Selby Riddle won the battle of the Aussies in round three
Selby Riddle (pictured) in round three. Photo Credit: ASP Towner © Covered Images
The Roxy ASP WWLC
produced a day of incredible surfing and massive scores as the event’s big
guns and a few “nobodies” combined to crank up the heat scores. The high
scoring was kick started by the relatively unknown Justine Dupont in Heat 4.
The 15-year-old scored a massive two-wave total of 17.25 out of a possible
20.
“This is my first ever senior competition so I’m just so happy to get
through,” Dupont said. “I’m a nobody really and I don’t really know any of
the other girls, expect for some of the French competitors, but I’m really
motivated to achieve as much as possible at the event.”
Dupont’s efforts however only served to raise the bar as the more
experienced event favourites hit the water. In the following heat, Chelsea
Williams (AUS) surfed incredibly, to beat Claire Dereux (FRA) after posting
a 9.0 for one wave.
“I only scored a few 5.0 rides at the start, so I knew I had to pull out the
big moves,” Williams said. “So when I had a nice section I went for a hang
ten and the judges scored it really well.”
Last year’s runner up Jenni Smith (USA) also had to pull out the big moves,
as she was surfing against one of the sport’s future stars, 14-year-old
Kelia Moniz.
“I was so stressed about getting taken out of the competition by a grom,”
said Smith. “It was good to take her out, because, guaranteed, she is going
to be a future world champion.”
Smith took out Moniz with a 9.5 ride, the highest individual wave score of
the event so far.
“Yeah I had the toes on the nose right at the takeoff, then did a cutback
and a little floater and that was it,” Smith said. “Getting the pinkies over
the nose, that’s the hardest, most critical turn there is and I knew the
judges were scoring it big.”
It was near the end of the day though when the judges were really forced to
go big, with an amazingly high scoring heat between Joy Magellsen (HAW) and
Lindsay Steinriede (USA). Magellsen ended up victorious, posting an
incredible heat score of 18.90, the highest of the whole competition so far.
“I didn’t plan to have such a high score, I just went out there to have fun
and it paid off,” Magelssen said. “You take those heats when you can. We
were lucky we just had the prime conditions and the waves were amazing.”
Just after that amazing exchange, the increasing tide led organisers to end
the competition for the day. A building swell is predicted for tomorrow and
an early start hopefully should see the remaining four heats of Round 3 and
the whole of Round 4 be completed. If the scores and surfing of today are
anything to go by, we are in for another incredible day’s longboarding.
Roxy ASP WWLC Round 3 Match ups – 1st to Round 3, 2nd eliminated
Heat 13: Claire Karabatsos (FRA) vs Jennifer Flanigan (USA)
Heat 14: Coline Menard (FRA) vs Karina Abras (BRA)
Heat 15: Janna Irons (HAW) vs Yuki Suzuki (JPN)
Heat 16: Kelly Nicely (USA) vs Yuko Shimajiri (JPN)
Roxy ASP WWLC Round 3 Results – 1st to Round 3, 2nd eliminated
Heat 1: Kassia Meador (USA) 11.50 d Isabelle Braley (USA) 7.20
Heat 2: Crytsal Dzigas (HAW) 12.50 d Summer Romero (USA) 12.00
Heat 3: Selby Riddle (AUS) 9.00 d Kirsty Webster (AUS) 6.65
Heat 4: Justine Dupont (FRA) 17.25 d Kaitlin McGuire (USA) 12.60
Heat 5: Chelsea Williams 16.25 (AUS) d Claire Dereux (FRA) 7.85
Heat 6: Mary Osborne (USA) 13.00 d Sabrina Olas (BRA) 3.50
Heat 7: Estitxu Estremo (SPN) 8.5 vs Julie Cox (USA) 11.25
Heat 8: Schuyler McFerran (USA) 14.00 vs Emma Neuschwanger (REU) 7.00
Heat 9: Jennifer Smith (USA) 16.50 vs Kelia Moniz (HAW) 11.50
Heat 10: Miku Uemura (HAW) 11.75 Cristiana Peres (BRA) 6.25
Heat 11: Joy Magelssen (USA) 18.90 vs Lindsay Steinride (USA) 15.65
Heat 12: Leah Dawnson (USA) 14.15 vs Helene Chaubaud (FRA) 8.25