SNAPPER ROCKS, Australia — If Wailua’s Malia Manuel was nervous heading into her first-ever ASP Women’s World Championship Tour heat, imagine what she’ll do once she’s comfortable.
Competing in the day’s first heat of the Roxy Pro, the first event on the 2012 ASP Women’s Tour, Manuel showed the world why she will be a rookie to be reckoned with for the remainder of the year.
The 18-year-old Kauaian took on tour veterans Silvana Lima and Courtney Conlogue and came away with the round’s top score, Friday morning at Snapper Rocks in Australia.
Manuel’s 10.24 gave her a near 2-point edge over Lima’s 8.73 followed by Conlogue’s 8.10.
“When I got the heat draw emailed to me I found out I was in the first heat and I was pretty nervous,” Manuel said in a release. “But as I paddled out there the nerves melted away.”
In last week’s Australian Open of Surfing, Manuel advanced to the semifinals before being knocked out by fellow Women’s Tour member Sophia Mulanovich of Peru. In the quarterfinals and in the heat against Mulanovich, Manuel battled inconsistent swells and struggled to string good runs together. In her Roxy Pro debut, Manuel took advantage of some waves early, posting her top wave score of 5.67 with 24 minutes left in the round. Manuel added her second wave of 4.57 with over 10 minutes left, securing the lead.
Lima put together a strong last wave with seven seconds left in the heat, but because her prior high-wave score was a 3.10, her 5.63 on that final wave fell short of the needed 7.14 to top Manuel.
“Snapper is a world-class wave, so even the junk ones are fun,” Manuel said of the conditions. “I’m just happy to get the first heat on the first day out of the way.”
With the heat win, Manuel advances straight to round three of the competition, skipping the round two elimination stage.
Fellow Hawaiians Carissa Moore and Coco Ho had successful first rounds.
Moore, the reigning women’s world champion, used a round total of 13.73 to beat competitor Rebecca Woods and Philippa Anderson, who both tied with a score of 11.33. It was Moore’s first competitive surfing event in six months.
“There’s definitely a different sort of pressure you have to deal with coming in as world champ and defending your title, as opposed to chasing a title for the first time,” Moore said. “Coming into the first event, we’re all a little nervous because it’s been a while since we’ve been in a jersey, so it’s nice to work out the kinks and the nerves and I’m looking forward to the rest of the event.”
Ho finished second in her heat as she was edged out by Mulanovich. Ho needed a 7.50 on her final wave to pass Mulanovich, but a 6.90 gave Ho a final tally of 12.13, just short of Mulanovich’s 12.73.
Round two of the Roxy Pro takes place today.
∫ Tyson Alger, sports writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 237) or by emailing talger@ thegardenisland.com. Follow him on twitter.com/tysonalger.
