U.S. Snowboarding rider Lindsey Jacobellis (Bondville, VT) made history Saturday completing a three-day sweep of World Cup competition winning the women's halfpipe after claiming victory in two consecutive snowboard cross events. While, teammate Steve Fisher (St. Louis Park, MN) placed his own exclamation point on the weekend by shutting 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's, 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."

Both Jacobellis and Fisher are X Games Champions, U.S. Finals Champions, World Junior Champions and now have their first World Cup pipe victories. Also on Jacobellis' resume is the Chevrolet U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix snowboard cross title, while Fisher made a name for himself on the World Cup in 2003 after taking bronze home from the World Championships.

"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." It was the first time in history that a U.S. rider has swept a World Cup stop in two separate disciplines. She now trails Julie Pomagalski of France by just 162.6 points in the overall standings.

Snowboard pioneer Mike Jacoby was the last American to hold the overall World Cup title in 1996. He also won it in 1995, the very first season for World Cup snowboarding.

For Fisher, who finished fourth in the World Cup opener in Valle Nevado, Chile, and sixth last weekend in Sapporo, the victory not only showed his talent, but also proved that the Finn machine can be beat. "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 previously won every World Cup he'd entered. "I have to thank the organizers for giving their best to keep the pipe in good conditions."

Also storming into the top of the standings was Olympic gold medalist Kelly Clark (Mount Snow, VT) with third, while 15-time World Cup winner Tricia Byrnes finished seventh. On the men's side, 2002 Olympian and Tommy Czeschin (Mammoth Lakes, CA) was fifth followed by Olympic bronze medalist J.J. Thomas (Golden, CO) in 12th and U.S. Snowboarding young gun Mason Aguirre (Duluth, MN) with 15th. Chris Nelson (Mammoth Lakes, CA) was 17th followed by two-time Olympic medalist Ross Powers (South Londonderry, VT) in 34th to round out the American men.

Despite injury, Sapporo winner Hannah Teter (Belmont, VT) rode to 21st. Teter was hit by a rider flying out of the pipe, while training on Thursday and was questionable for Saturday's start, yet decided compete despite the pain. Teter had previously won both World Cup stops that she'd entered on the season and is also the overall Grand Prix champion and X Games winner.

Next pipe for U.S. Snowboarding is the final stop of the Triple Crown Mar. 4-7 at Northstar at Tahoe in Calif., where Teter and Fisher, each with one win on the tour, will be gunning for the overall title. Jacobellis will follow the Worlld Cup to Oregon for a shot at winning the Mt. Bachelor Snowboard Classic SBX title and the World Cup lead.

FIS SNOWBOARD WORLD CUP
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

7. Tricia Byrnes, Stratton, Vt., 33.0
21. Hannah Teter, Belmont, Vt., 24.6

Men's Halfpipe (top ten 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

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

— Courtesy, US Snowboard Team