Sebastian Inlet, FL / USA
Big Performances in Small Surf at O’Neill SI Pro Day 5 (Wed, 9 Jan 2008 Posted at 10:09:12 AM)
SEBASTIAN INLET, Florida (Tuesday, January 8, 2008) – Clean conditions and sunny skies welcomed Day 5 of the O’Neill SI Pro presented by Ron Jon, and the performance level continued to skyrocket as competitors did battle in the playful one-to-three foot (1 metre) surf at Sebastian Inlet.
Whittling down to the business end of the first event on this year’s Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Qualifying Series (WQS), the ASP WQS 5-Star event ran the final heats of Round 3 before completing the first six heats of Round 4.
Ben Bourgeois (Wrightsville Beach, NC), who has qualified for the elite 2008 ASP World Tour, once again proved the form surfer of the afternoon, racking up the event high single-wave score of a 9.77 out of a possible 10.
“I have some really good boards working for me right now and I’ve been able to find a rhythm out there despite the conditions being less than ideal,” Bourgeois said. “Qualifying for the ASP World Tour has really lifted my confidence and I feel like my surfing has improved a lot over the past months. I’m looking for a good result here to start the year out right.”
Although surf dropped in the latter half of the day, clean conditions in the morning allowed for competitors surfing in the remaining heats of Round 3 the opportunity to really flex their fangs.
Austin Ware (Solana Beach, CA), collected this highest heat total of the day with a 15.17 out of a possible 20 for his morning Round 3 heat. The well-built natural-footer deftly dissected the small-but-clean peaks on offer today, powerfully blasting away on both his forehand and backhand.
“It’s not the easiest of conditions out there today, but there is still enough juice to get a few maneuvers in out there,” Ware said. “I’m pretty stoked with how everything felt today and I’m looking to get through a few more heats here to start the year out with a result. It seems like a bunch of guys are calling for this year to be there year and I group myself with them.”
Competition was called after Heat 6 of Round 4 today due to deteriorating conditions.
Event organizers for the O’Neill SI Pro will meet tomorrow at 8:30am for a possible 9am start.
When O’Neill SI Pro competition recommences, Heat 7 of Round 4 will be first in the water.
The O’Neill SI Pro presented by Ron Jon will be webcast LIVE via www.go211.com
For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com, www.aspnorthamerica.org or www.oneillsipro.com
RESULTS: O’Neill SI Pro presented by Ron Jon (ASP WQS 5-Star)
Heat 3: 96 surfers remaining (1st and 2nd advance to Round 4)
Heat 17: Shea Lopez (USA) 11.67, Zach Keenan (USA) 9.26, Jeremy Sherwin (USA) 6.63, Jensen Hassett (HAW) 4.97
Heat 18: Noi Kaulukukui (USA) 13.37, Gony Zubizareta (ESP) 12.97, Eric Geiselman (USA) 12.17, Tanner Gudauskas (USA) N/S
Heat 19: Travis Mellem (USA) 9.91, Brent Reilly (USA) 9.50, Brian Toth (PRI) 8.67, Flynn Novak (HAW) 6.80
Heat 20: Mike Losness (USA) 12.83, T.J. Barron (HAW) 10.60, Ryan Helm (USA) 10.33, Kieran Horn (USA) 7.57
Heat 21: Austin Ware (USA) 15.17, Asher Nolan (USA) 10.87, Jody Davis (USA) 10.14, Ted Navarro (USA) 5.84
Heat 22: Alex Smith (HAW) 11.83, Bud Freitas (USA) 10.67, Kyle Garson (USA) 10.64, Hodei Collazo (ESP) 9.64
Heat 23: Dane Gudauskas (USA) 12.17, Bryan Hewitson (USA) 10.66, Bobby Morris (USA) 8.00, Nathan Carroll
Heat 24: Damien Hobgood (USA) 10.80, Dane Johnson (USA) 8.93, Kai Barger (HAW) 8.23, Jesse Heilman (USA) 6.87
Round 4: 48 surfers remaining (1st and 2nd advance to Round 5)
Heat 1: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 12.50, Dylan Graves (PRI) 9.34, Federico Pilurzu (CRI) 7.20, Cody Thompson (USA) 6.73
Heat 2: Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 10.56, Kilian Garland (USA) 10.50, Kekoa Bacalso (HAW) 10.07, Jean Sebastian Estienne (FRA) 8.56
Heat 3: Jason Collins (USA) 11.33, Che Stang (USA) 9.20, Matt King (USA) 6.83, Ryan Briggs (USA) 5.83
Heat 4: Brett Simpson (USA) 16.50, Daniel Jones (HAW) 10.53, Shaun Ward (USA) 9.17, Kevin Sullivan (HAW) 4.93
Heat 5: Travis Beckmann (USA) 9.83, Nathan Yeomans (USA) 8.90, Wesley Larsen (HAW) 8.73, Shane Beschen (USA) 7.43
Heat 6: Ben Bourgeois (USA) 16.27, Nathaniel Curran (USA) 9.43, Diego Rosa (BRA) 9.10, Joel Centeio (HAW) 8.90
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