HALE’IWA, O’ahu — Kaua’i’s Rochelle Ballard finished the 1999 season as the Association of Surfing Professionals’ fifth-ranked women’s surfer. Ballard earned a third-place finish in the Roxy Pro finals which were held at Sunset Beach on the North Shore of
HALE’IWA, O’ahu — Kaua’i’s Rochelle Ballard finished the 1999 season as the
Association of Surfing Professionals’ fifth-ranked women’s surfer.
Ballard
earned a third-place finish in the Roxy Pro finals which were held at Sunset
Beach on the North Shore of O’ahu Friday.
While not totally satisfied with
her performance, Ballard was happy to draw closer to her dream of a win on
Hawaiian shores, placing better at Sunset Beach than she ever has
before.
“By the time the final comes around at Sunset, and after having had
a morning warm-up surf, you’re pretty tired,” said an exhausted Ballard. “I was
so close to winning. I just needed a third wave but got cleaned up by a set
wave that none of us saw. Then I had to make my way around and ended up just
missing a great wave.
“But I’m so happy with the performance of the women
today,” she continued. “We had the chance to really show the judges that riding
big waves is what it’s all about. It’s nice to show everybody what we can do in
big waves, both for the girls who do well in big waves and to push the girls
who need the experience.”
Kaua’i’s Keala Kennelly placed in a tie for fifth
place at the Roxy Pro.
Dias Wins Heat
In other surfing news at Sunset,
Kaua’i’s Braden Dias won his heat and was considered by ASP publicity officials
to have the “standout” performance of the day in the men’s Rip Curl Cup. The
event is the second leg of the Triple Crown of Surfing.
