They went from hitting brick walls to walking on water.

The seniors on the Michigan co-ed waterskiing team know what it's like to fall. Four years ago, when they joined the team with only recreational experience, each learned the art of competitive waterskiing. Clutching a rope and trailing a boat at more than 30 miles per hour, they crashed until they learned to land.

"Falling is like hitting cement," senior Caroline Haverkate said. "When football players crash, they're on the ground in half a second. When we crash, we're flying through the air upside down, thinking, 'This is going to hurt.'

"The first time you land, though, you're so excited because you actually held on. You get more guts, and you keep going and hit it harder and harder."

Now led by experienced upperclassmen, the Wolverines had their best season in recent history after a come-from-behind performance at regionals and a sixth-place finish at the Division II National Championships.

The Wolverines were still two places out of national contention prior to the find round of men's jump skiing. With a 95-foot jump, senior Matt Vivian helped the Wolverines move into fourth place in the Midwest Region - and secure a trip to Sacramento for Nationals.

"The last two or three spots for Nationals were between us, Marquette, Kansas and Michigan State," junior Kasey Coates said. "It was a huge deal because no one knew who was going to win. We worked really hard all summer long, and our goal was to get to Nationals."

In addition to qualifying, Michigan accomplished another season-long goal by earning the Midwest Region Spirit Award. Using both Michigan football chants and original cheers, the Wolverines earned the award for having the most team pride. Senior Andrea Buras said that winning the trophy contributed to the team's regional meet success.

"The Spirit Award is just for fun, but it brings the whole team together and gets everyone behind every single skier," Buras said. "The more encouragement you have going in, the better you feel about skiing."

Two weeks later, Michigan finished sixth at Nationals. Senior Linsey Ward placed second in Division II for women's trick, continuing a string of solid team finishes in trick skiing that began in the regular season.

"For the past four years, Purdue has been No. 1 in skiing in every event (in conference competitions)," Ward said. "This year, it was pretty cool to see our women's team beat Purdue in trick pretty much every time. We were the best women's trick team in the Midwest."

The team traveled to ski schools in Florida and Louisiana in the offseason to learn from professional waterskiers. They practiced five days per week during the season, dividing into small groups based on athletes' preferred events. Until mid-October, the Wolverines prepared for Nationals, braving Michigan weather to go to the lake on weekday mornings.

"It's 40 degrees outside, and it's six in the morning because that's the only time we don't have class," said Haverkate, describing late season practices. "It's cold. We wear our winter coats out into the lake, and then we jump into the water. It's kind of crazy."

On the road to Nationals, new skiers became some of the largest contributors. With the absence of a coach, the upperclassmen - who understood what it was like to crash as freshmen - taught the underclassmen how to ski competitively. This season, the Wolverines saw their regional and national rewards outweigh the occasional pain of the learning curve.

Like other upperclassmen who worked past the painful landings of waterskiing, Buras said of success in her sport, "You feel like you're flying."