Carissa Moore and Sally Fitzgibbons prevail in Round 1 of Roxy Pro Gold Coast – Surfing News
Hawaii’s Carissa Moore and Australia’s Sally Fitzgibbons prevailed in the third and fourth heat respective during the non-elimination opening round of Roxy Pro Gold Coast, first of seven stops on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Women’s
World Tour, which went down at Snapper Rocks in Queensland, Australia, on Saturday, February 25.
While Moore’s victory in the third heat carried her into the third round, Australia’s Rebecca Woods and Philippa Anderson rounded out the second and third place respectively to find themselves in the relegation Round 2.
Fitzgibbons also jumped directly into the third round after prevailing in the fourth heat. New Zealand’s Paige Hareb and Sarah Mason were forced to take a trip to Round 2 to battle it out for survival after finishing in second and third place respectively.
The high-performance wave on offer at the primary event site was exactly what the 19-year-old reigning ASP Women’s World Champion Moore wanted to kick off her campaign for a successful title defence. The Hawaiian opened up her account with a 6.50-point wave
and followed it up with a 7.23 off her second business-wave to finish with a heat-total of 13.73 points.
“There’s definitely a different sort of pressure you have to deal with coming in as World Champ and defending your title, as opposed to chasing a title for the first time,” Moore said. “It’s a new experience for me. Coming into the first event we’re all
a little nervous because it’s been a while since we’ve been in a jersey, so it’s nice to work out the kinks and the nerves and I’m looking forward to the rest of the event.”
Woods finished in second place with a heat-total of 11.33 points, which comprised of a 6.83 and 4.50-point wave.
Anderson rounded out the third position after scoring a 5.83 off her first business-wave in the final minutes of the heat and immediately backing it up with a 5.50-point wave.
The fourth heat saw the 2011 ASP Women’s World Tour runner-up Fitzgibbon put on a sensational performance to seal the fate of the battle in her favour. Getting down to business from the word go, the Australian sensation posted a 6.67 on the score-board and
soon added an additional 7.97 to her account to finish with a heat-total of 14.64 points.
Hareb finished well behind the heat-winner with a heat-total of 10.10 points, which comprised of a 6.17 and 3.93-point wave.
Mason rounded out the third position after scoring a 4.67 and 3.27 off her best-two waves to finish with a heat-total of 7.94-point wave.
The female surfing action continued at Snapper Rocks with the remaining heats of Roxy Pro Gold Coast’s Round 1 on Saturday.
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