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Megan Abubo heads out for a warmup for the Roxy Pro.
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VANS TRIPLE CROWN OF SURFING . STOP 1:
$125,000 Vans Hawaiian Pro . men's ASP 6-star WQS event
$62,500 Roxy Pro . women's ASP WCT event
BATTLE FOR WOMEN'S 2004 WORLD TITLE HEATS UP IN ROXY PRO
Honolulu, HAWAII (Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2004) - With the women's world title waiting in the wings, the opening rounds of the Roxy Pro, a $62,500 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship Tour (WCT) event, were held at Haleiwa today, in head-high waves. The pressure on the shoulders of ratings leader Sofia Mulanovich (Peru) and world No.2 Rochelle Ballard (Hawaii) was almost visible.
Mulanovich, 21, is in the driver's seat, holding down a 480 point lead over Ballard, 33. As the defending champion of the Roxy Pro, Mulanovich has proven she has what it takes to win under pressure and she will have her eye on the final again this week if she is to clinch the world crown here. A win would be a sure world crown for the young Peruvian, but that's exactly what Ballard needs if she is to stay alive heading into the last event of the year in Maui next month.
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The Triple Crown of Surfing kicked off in beuatiful conditions on day one of the waiting period. While the Hawaiian Pro took to the waves the Roxy Pro was placed on hold.
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Both surfers are through to the quarter finals after their early performances today. Ballard advanced with a win and one of the top scores - 12.5 out of 20, and Mulanovich advanced in second place from round one with a score of 11.4. The top two placed surfers from round one advanced to the quarter finals, along with the top two scorers from two repecharge heats.
"It's been a build up," said Ballard of the wait for the Roxy Pro start. "Then I was actually losing about 10 minutes before the end. But I've been excited and I'm using the energy, not to be nervous.
"I don't think (the world title) is a long shot at all. I think it's very achievable. I have a lot of experience to draw upon and I think (Sofia and I) are inspiring each other this year. The last two contests have been a little nerve-wracking, but it's all good."
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Sofia Mulanovich won last year's Roxy Pro at Haleiwa.
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A trials event featuring four international up-and-coming surfers was held prior to the main event to determine one wildcard entry. Hawaii's pre-teen surfing sensation Carissa Moore (Honolulu) was one of the four and missed out on the wildcard by less than a point, placing second behind French champion Caroline Sarran. While Moore's moves were some of the biggest and cleanly executed of the trials, wave selection made the difference - Sarran finding more open face to work with, allowing a higher number of maneuvers for an ultimately higher score. Sarran posted 12.6 on her best two waves, Moore scored 11.73. New Zealand's Lisa Hurunui was third on 10.56, and Rosie Hodge (South Africa) was fourth with 7.26 points. Sarran was later eliminated in the main event.
"I'm only 12, so I've got more years to keep trying," said Moore, who seemed disappointed with the result but completely unfazed by her far more experienced opposition. Carissa made it to the quarter finals here last year and was hoping to go at least as far. "It wasn't that different to other contests, the girls were just bigger," Moore concluded.
Brazil's Jaqueline Silva, mathematically still a world title contender, continued with a quiet pursuit today, casually posting the highest score of the Roxy Pro so far - 15.84 points. Silva, a former Roxy Pro champion, needs a first and a second from the remaining two events of the year to win the world title. She is definitely capable of those results. Others with a mathematical chance of winning the world title, each requiring two wins from these last two events of the year, are defending world champion Layne Beachley (Australia), Laurina McGrath (Australia), Chelsea Georgeson (Australia), and Tita Tavares (Brazil).
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This way to the North Shore...
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Round one of the $125,000 men's Vans Hawaiian Pro, an ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) event, was completed this-morning, along with the first eight of 16 round two heats. Among the top performers today were Danilo Costa (Brazil), Nathan Carroll (Hawaii), Norimasa Ohno (Japan), Dustin Cuizon (Hawaii), and Sunny Garcia (Hawaii). These surfers, and others, have advanced to the third round of competition. Former world champion Tom Curren (California) also advanced to round three in second place, behind South African David Weare.
Satellite feeds from both events will be made available. Details will be circulated as the event continues.
The Vans Triple Crown of Surfing is made possible through the support of a partnership of the world's leading brands and media companies including: Ford Trucks, G-Shock, O'Neill, Rip Curl, Surfing Magazine, Surfline.com, Roxy.com, Oahu's Turtle Bay Resort, The Honolulu Advertiser and Fox Sports Net.
Vans Hawaiian Pro
Round 1
1st, 2nd, 3rd to round 2
4th=97th, 5th=109th, 6th=121st
Results shown in order of 1st through 6th:
H1: Gavin Gillette (Haw); Alain Riou (PYF); Jesse Merle-Jones (Haw); Samba Mann (Aus); Masatoshi Ohno (JPN); Liam McNamara;
H2: Daniel Ross (AUS); Tom Curren (USA); Luke Munro (AUS); Mark Matthews (AUS); Daniel Jones (HAW); Raymond Reichle (HAW);
H3: Mikala Jones (HAW); Nathan Carroll (HAW); Steven Hughes (AUS); Marco Polo (BRA); Kekoa Bacalso (HAW); Kai Otton (AUS)
H4: Adam Robertson (AUS); Norimasa Ohno (JPN); Mikey Bruneau (HAW); Ryan Campbell (AUS); Shaun Gossmann (AUS); Ola Eleogram (HAW);
H5: Dustin Cuizon (HAW); Gabe Kling (USA); Bruno Santos (BRA); Makua Rothman (HAW); Wilson Nora (BRA); Jarrad Howse (AUS)
H6: T.J. Barron (HAW); Mike Dodd (HAW); Myles Padaca (HAW); Danylo Grillo (BRA); Aaron Fredette (HAW); Jihad Kohdr (BRA);
H7: Dayyan Neve (AUS); Shinpei Horiguchi (JPN): Jean da Silva (BRA); Mike Todd (USA); Pedro Henrique (BRA); Dustin Barca (HAW);
H8: Matt Jones (AUS); Warwick Wright (ZAF); Kirk Flintoff (AUS); Drew Courtney (AUS); Jamie Sterling(HAW); Teppei Tajima (JPN);
H9: Bede Durbidge (AUS); Ian Walsh (HAW); Odirlei Coutinho (BRA); Derek Ho (HAW); Shane Bevan (AUS); Ricky Basnett (SAFR);
H10: Zane Harrison (AUS); Dean Randazzo (USA); Tom Dosland (USA); Iker Fuentes (ESP); Alexander Kamalei (HAW); Ross Willaims (HAW);
H11: Fredd Robin (EUR); Jason Shibata (HAW): Izuki Tanaka (JPN); Kurt Nyholm (AUS); Billy Choi (HAW); Love Hodel (HAW);
H12: Renato Galvao (BRA); Matt Thompson (AUS); Evan Valiere (HAW); Yuri Sodre (BRA); Maz Quinn (NZL); Naohisa Ogawa (JPN);
Round 2
1st and 2nd to Round 3
3rd=65th, 4th=81st
Results shown in order of 1st through 4th:
H1; Bernardo Pigmeu (BRA); Jesse Merle-Jones (HAW); Gavin Gillette (HAW); Alain Riou (TAHI);
H2: David Weare (ZAF); Tom Curren (USA); Daniel Ross (AUS); Tim Reyes (USA);
H3: Danilo Costa (BRA); Mikala Jones (HAW); Sean Moody (HAW); Luke Munro (AUS);
H4: Nathan Carrol (HAW); Shaun Cansdell (AUS); Pancho Sullivan (HAW); Steven Hughes (AUS);
H5: Norimasa Ohno (JPN); Adam Robertson (AUS); Adrian Buchan (AUS); Mikey Bruneau (HAW);
H6: Dustin Cuizon (HAW); Paul Canning (ZAF); Gabe Kling (USA); Glenn Hall (AUS);
H7: Sunny Garcia (HAW); Ben Bourgeois (USA); Bruno Santos (BRA); T.J. Barron (HAW);
H8: Marcelo Trekinho (BRA); Luke Hitchings (AUS); Mike Dodd (HAW); Myles Padaca (HAW);
Roxy Pro
Trials
1st receives wildcard into Main Event Round 1
2nd, 3rd, and 4th=Eliminated
Results shown in order of 1st through 4th:
H1: Caroline Sarran (FRA); Carissa Moore (HAW); Lisa Hurunui (NZ); Rosie Hodge (ZAF);
Round 1
1st and 2nd to Round 3
3rd to Round 2
Results shown in order of 1st through 3rd:
H1: Jacqueline Silva (BRA); Pauline Menczer (AUS); Laurina McGrath (AUS);
H2: Melanie Bartels (HAW); Chelsea Georgeson (AUS); Megan Abubo (HAW);
H3: Heather Clark (ZAF); Sofia Mulanovich (PER); Caroline Sarran (FRA);
H4: Rochelle Ballard (HAW); Samantha Cornish (AUS); Prue Jeffries (AUS);
H5: Layne Beachley (AUS); Lynette MacKenzie (AUS); Trudy Todd (AUS);
H6: Melanie Redman-Carr (AUS); Tita Tavares (BRA); Keala Kennelly (HAW);
Round 2
1st and 2nd to quarter finals. 3rd=17th
H1: Keala Kennelly (Haw); Trudy Todd (Aus); Caroline Sarran (Fra)
H2: Laurina McGrath (Aus); Megan Abubo (Haw); Prue Jeffries (Aus)
Draw for Roxy Pro Quarter Finals:
H1: Chelsea Georgeson (Aus), Jaqueline Silva (Brz), Heather Clark (SAfr), Melanie Redman-Carr (Aus)
H2: Sofia Mulanovich (Peru), Laurina McGrath (Aus), Megan Abubo (Haw), Lynette MacKenzie (Aus)
H3: Rochelle Ballard (Haw), Tita Tavares (Brz), Trudy Todd (Aus), Melanie Bartels (Haw)
H4: Layne Beachley (Aus), Rochelle Ballard (Haw), Samantha Cornish (Aus), Pauline Menczer (Aus)
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