The waves at Namotu Island are very unique. For one thing, it’s a left, which puts most of the women on the Association of Surfing Professionals on their backhands. For another, the combination of heavy chop and shallow water makes
The waves at Namotu Island are very unique. For one thing, it’s a left, which puts most of the women on the Association of Surfing Professionals on their backhands. For another, the combination of heavy chop and shallow water makes leaving a bit of skin on the reef less of an if than a when. But the environment can create some great barrels or some befuddled faces.
After two days of the Fiji Women’s Pro, the fifth stop on the women’s World Championship Tour, there’s been a little of everything. Wednesday saw some upsets as well as a low tide that forced the event to be put on standby midway through the third round. Two of Kauai’s three wahine are still in the field and hoping to add to their season point totals.
Having been granted her second straight wild card entry as a replacement for injured Courtney Conlogue, Princeville’s Tatiana Weston-Webb continued to make the most of her fortunate opportunities. In her opening heat, Tati made a good showing against Australia’s Sally Fitzgibbons and France’s Pauline Ado. She held a lead with under 10 minutes remaining, but Fitzgibbons, who just won the Rio Women’s Pro, put together a pair of solid rides. She received a 6.27 on her second scoring wave, which seemed generous after just a pair of small maneuvers, but it moved her into first and she held on for the heat win.
It was still a strong heat for Weston-Webb as she showed variety and commitment, receiving the best score on a big float and air drop with a great landing for a 7.00. She was able to keep that momentum despite having to move into round two against Lakey Peterson, a heat that was one of the more confusing of the event. Normally one of the most competitive women in the water, Peterson could not figure out the wave and didn’t record a single score the entire heat. Conversely, Tati jumped into a ride and started with a huge turn before driving down the face and finishing with a massive hack and air drop landing for an 8.83, on her way to a 12.83 to zero win.
The third round was a difficult one and saw Tati finish third in her non-elimination heat, which now sets up an intriguing fourth-round contest. The promising tour rookie will take on defending world champion Carissa Moore with a spot in the quarterfinals on the line. Regardless of that result, Tati has already secured at least a ninth-place finish for the second time in her two WCT events.
Malia Manuel will either be joining her in the fourth round, or moving directly into the quarters, depending upon the result of her third-round heat. Manuel entered the event ranked sixth in the world tour rankings and started strong with a win in her opening heat. It was a clinical performance as she took down goofy-footer South African Bianca Biutendag and Aussie Nikki Van Dijk. She was busy early and sent up two big turns with plenty of spray on a clean wave for an 8.50. The waves started to get huge and Manuel bettered herself with one massive turn after a steep drop to earn the judges’ respect, as well as a 9.03 for a 17.53 total.
That win moved her into the third round, where she will go up against Australia’s Tyler Wright and France’s Johanne Defay to try to advance straight into the quarterfinals. Manuel has reached the quarters in three of her four events this season, missing out last contest with an Equal Ninth in Rio de Janeiro.
Alana Blanchard failed to find her form, coming up short in her opening heat against Australians Wright and Dimity Stoyle, then falling in the second round to Biutendag in a frustrating heat for both. Biutendag managed to total just a 7.77, but Blanchard never figured out the chop and the bumps, totaling just a 3.43. Blanchard has been eliminated in the second round at each stop so far this season, which will make her World Qualifying Series results essential as she tries to re-qualify for 2015.
The dangerous low tide forced a halt to Wednesday’s action as organizers were planning to determine if the women could re-enter the water later in the day. They decided at about 3 p.m. local time (5 p.m Hawaiian time) to get the rest of round three back in the water. Results from the day’s remaining heats were unavailable as of press time.
Fitzgibbons, Paige Hareb and Laura Enever were in that next third-round heat after the delay, ahead of Manuel, Wright and Defay.
Stephanie Gilmore and Stoyle have already secured their spots in the quarters, while Biutendag and Oahu’s Alessa Quizon will face off in the first fourth-round heat before Weston-Webb and Moore follow.
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