World’s Best Female Surfers Light Up Vans US Open

Huntington Beach, CA/USA (Tuesday, July 28, 2015) - Stop No. 6 on the Samsung Galaxy World Surf League (WSL) Women’s Championship Tour (CT) kicked off today with Round 1 following action from the Men’s Qualifying Series (QS) 10,000 event, which completed the remaining heats of Round 1 in three-to -four foot (1 metre) surf at the Vans US Open of Surfing. 

The world’s best female surfers took on the high-performance beach breaks of Huntington Beach Pier to battle for a pass directly into Round 3.

It was an afternoon of upsets with defending event winner Tyler Wright (AUS), Jeep ratings leader Carissa Moore (HAW) and world no. 3 Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) all being sent to elimination Round 2 at the hands of Malia Manuel (HAW), Nikki Van Dijk (AUS) and Johanne Defay (FRA) respectively. Wright, Moore and Fitzgibbons will surf again tomorrow and battle to avoid an early exit.

Manuel took full advantage of the tough afternoon conditions and posted a 7.17 to take the lead and never looked back. The Hawaiian kept busy through the match-up and went on to back up her score with a 5.83 to take the win over Dimity Stoyle (AUS) and Wright. 

“Every heat will be difficult no matter who you’re surfing against -- especially in these challenging conditions,” Manuel said. “It’s fun but pretty tough out there, I was just hunting for a backup score the whole time. It’s fun to be back and I always love being here in Huntington. I have really good boards and equipment which is great for building my confidence here.” 

Adding to the upsets Van Dijk took down the two-time event winner Moore with her final wave, a 6.73, to steal a narrow victory in Heat 3. The Australian looked strong and in control throughout the heat, finally earning the score she required in the dying seconds. 

“I was pretty composed the whole heat,” Van Dijk said. “I knew that if there was a wave that opened up I’d be able to get the score and I was so lucky at the end that I did. Once I got moving and caught some waves I felt really good out there. I had priority at the end so I knew if a wave came through I could just go for it and unload only needing a 6-something.” 

Posting a Round 1 high of 9.27 an in-form Defay had her competitors in a combination situation within the first ten minutes and showed no intention of losing her lead. The victory marks the first time Defay has beaten Fitzgibbons on the CT and her convincing wins earns her a direct pass to Round 3.

“Starting good is pretty important for the confidence,” said Defay. “It was really good to be at home for a while before this event and away from all the craziness but it’s great to be here and see all the people cheering for us. I think it’s the first time I’ve beaten Sally (Fitzgibbons) on the CT so I’m pretty stoked. She’s one of the best female surfers so it’s definitely a confidence booster.”

No. 2 on the Jeep Leaderboard and Huntington Beach local Courtney Conlogue (USA) also sailed through her Round 1 heat against injury wildcard Keely Andrew (AUS) and Silvana Lima (BRA) with two seven-point rides.

“I love coming here, it’s my back yard,” said Conlogue. “I’ve grown up with it and having the home crowd cheering for you really helps. I’m feeling pretty good. I was out of the water for about 8 weeks before the Supergirl Pro so I used it as a chance to warm up.”

The Vans US Open of Surfing also marks the fourth of nine men’s QS 10,000 events on this season’s calendar and earlier in the day competition ran through Heats 13 - 24 of the men’s contest, completing Round 1. 

Federico Morais (PRT) earned a massive 9.03 and contest-high heat total of 16.86 en route to topping CT surfer Adrian Buchan (AUS), who advanced in the second position. Morais blasted an air and found the reform that left judges nowhere else to turn except in the excellent range. 

“I already had two alright scores with a 7.83 and a 6,” Morais said. “Surfing against those guys you always need a really high score to win the heat or secure second. I knew a big air would give me a good score and finish it with a rebound on the inside.”

Morais knows that nothing except his very best will see him through later heats coming up against top seeds, though he seems more than ready for the challenge. 

“It was a good air and I just gave everything I had on that section,” Morais said. “When you’re in the US Open these top guys make you give more and more. That’s what I need to compete here and it worked out for the best.” 

Kolohe Andino (USA) posted the highest single-wave score of the contest so far, an excellent 9.60, for two huge turns in critical sections adding to his 6.50 and leaving the field in a combination within the first ten minutes. Andino is keen for a strong result at Huntington Beach after a disappointing start to the CT this season.

“I’m here to try and get a result,” Andino said. “My year on tour hasn’t gone as planned so I’m doing everything in my power to get back in form. I was lucky that one came through because it was pretty bumpy out there, but that one was clean and able to hit it as hard as I wanted to. My board feels great under my feet so I’m super stoked.” 

Defending event winner and no. 4 on the Jeep Leaderboard Filipe Toledo (BRA) came out strong in the opening heat of the day, going to the air on his second wave. Toledo clearly feels at home in the high-performance Huntington Beach conditions and has his family in attendance at the event.

“I was really confident out there,” Toledo said. “It’s pretty fun in the warm water with some good, clean waves and my board was working really well in this size. It’s a similar board I rode at Snapper just with a squash-tail and is great in these conditions. There’s a lot of heats to go through so I’m just going to enjoy my time here with my family because after this it’s the last half of the tour coming up.”

Competition will continue tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. with Women's Rounds 2 and 3 followed by Men's Round 2, Heats 1 - 6.