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BLUETORCH PRO(JULY 19-23)
DAY THREE--CURRENT MEN'S RATING LEADER
SUNNY GARCIA ADVANCES
Association of Surfing Professional (ASP)
2000 World Championship Tour (WCT)
Photos courtesy ASPlive.com
and tostee.com.
Current rating's leader Sunny Garcia (Haw) today moved one step
closer to the elusive world title he's chasing, eliminating wildcard
opponent Joca Junior (Brz) in their round three match. In messy
2-3 foot (1m) conditions, Garcia dominate the 25-minute heat to
now face American Shane Beschen in round four.
The 30-year-old Hawaiian started the 2000 season in blistering
form, winning the first two World Championship Tour (WCT) events
back-to-back, but has since fallen into a bit of a slump, finishing
ninth in his last three starts. Tomorrow's match-up will further
illustrate if he can finally break the dreaded fourth round curse.
"I guess I was fortunate Joca sat further down the beach," said
Garcia after his win. "I watched earlier and they weren't running
as well there, so I think he just made a bad decision.
"It's definitely not going to be an easy heat," he admitted in
regard to Beschen. "But I refuse to think I'm going to get ninth.
I'm going to go out and give Beschen everything I've got and hopefully
it's more than he can take."
Beschen, currently rated 25th, advanced today over Australian Shane
Powell. The 28-year-old is suffering a shoulder injury, but once
on a wave, his injury doesn't appear to slow down his act any.
"Powelly is injured too," acknowledged Beschen. "So it was really
the battle of the gimps 'cause I can pretty much only paddle with
one arm. This shoulder injury just came up a couple of weeks ago,
I can't even believe I've made it this far in the event. It doesn't
really hurt when I surf, but I can feel it and I haven't surfed
for the past month. I have a good board though, so I was just trying
to catch three waves."
Defending event champion Neco Padaratz (Brz) continued his roll
at Huntington today, eliminating current world number-nine Shane
Dorian (Haw). The Brazilian took out last year's event as a wildcard,
though this time round he is a full-time surfer on the WCT, having
re-qualified after a year's absence.
"It was a good heat and I did my job," said the focused Padaratz.
"I really respect Shane and think he's one of the best surfers at
the moment. It was a hard heat, especially considering the conditions,
but I felt good. I was just trying to keep my head together and
prayed God would help me again.
"Every contest is different and so is everyday," he reasoned in
regard to being the defending champ. "I don't even think about last
year. I just want to make a new result."
WOMEN'S RATING'S LEADER & THE DEFENDING
EVENT CHAMP ELIMINATED IN ELLEVEN PRO WOMEN'S
 Huntington
Beach, California (Friday, July 21, 2000). Current rating's leader
Megan Abubo (Haw) was eliminated today in her third round heat of
the Elleven Pro Women's event after finishing behind fellow Hawaiian
Keala Kennelly and former world champion Pauline Menczer (Aus). The
event's defending champion, Hawaiian Rochelle Ballard, was another
casualty when she incurred an interference call on Australian Kate
Skarratt in their heat with Serena Brooke (Aus).
Abubo, 22, still holds a comfortable lead on the ratings, but with
current two-time world champion Layne Beachley (Aus) advancing through
her heat today, the Hawaiian's advantage is looking less secure.
"This has been one of the worst events for me ever," claimed Abubo
after the loss. "I haven't surfed well in any heat and couldn't
do anything right then. All the press attention for leading the
ratings has really thrown me. I wasn't prepared for it, but I'm
glad it happened now. There is still a lot of events and time left
this year."
Defending event champion Ballard, 29, did secure the highest single
wave score of her third round heat today, though after being penalized
with an interference call she was only judged on her top two rides,
compared to her opponents top three.
"I saw a set coming in and Kate paddling for it," explained an
emotional Ballard. "I thought she was going to go left and I was
going to go right, but I looked behind me and there she was. I didn't
think it was going to happen as she was in the whitewash and it
was a good wave... It was such a good opportunity for me. I'm just
really disappointed more than anything. I was really looking forward
to winning this event and I felt really good. I've always thought
it should be surfing that does the talking, not hassling. I guess
that's just what happens for the win with some people. It's unfortunate."
World number-two Serena Brooke won the exchange over Ballard and
Skarratt, opting to steer clear of her two opponents in the water.
"I was trying to be selective out there as the waves were fairly
mushy," said Brooke afterward. "Then Rochelle got the interference
and I was just trying to stay away from them as there was a bit
of tension out there. I was actually telling Rochelle to settle
down and just catch two good waves as she could have still made
it through the heat, but at the same time I didn't want to get involved."
Beachley, 28, put on the performance of the day, amassing the highest
combined heat score of the round to beat fellow Australians Lynette
MacKenzie and Prue Jeffries. The win especially sweet since Abubo
lost in the following heat and allowed Beachley to regain some lost
ground on the top position she has dominated over the past few years.
"I started a little slow, but after watching the guy's heats beforehand,
I realized that I just needed to get three waves off the bat and
take whatever I could," explained the current two-time world champion.
"That enabled me to build my momentum leading up toward the end
of the heat. I felt good then, let's hope it keeps on going."
Four-time world champion Lisa Andersen (USA) was another surprise
elimination today, losing to Brazilian Tita Tavares and Australian Melanie
Redman. Despite posting the highest single wave score of the round on her
first ride to earn 8.25 out-of-a possible 10-points, Andersen failed to find
any other decent rides to add to her tally.
Official Results of Day Three
Women's Round Three
Heat 1: L Beachley (Aus) 18.40; L MacKenzie (Aus) 17.80; P Jeffries (Aus)15.80
Heat 2: K Kennelly (Haw) 17.50; P Menczer (Aus) 15.80; M Abubo (Haw) 13.60
Heat 3: S Brooke (Aus) 15.00; K Skarratt (Aus) 12.85; R Ballard (Haw) 12.05
Heat 4: T Tavares (Brz) 16.25; M Redman (Aus) 16.25; L Andersen (USA) 13.60
Men's Round Three
Heat 1: B Emerton (Aus) 19.25 def. T Knox (USA) 18.35
Heat 2: N Webster (Aus) 17.30 def. T Martin (Aus) 13.50
Heat 3: S Lopez (USA) 16.25 def. S Sutton (Haw) 12.60
Heat 4: C Lopez (USA) 15.95 def. C Hayes (Haw) 15.75
Heat 5: F Gouveia (Brz) 19.00 def. P Rosa (Brz) 11.95
Heat 6: K Robb (Haw) 19.50 def. G Herdy (Brz) 16.60
Heat 7: S Beschen (USA) 16.00 def. S Powell (Aus) 14.90
Heat 8: S Garcia (Haw) 20.20 def. J Junior (Brz) 14.60
Heat 9: L Egan (Aus) 18.70 def. S Nicholson (SAfr) 17.25
Heat 10: T Curran (USA) 19.25 def. G Emslie (SAfr) 12.20
Heat 11: M Campbell (Aus) 20.25 def. P Canning (SAfr) 17.10
Heat 12: CJ Hobgood (USA) 18.35 def. R Williams (Haw) 16.25
Heat 13: A Irons (Haw) 14.30 def. F Padaratz (Brz) 10.95
Heat 14: R Machado (USA) 17.50 def. D Wills (Aus) 17.00
Heat 15: N Padaratz (Brz) 18.00 def. S Dorian (Haw) 11.60
Heat 16: T Prestage (Aus) 20.25 def. D Hobgood (USA) 19.25
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MENS RANKINGS
