CJ Hobgood and Cory Lopez bounce back after Round 6 defeat at Nike Lowers Pro
America’s CJ Hobgood and his fellow countryman Cory Lopez prevailed in their respective Round 6 (Round of 24) heats at Nike Lowers Pro, an Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) PRIME event, which continued to deliver thrilling action at the fabled point-break
of Lower Trestles in San Clemente, California, on Friday, May 4.
Both Hobgood and Lopez advanced to the seventh round (Round of 16) after surviving the elimination Round 6. Their compatriots and rivals in their respective heats, Gabe Kling and Taylor Knox, were forced to step out of the contention for the event title
after tasting defeat.
The glassy two-to-four foot waves arriving at the primary event site on Friday morning promised yet another day of exciting action. The competition field had narrowed down and only the most in-form surfers now remained in contention for the prestigious event
title, coveted ASP ranking points and huge prize money that was on offer.
The third heat of Round 6 saw Hobgood and Kling take each other on in a man-on-man battle for survival.
Looking to bounce back after a Round 5 (no-elimination Round of 24) defeat, both the Americans were determined to get back in the competition.
As the heat got underway, Kling drew first blood with a 5.00-point wave in the opening minutes of the heat. He soon backed it up with a 6.77-point wave to get to a heat-total of 11.77 points.
Hobgood took his time to build momentum, but the performance that followed was well worth it. Locking his first business-wave halfway through out the heat, Hobgood posted a 7.00 on the score-board. He went on to add an additional 7.23 points to his account
to finish with a heat-total of 14.23 points, thus walking away with the win.
The fourth heat featured yet another local affair, this time Lopez squaring off with the immensely-experienced Knox.
As the heat kicked-off, Lopez wasted little time to begin his charge. Locking a juicy wave in the opening minutes of the heat, he scored a 7.17 to take an early lead. He went on to back it up with a 7.70-point wave for a heat-total of 14.87 points.
Knox did not have much luck with the waves throughout the course of the bout and eventually had to settle for a heat-total of 12.43 points, which included a 5.83 and 6.60-point wave, thus getting eliminated from the competition.
Tags: