The top professional wakeboarders in the world took to the waters of Freeman Lake at Freeman Lake Park in Elizabethtown, Ky. today to kick off the third stop of the 2010 MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour. The Pro Tour stop, which runs through Saturday, June 19, opened with preliminary rounds for the Pro Men and Jr. Pro Men divisions.

Among the 40 pros who competed in Elizabethtown today, was Austin Hair - a four-year veteran rider of the Pro Men division, who has found success on Tour this season and continues to impress.

"Right before the season began, I started learning some new tricks, training to become more consistent and just got into a groove from there," said Hair. "To ride with the top guys, you have be able to go big and 'throw hammers,' and that's what I've been doing so far this season."

The 22-year-old South Carolina native has made back-to-back appearances in the previous two Pro Men finals and currently sits in fourth place in the standings.

"My goal is to make the podium at this stop," said Hair. "This is a really tough contest. There's a lot of talent to compete against, but I'm feeling confident about this weekend."

Hair won his four-man heat today with a score of 83.33, a 13.33-point differential from his next closest competitor - one of the largest margins of victory of the day.

With today's win, Hair advances to tomorrow's quarterfinals where he will be joined by 19 other riders, including Phillip and Bob Soven. Both Soven brothers not only won their respective heats today, but also posted identical scores at 76.67 points.

The Pro Men are first off the dock tomorrow, beginning at 12 noon for the quarterfinal round.

In the Jr. Pro Men division, the top 20 amateur rippers on Tour hit the water for their quarterfinal round of action. Riders competed in five heats of four with only the top two athletes from each heat advancing, narrowing the field of competitors down to 10 for tomorrow's semifinals.

Among the 10 semifinalists is current Jr. Pro Tour leader Nick Galotifore. Galotifore, 18, of Orlando, Fla., won his quarterfinal heat today with a score of 94.00 and remains the top seed in the contest.
ro Men Round of 40 (top two in each heat advance)

Heat #1
1. Erik Ruck - 86.67
2. Shawn Watson - 75.00
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3. Joey Bradley - 58.33
4. Andrew Shearer - 45.00

Heat #2
1. Olivier Derome - 83.33
2. Adam Errington - 75.00
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3. Tony Carroll - 63.33
4. AJ Racinelli - 35.00

Heat #3
1. Keith Lyman - 78.33
2. Bryan Hutton - 65.00
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3. Palm Palma - 58.33
4. Jason Bannatyne - 48.33

Heat #4
1. Jimmy LaRiche - 80.00
2. Dean Smith - 68.33
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3. Danny Burnstein - 58.33
4. Nick Weinacker - 40.00

Heat #5
1. Andrew Adkison - 75.00
2. Shaun Murray - 68.33
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3. Kirby Liesmann - 61.67
4. Paul Hernaez - 48.33

Heat #6
1. Chad Sharpe - 76.67
2. Danny Harf - 71.67
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3. Zane Schwenk - 65.00
4. Derek Grasman - 41.67

Heat #7
1. Austin Hair - 83.33
2. Sam Thomson - 70.00
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3. Danny Thollander - 60.00
4. Daniel Walden - 48.33

Heat #8
1. Harley Clifford - 95.00
2. Phillip Aslinger - 71.67
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3. Trevor Hansen - 61.67
4. James Hindes - 46.67

Heat #9
1. Bob Soven - 76.67
2. Rusty Malinoski - 70.00
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3. Aaron Rathy - 63.33
4. Terry Baily - 31.67

Heat #10
1. Phillip Soven - 76.67
2. Kyle Rattray - 71.67
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3. Nick Jones - 56.67
4. Patrick McMenamin - 23.33