Published Nov. 22, 2021
University of Louisiana Monroe alumna Sasha Danisheuskaya won the Women's Overall
title at the 2021 Open World Water Ski Championships in Orlando, FL. Danisheuskaya
graduated with a B.S. in Computer Science in 2018 and is a former captain of the ULM
Water Ski Team.
Courtesy/ULM photos
Sasha Danisheuskaya may have left the bayou, but it has never left her. She credits
her water skiing prowess to the time she spent practicing and competing as a Warhawk
on Bayou DeSiard.
By ULM Office of Marketing and Communications
MONROE, LA – In October 2017, when Sasha Danisheuskaya was captain of the University of Louisiana
Monroe Water Ski Team, the Warhawks brought home its 28th National Championship. Danisheuskaya
scored a silver medal for her personal best of 156 feet in women’s jumps.
Twelve U.S. teams competed in that National Collegiate Water Ski Association National
Championship in Baton Rouge.
Four years and thousands of jumps, tricks, and slalom runs later, Danisheuskaya faced
more than 200 skiers from 24 countries at the International Water Ski Federation 2021
Open World Water Ski Championships in Orlando, FL.
The Minsk, Belarus, native and ULM alumna proved she is the best in the world at what
she does by winning the Women’s Overall title for her combined points in the three
events.
Danisheuskaya, 24, graduated from the ULM College of Business and Social Sciences
in 2018 with a B.S. in Computer Science. Today, she lives in Orlando where she is
a computer programmer and continues to work on her skiing skills.
Sasha Danisheuskaya on a practice slalom run for the 2021 Open World Water Ski Championships.
In October, the ULM Ski Team alumna won the Women’s Overall title for her combined
scores in three events.
Photo courtesy
of Sasha Danisheuskaya
Still skiing five to six days a week on Lake Hancock, Danisheuskaya admitted she was
a bit nervous before the world championship.
“I felt pretty good. It’s kind of stressful, as always. I did one event every day,
and it (points) added up pretty well,” she said.
After the first day, her jitters were gone. Slalom is Danisheuskaya’s strong suit,
and she showed it, scoring 5 @11.25 m in the preliminary event.
“I knew what I needed to do, and I did it very well,” Danisheuskaya said. “The pressure
was over on the first day.”
In women’s tricks, Danisheuskaya scored 6400 points in the preliminary and 7320 in
the finals. Both scores were less than her usual 8500.
“That’s not the best, but good enough,” she said.
In women’s jumps, Danisheuskaya soared 174 feet in the finals, beating her preliminary
of 169 feet earlier in the day.
“I think it went pretty well,” she said.
Danisheuskaya may have left the bayou, but it has never left her. She credits her
skiing prowess to the time she spent practicing and competing on Bayou DeSiard.
“It means a lot to me. I was with great skiers who pushed me to get better. My teammates
helped me to improve technique-wise, and we were always pushing each other,” she said.
She remains friends with many former teammates and even competes against them in the
post-collegiate water-ski circuit.
“Manon Costard and Freddie Winter live here, and we travel to tournaments together.
Some of the others travel together too,” she said.
Sasha Danisheuskaya graduated from the University of Louisiana Monroe in May 2018
with a B.S. in Computer Science. As captain of the ULM Water Ski Team, she led the
bayou skiers to their 28th National Collegiate Championship.
ULM Photo
Now that it’s the skiing off-season, Danisheuskaya is devoted to training for the
Moomba Masters in Australia in March and the King of Darkness in Florida in June.
Danisheuskaya is working with three coaches, one of whom, Taylor Garcia, is a former
ULM teammate. She is determined to improve constantly.
“I’m skiing every day and focusing on something new every day,” Danisheuskaya said.
It’s that kind of dedication that makes Warhawks – past, present, and future – the
best in the world at what they do.
