DAVIDSON, N.C. – The Virginia Tech team of Andrew Blevins of Pulaski, Va., and Carson Rejzer of Hampton, Va., jumped in to first place overtaking fellow Virginia Tech teammates Charlie Machek and Scott Wiley both of Midlothian, Va. at the National Guard FLW College Fishing Northern Division Regional championship on Lake Norman Sunday with six bass weighing 9 pounds, 7 ounces for a two-day total of 12 bass weighing 18-5.
“It feels pretty good right now,” said Rejzer, a sophomore in Building Construction. “We had to completely change from what we did yesterday, the spots that produced well for us yesterday just didn’t give anything up today. I caught my last fish five minutes before our check-in time and we actually made it back with only a minute to spare!”
Rejzer and his partner Blevins have fished in three tournaments together and are now guaranteed a fourth as they will fish in the College National Championship April 10-12, 2010, hosted by the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn. Blevins has fished other tournaments, fishing as a co-angler in FLW BFL competition.
“This is by far my best experience,” said Blevins, a sophomore in Fisheries Science. “It is so much fun fishing against kids my own age. It is pretty cool to have our teammates fishing in second place and we have become pretty good friends with the NC State team sitting in third place, tomorrow should be a really exciting day. ”
Rounding out the top five teams are Virginia Tech – Charlie Machek and Scott Wiley both of Midlothian, Va., (11 bass, 15-5); North Carolina State University – Ben Dziwulski of Woodbine, Md., and Kevin Beverley of Fuquay Varina, N.C., (9 bass, 15-4); Fairmont State University – Wil Dieffenbauch of Hundred, W.Va., and Brent Dodrill of Fairmont, W.Va., (9 bass, 14-4); and Hampden-Sydney College – Charles Parrish of New Port News, Va., and Allen Luck of Richmond, Va., (8 bass, 13-1).
Anglers will take off from Blythe Landing located at 15901 NC Highway 73 in Huntersville, N.C., at 7 a.m. Monday morning. Monday’s final weigh-in will be held at Davidson College Village Green beginning at 4 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
Each school represented in a televised Regional Championship will have team shirts and boats provided by Ranger. The purse for each Regional Championship includes a Ranger 177TR with a 90-horsepower Evinrude or Yamaha outboard wrapped in school colors for the winning club and $25,000 for the school they represent. Awards of $6,000 also extend through fifth place for the club and school to split evenly.
Teams that qualified for the Northern Regional Championship include Chestnut Hill College; Hampden-Sydney College; North Carolina State University; Shepherd University; University of North Carolina, Charlotte; Virginia Tech; Fairmont State University; Longwood University; Penn State; State University of New York at Plattsburgh; Vermont Technical College; and West Point..
In conjunction with the Northern Regional Championship, the Reel Life Festival, which features the National Guard Warrior Challenge, is also being held and will run from 4-7 Monday at Davidson College Village Green.
FLW Outdoors announced the College Fishing trail in May 2008. The entire schedule, which is organized around the five Stren Series Divisions, can be found by visiting CollegeFishing.com along with rules, requirements and information on how to create a bass club.
Full-time students enrolled in four year colleges or universities are eligible to participate in the events. Schools can send two-person teams to each of the four qualifying events in their division, with each event limited to a maximum of 40 teams. Each team has the opportunity to win $10,000 for first and $2,000 through fifth place. Prize money is split evenly between the winning team’s club and the school they represent. The tournaments are free to enter, boats and drivers are provided and all collegiate teams receive a travel allowance. The top five teams in each qualifying event advance to one of five televised three-day National Guard FLW College Fishing Regional Championships.
The National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship is a three-day televised event hosting the top five teams from each regional, 25 total teams. Teams will be provided shirts and wrapped Ranger boats towed by Chevy trucks for this competition. The purse for the championship ranges from $25,000 cash and a Ranger 177TR with a 90-horsepower Evinrude or Yamaha outboard wrapped in school colors for the winning club and $50,000 for the school they represent to $15,000 for fifth, split between the club and school.
The winning team will be declared the National Guard FLW Collegiate National Champion and will qualify for the Forrest Wood Cup presented by BP and Castrol in 2010. The winners will also receive use of a wrapped boat and Chevy truck for the Forrest Wood Cup.
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. FLW Outdoors also is taking fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing, offering the largest awards possible in the history of fantasy sports, $10 million in cash and prizes. Sign up for Player’s Advantage for only $10 to get your edge and win.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, browse FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing and Player’s Advantage, visit FantasyFishing.com.