LIHU‘E — With four surfers entering the day, making up one-sixth of the remaining field in the Open Men’s division at the 2010 U.S. Open of Surfing, just one survived Friday’s action, advancing through the Round of 24. Given his
LIHU‘E — With four surfers entering the day, making up one-sixth of the remaining field in the Open Men’s division at the 2010 U.S. Open of Surfing, just one survived Friday’s action, advancing through the Round of 24.
Given his success so far this week at the Huntington Beach, Calif. event, it was no surprise that Lahaina’s Granger Larsen made his way into today’s Round of 16, still alive among some of the sport’s biggest names and highest-ranked competitors.
The peaky one-to-three foot surf continued to provide some opportunities for riders to pull off a single big maneuver to impress the judges and garner scores worthy of advancement.
Larsen was in the fifth heat, going up against a pair of Aussies in Adrian Buchan and Jay Thompson. The 20-year-old from Maui put up the heat’s top two scores, getting out in front with a 6.83 on his first ride, then improving with a 7.43 on his fifth wave to tally a 14.26 session.
Buchan did more than enough to advance, taking second with a 12.00 total, as only the third-place finisher in each heat was eliminated from the event.
The round started off with Hana’s Ola Eleogram getting knocked out in the opening heat. Brazil’s Gabriel Medina took first place, adding an 8.50 score on his fifth wave to a 7.00 on his first for a comfortable 15.50 total. Australian Bede Durbidge held off Eleogram for the second spot, compiling a 9.77.
Eleogram, 24, finished third with a 7.17 total.
The next heat saw the end of O‘ahu’s Kiron Jabour, as his 11.00 points were not enough to get him into the top two. Brazil continued to advance surfers as Miguel Pupo grabbed another first-place finish, this time posting 15.00 points. South Africa’s Jordy Smith, the top-ranked surfer according to the Association of Surfing Professionals current rankings, took second with 14.03.
The third heat made it three straight eliminations for Hawai‘i entries, with Kekoa Bacalso this time the unlucky participant. Brazilian Jadson Andre put up the highest heat total for the second straight day, backing up Thursday’s 17.80 with a 16.53 on Friday. Australian favorite Mick Fanning moved on with a 13.00 score, as Bacalso’s 8.93 was not enough.
American Evan Geiselman was edged out of a spot in today’s final 16, when his 8.54 points could not get him into the top two of the fifth heat. American Cory Lopez (12.04) and Australian Nic Muscroft (9.03) edged out the youngster.
Larsen then took the stage and continued to prove his mettle with another first-place showing.
The sixth heat was a victory for Kelly Slater (13.84), with two Brazilians, Heitor Alves and Adriano De Souza, battling for the second position. It was De Souza (12.50) who ultimately came through, making Alves (6.07) the only Brazilian of the five remaining to get knocked out, Friday.
Nathaniel Curran (12.70) pulled out the victory in the seventh heat as he and fellow American Dane Reynolds (11.13) did enough to move on, with Australia’s Owen Wright (9.17) knocked out in third.
The final heat was a fierce battle, ultimately won by Americans Brett Simpson (15.00) and Patrick Gudauskas (13.00), who jumped ahead of Australia’s Adam Melling (12.93). Melling set the pace, his highest scores coming on his first two waves, but was ultimately passed and eliminated.
The event now moves to head-to-head elimination heats, beginning today at 8 a.m. PST (5 a.m. HT).
The Round of 16 matchups are: Medina vs. Smith, Durbidge vs. Pupo, Andre vs. Muscroft, Fanning vs. Lopez, Larsen vs. De Souza, Buchan vs. Slater, Curran vs. Gudauskas and Reynolds vs. Simpson.
Oahu’s Carissa Moore rolled through her quarterfinal heat, knocking out Australia’s Laura Enever, 13.67 to 8.16.
Moore, 17, will now face off with California’s Lakey Peterson in today’s semifinals. Peterson bested Australia’s Tyler Wright by just 0.27 points — 10.77 to 10.50.
Australia’s Sally Fitzgibbons took out South Africa’s Sarah Baum in the third quarterfinal heat, 11.50 to 6.30. She will now take on Brazil’s Jacqueline Silva, who scored the heat’s highest total of 15.10 in her victory over France’s Justine Dupont (10.27).
The semifinals are scheduled for 12:09 p.m. PST (9:09 a.m. HT) today, with the finals to follow at 3:27 p.m. PST (12:27 p.m. HT).
In between those two rounds will the final of the Women’s Pro Junior, where Wailua’s Malia Manuel will be looking to defend her title as she takes on Enever, O‘ahu’s Coco Ho and America’s Sage Erickson in the four-woman heat.
With $2,500 on the line for first place, that final is scheduled for 2:45 p.m. PST (11:45 a.m. HT).
All four four-man heats were completed in the quarterfinals of the Men’s Pro Junior, with all the top scores coming in the same heats.
Americans Kolohe Andino and Ian Crane moved into the semifinals with scores of 16.00 and 15.23, respectively, in the first heat. They outpointed a pair of phenoms in O‘ahu’s John John Florence (13.60) and America’s Nat Young (13.36).
Andino patiently waited for his opportunities, coming away with an 8.10 and a 7.90 on his final two waves.
The second heat was much lower scoring, as Jabour was knocked out in third place (5.93). Geiselman won the heat easily with a 10.33 as Australia’s Cooper Chapman (6.94) took second.
Heat three made Pupo and Larsen the only two surfers still alive in both the Pro Junior and Open Men’s events, with Pupo (14.66) grabbing first and Larsen (14.04) taking second. Americans Evan Thompson (12.93) and Chase Wilson (11.16) were knocked out, though their waves would have been welcome scores in the second or fourth heats.
Brazil’s Alejo Muniz (8.70) and America’s Jacob Halstead (5.70) worked with what they had and advanced with motley scores in the fourth heat. Americans Luke Davis (3.27) and Fisher Heverly (1.93) couldn’t get anything with scoring potential, each only managing one score.
Today’s semifinals are scheduled for 1:32 p.m. PST (10:32 a.m. HT).
For more information, visit www.usopenofsurfing.com.
