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The inaugural WQS 5-Star Volcom Pipeline Pro kicked
off yesterday in macking 10 to 12-foot conditions, with reported 20-foot wave
faces in the morning and more than enough broken boards, smashed faces, and
hellish airdrops to keep the North Shore beast satisfied. Although the bulk of
the media attention focused on such Hawaiian standouts as Jamie O’Brien, Derek
Ho, and Reef McIntosh, a quiet East Coast charge made itself known in the form
of soft-spoken New Smyrna Beach twenty-somethings Nils Schweizer and Devon
Tresher.
After Floridians Ryan Briggs, Kyle Garson, Oliver
Kurtz, and Jensen Callaway joined Puerto Ricans Josie Graves and Ale Moreda in the loser’s bracket
early in the event, Tresher and Schweizer stepped up in Heat 6 and Heat 7
respectively of the Round of 96 to redeem their fellow Right Coasters. Devon
went up first against Hawaiians Kevin Sullivan and
Tyler Newton and Californian Bobby Morris, locking into an 8.17 on his first wave to easily claim the
highest single score of the heat and advance in 2nd-place behind Sullivan. Next
up, Tresher will surf in a stacked Round of 64 heat against Sunny Garcia, Jose
Maria Cabrera, and Rob Machado.
In the very next heat of the Round of 96, Nils
overcame two early low scores to pick off a huge windblown left and hold on
through a disgusting late drop. That level of commitment allowed Schweizer to
stand tall in a massive barrel for a much-deserved 8.0, which he then backed up
with a 7.23 to win the heat with a 15.23. Nils held off 13-year-old Landon
McNamara, who went face-first into the reef and broke his board but still
paddled back out to nab 2nd-place. Schweizer will surf in a stacked heat of his
own once the contest resumes in the Round of 64, taking on a powerful trio of Hawaiians
including Kai Barger, Clay Marzo, and Pancho Sullivan.
Surfline.com ran a sequence of Nils’ late drop, but
other than that, the two soft-spoken Sunshine Staters who advanced through the
first day of the Volcom Pipeline Pro were left out of the media maelstrom that
enveloped O’Brien, McNamara, Ho, and Anthony Walsh. No quotes from the ASP, no
coverage from the major media outlets, and no celebration of their performance
in some of the biggest and most dangerous waves in the world on New Smyrna Beach-shaped
Randy Richenberg surfboards. But knowing Nils' and Devon’s low profiles, that’s
just the way they like it. Leaves ‘em more room to come out and shock the world
in the next round.
Afternoon update: Vero Beach, FL, aerial prodigy Travis Beckmann proved he can hang in big
surf as well, advancing behind Pipeline legend Reef McIntosh in Heat #15 of the
Round of 96 with a 12.80. But the biggest news came when Buxton, NC, standout
Brett Barley surfed the best heat of his life, making Outer Banks surfing
history by nailing a 19.67 in Heat #16 of the Round of 96. Brett raised the bar
by lodging the highest heat score of the event, catching a massive Backdoor
right for a perfect 10 in the opening seconds of the heat. Barley then waited
patiently for another draining stand-up right that earned him a 9.67. ESM was quick enough to take notes on
Brett’s post-heat interview with Kaipo Jaquias:
“The first wave came in
right when the heat started. I’d seen a bunch of sets come in and guys were
missing the rights, so I just gonna sit out further and I was blessed that that
wave happened to come in and the other guys were too far in. It looked like it
might close out, which it did, but I was like ‘I’ve gotta try at least’. I
couldn’t even hardly see because it chandeliered really bad, but I made it
somehow [laughs]. And I knew paddling
back out, I didn’t hear the scores, but I figured I had an 8 or 9, and I wasn’t
sure, and then I was just catching waves — there’s only three guys out,
and that never, ever happens, so I just wanted to get some waves. For a while I
couldn’t find any, and then towards the end that inside wave came in and no one
was around, and I was psyched that it drained off and didn’t shut down on me.
I’ve never ridden this JC before — but this one worked well. Everybody
that’s watching at home, thanks for the support and the phone calls. Just want
to give a shout-out to my mom, wish she could be here!”
Check back
Monday for further coverage of the Volcom Pipeline Pro; in the meantime,
check photos, videos, and the live webcast at www.volcompipelinepro.com
Scroll down through the videos below to Round of 96, Heats 6 and 7, to see Nils and Devon go toe-to-toe with the Pipeline beast.
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