. She also won Slalom, Jumping and Overall titles at the Under 21 US Open in June and also swept the competition at the Nation Collegiate All Stars, where she broke a 15 year old collegiate trick record.

Jaquess, a student in the ULM Doctor of Pharmacy program, has won 66 international medals thus far in her career, with 45 of them being gold medals. She is also the first person in NCWSA history to hold collegiate records in all three events of slalom, trick, and jump.

On the men's side, Aleksei Zharnasek took the silver in the Men's Trick and the bronze in the Men's Overall at the World Championships.

Earlier this summer, Thomas Degasperi won the European Open Slalom competition and also the Swiss Masters Slalom Competition. He also took the silver in the slalom at the World Cup Stop in Russia.

For more information about the ULM Water Ski team, visit them online at www.ulmwaterskiteam.com.

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