POLK CITY, Fla. — Freddy Krueger of Winter Garden, Fla., and Regina Jaquess of Suwanee, Ga., were named USA Water Ski's 2001 Male and Female Athletes of the Year. The U.S. Elite Water Ski Team was named USA Water Ski's Team of the Year.

The athletes and team were selected by USA Water Ski's Awards Committee and will now be considered for the United States Olympic Committee's prestigious SportsMan, SportsWoman and Sports Team of the Year awards. The USOC SportsMan and SportsWoman awards have been presented annually to the top overall male and female athletes within the USOC member organizations since 1974, while the team category was added in 1996.

Krueger, 26, enjoyed a 2001 season that included numerous victories and podium finishes, which resulted in him being named USA Water Ski's Male Athlete of the Year for the third consecutive year. Krueger jumped 212 feet in Men's jumping at last September's 2001 Water Ski World Championships in Recetto, Italy, to win the silver medal. Krueger also competed in slalom and tricks as a member of the gold-medal winning U.S. Elite Water Ski Team. Krueger led all three rounds of the Overton's U.S. Open Water Ski & Wakeboard Championships last June in Shreveport, La., on his way to winning his third consecutive Men's jumping title with a 197-foot leap in the final round.

The previous weekend at the Masters Water Ski Tournament in Pine Mountain, Ga., Krueger won his third consecutive Men's ski flying title. After posting a 282-foot jump in the preliminary round to earn the top seed in the finals, Krueger jumped 283 feet to secure the victory. At the GOODE Water Ski National Championships last August in Bakersfield, Calif., Krueger jumped 217 feet to win his third career Open Men's national jumping title. Krueger also won two (Detroit and Indianapolis) of four ski flying events on the U.S. Pro Water Ski Tour to clinch second place in the season standings.

Jaquess, 17, had one of the best seasons in the history of the sport, winning world tricks and team championships, U.S. Open tricks and overall titles, national slalom and overall titles, Junior Masters slalom, tricks, jumping and overall titles, and a gold medal in Junior Girls overall at the Americas' Challenge. Jaquess scored 7,400 points to win the gold medal in Women's tricks at the 2001 Water Ski World Championships. Jaquess, who was the youngest member of the gold-medal winning U.S. Elite Water Ski Team, also competed in slalom and jumping, finishing sixth overall.

At the Overton's U.S. Open Water Ski & Wakeboard Championships, Jaquess became the youngest competitor to ever win the U.S. Open overall title. She scored 2,866.0 overall points to win the Women's overall title, and 6,950 points to win the Women's tricks title. At the GOODE Water Ski National Championships, Jaquess won Open Women national slalom and overall titles. Jaquess rounded 3 buoys at 38 feet off to earn the slalom title, while finishing second in tricks (7,030 points) and fourth in jumping (156 feet) to secure the Open Women's overall title with 3,061.6 points. Last May in Pine Mountain, Ga., Jaquess swept the Girls slalom, tricks and jumping events to win her second consecutive Girls overall title at the Rolex Junior Masters Water Ski Tournament. Jaquess scored 3 buoys at 35 feet off in slalom, 7,060 points (a new course record) in tricks and soared 134 feet in jumping to earn an overall score of 3,000 points. At the Americas' Challenge last month in Santiago, Chile, Jaquess earned the top scores in slalom (1-1/2 buoys at 38 feet off), tricks (6,460 points) and jumping (140 feet) to claim the Junior Girls overall gold medal with 3,000 points.

The U.S. Elite Water Ski Team claimed the team gold medal at the 2001 Water Ski World Championships in Recetto, Italy. The U.S. Team compiled 8,346.36 points to outdistance France (7,899.58 points), Australia (7,766.30 points) and 30 other countries in the biennial competition. The victory marked the 22nd time in the tournament's 27 occurrences that the U.S. Team has secured the gold medal, but only the first time since 1989.

In addition to Jaquess and Krueger, members of the 2001 U.S. Elite Water Ski Team were: Rhoni Barton of Orlando, Fla.; Ben Favret of Windermere, Fla.; Russell Gay of Winter Garden, Fla.; and Brandi Hunt of Clermont, Fla. Mike Meek of Athens, Ohio, coached the team.