|
This year’s Hurley U.S. Open of Surfing arrived with
a monumental amount of pre-event hype. Huntington Beach, CA’s, 100th
anniversary, the U.S. Open’s 50th anniversary, a world-record 1st-place prize from
marquee sponsor Hurley ($100,000), and a southern hemi swell of epic
proportions all combined to turn what was once a lower-grade WQS event typically
held in two-foot slop (and most remembered for the infamous 1986 riots) into a
ten-ring circus with over half of the WCT on hand and throaty, triple-overhead
sets washing competitors like Kelly Slater right through the fabled HB Pier.
Not exactly what you think of when you contemplate a summer contest in Southern
California — but exactly what new U.S. Open of Surfing sponsor Hurley was
hoping for.
The East Coast contingent arrived with visions of
benjamins dancing in their eyes, but the elevated level of competition took a
toll on even the most seasoned participants. Current WQS warriors Brian Toth of
Isabela, PR, and Cory Lopez of Indian Rocks Beach, FL — the East Coast’s leading
two ‘QS surfers — both fell in the Round of 96, as did Cory’s brother
Shea, Atlantic Beach, FL, veteran Asher Nolan, and New Smyrna Beach, FL, golden
child Evan Geiselman. Evan’s big brother Eric went on his own rampage, beating
Andy Irons and Chris Ward in his Round of 48 heat and Yadin Nicol and Daniel Ross
in the Round of 24, before falling to San Clemente, CA, favorite Pat Gudauskas
in the Round of 16. Geiselgrease did, however, receive the biggest boost of any
Right Coaster from the U.S. Open, earning 1375 points to catapult from 96th in
the ASP-WQS ratings to 70th.
The other two high-placing Eastsiders were current
WCT Top-10ers Kelly Slater and CJ Hobgood, who both won their Round of 48, 24,
and 16 heats on Friday. CJ eliminated Andy Irons in the Round of 24 with a
spectacular 16.23 heat total, but that didn’t hold a candle to Slater’s
performance, where he pulled off a ridiculous carving frontside 360 on the
closeout section of a massive 12-foot wave to earn a one-maneuver 9.67 on the
way to an event-high heat total of 18.80. “It was action-packed for sure,”
Slater told the ASP after the heat. “I was out of order in the beginning, and
then I broke my board trying to hit the lip. I thought maybe I could land it
and get a score, but I felt it buckle and break on me. Then I had to swim
through the pier with half of my board... it was really about those bigger
waves.”
Saturday dawned with even more swell, allowing CJ to
take down Aussie Daniel Ross with a 16.17 total in the Round of 16. But again,
Kelly stole the show, paddling out in his heat with Nic Muscroft and
immediately linking into a giant left that allowed The Champ to pull into a
high-line backside barrel and earn a perfect 10. “That first one I got was so
big, it just barreled. I started grabbing rail as I was going down the face
doing a slow, long bottom turn, trying to brush off some speed. I was thinking,
‘Did I dork this?’ because for a second I didn’t think it was going to barrel.
Then it started to pitch.” Slater added an 8.5 to again clinch the highest heat
total of the day, but his run was short-lived, as World Tour #3 Adriano de
Souza exacted revenge for losing to Kelly earlier this month at home in Brazil
by beating The Champ 13.10-10.00 in the quarterfinals.
Which left CJ as the lone Right Coast holdout among a
sea of heavy hitters. CJ got his own Eastside revenge for Geiselman when he
downed Pat Gudauskas in their quarterfinal bout on the strength of a 9.83
barrel. “You gotta be really close to the pier to find the good ones,” CJ said.
“Most of the time here at Huntington, it’s a one-two punch. I got that barrel
and it gave me the momentum I needed, but then that momentum shifted to Pat.”
Perhaps presaging his semifinal loss to eventual winner Brett Simpson, CJ
continued, “These kids coming up now can bust a 10 at any minute, so you have
to take the confidence out of them.” Even though he lost out on a chance at a
$100,000 payday, CJ was still all smiles after winning the World Pro Surfers All-Stars
Tow-In Expression Session with a massive frontside air to layback, earning him
and five friends an all-expenses paid trip to the Kandui Resort in the
Mentawais.
In the concurrent Nike 6.0 Pro Junior Men’s event,
the East Coast stood a fighting chance, with one representative in each of the
quarterfinals. But Cody Thompson, Evan Thompson, Evan Geiselman, and Oliver
Kurtz all failed to advance, with none of the four posting a heat total above
7.67. On the WQS Women’s side of the draw, the highest Right Coast placer was
Atlantic Beach, FL’s, Karina Petroni, who made the Round of 48; and in the Nike
6.0 Pro Junior Women’s event, Melbourne Beach, FL, up-and-comer Jasset Umbel
lost in the quarterfinals. Even though Kelly didn’t maintain his spectacular
run, CJ lost in the semifinals, and Geiselman was felled on the way to one of
his best WQS results to date, even East Coasters could find a little joy in
hometown Huntington Beach hero Brett Simpson taking down the stacked field to
win $100,000 in front of his friends and family. Simpson now leads the U.S.A.’s
charge onto the 2010 World Tour, but with five East Coasters back in the Top
100, anything can happen between now and December. Stay tuned to EasternSurf.com for full coverage.
For photos,
videos, and full results, visit www.USOpenofSurfing.com
For updated
ASP-WQS ratings, visit www.ASPWorldTour.com
|
