U.S. team's Jacobellis gets third win in three days; Fisher also wins in halfpipe

U.S. team’s Jacobellis gets third win in three days; Fisher also wins in halfpipe{mosimage}USSA — Lindsey Jacobellis completed a three-day sweep of World Cup competition on Saturday, winning the women’s halfpipe at Niigat Joetsu-Kokasai, Japan, after claiming victory in two consecutive snowboardcross events.

U.S. teammate Steve Fisher shut down the Finn pipe dominance to grab the men’s victory.

“It was a great day for U.S. Snowboarding,” said halfpipe head coach Bud Keene. “This proves that the stateside contests like Grand Prix, Triple Crowns and X-Games prepare our riders well for competition on the world stage. Lindsey is super stoked — what an unbelievable three days — and Fisher continues to fulfill his potential. The future looks bright for them. They rode with power and confidence and it showed.”

“It’s such a great feeling winning three times in a row,” said Jacobellis, whose 40.7-point win moved her to second in the World Cup overall standings. “It was a good week for me although it was a lot of stress for my body.” She now trails Julie Pomagalski of France by just 162.6 points in the overall standings.

“It was a good day, although I didn’t really get it in the qualification — I didn’t expect to win today,” said Fisher, who’s first run score of 43.0 topped Antti Autti, who had won every previous World Cup he’d entered. “I have to thank the organizers for giving their best to keep the pipe in good conditions.”

Also for the U.S., Kelly Clark was third for the women, while Tricia Byrnes finished seventh. On the men’s side, Tommy Czeschin was fifth followed by J.J. Thomas in 12th, Mason Aguirre in 15th and Chris Nelson in 17th. Ross Powers wound up 34th.

Next stop for U.S. Snowboarding is the finals of the Triple Crown March 4-7 at Northstar at Tahoe, California, where Hannah Teter and Fisher, each with one win on the tour, will be gunning for the overall title.

Snowboard World Cup
February 28, 2004
Women’s Halfpipe (top five qualifiers make final)
1. Lindsey Jacobellis, Bondville, Vt., 40.7
2. Torah Bright, Australia, 39.2
3. Kelly Clark, Mount Snow, Vt., 36.6
4. Manuela Laura Pesko, Switzerland, 35.7
5. Fabienne Reuteler, Switzerland, 32.6
Also:
7. Tricia Byrnes, Stratton, Vt., 33.0
21. Hannah Teter, Belmont, Vt., 24.6

Men’s Halfpipe (top 10 qualifiers make final)
1. Steve Fisher, St. Louis Park, Minn., 43.0
2. Antti Autti, Finland, 42.3
3. Vinzenz Lueps, Germany, 38.7
4. Risto Mattila, Finland, 37.1
5. Tommy Czeschin, Mammoth Lakes, Calif., 36.6
Also:
12. J.J. Thomas, Golden, Colo., 36.7
15. Mason Aguirre, Duluth, Minn., 35.6
17. Chris Nelson, Mammoth Lakes, Calif., 34.4
34. Ross Powers, South Londonderry, Vt., 25.8