Carissa Moore and Sally Fitzgibbons qualify for Rip Curl Women’s Pro Bells Beach Semi-finals
Hawaii’s Carissa Moore and Australia’s Sally Fitzgibbons managed to claim top honours in their respective Quarter-finals of Rip Curl Women’s Pro Bells Beach presented by Ford Fiesta that went down at Bells Beach in Victoria, Australia, on Saturday,, April
7.
The third Quarter-final saw Moore barely outscore her compatriot Coco Ho to advance through into the Semi-finals while removing the latter from the contention for the event title.
Fitzgibbons put on an impressive performance in the fourth Quarter-final to confirm her place in the Semi-finals, bringing the competition to a premature end for the rival in the process.
With offshore four-to-five foot waves prevailing at the primary event site on the final day of the second Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Women’s World Tour event of the season, the stage was set for an exciting finish to what had turned out to
be an enthralling week full of impressive performances and thrilling showdowns.
The third Quarter-final pitted Moore against Ho in what turned out to be a challenging third Quarter-finals. There were not many scoring opportunities on offer, keeping both the surfers on their toes throughout the course of the heat.
As the battle got underway, the reigning ASP Women’s World Champion got off to a modest start, scoring a mere 4.50 off her first business-wave. After going through a series of mediocre wave-scores, she managed to add an additional 5.83 points to her account
to get to a heat-total of 10.33 points.
Ho, who had been struggling with the consistency of her form at Bells Beach throughout the week, had little luck with the waves as well. Catching her first business-wave halfway through the heat, she posted a 10.03 on the score-board. In the dying minutes
of the heat, the Hawaiian surfer added another 6.00 points to her account to finish with a heat-total of 10.03 points. As a result, she was forced to concede victory to her rival due to a 0.30-point deficit.
The fourth Quarter-final saw Fitzgibbons take on Peterson for the last remaining spot in the Semi-finals.
As the heat kicked-ff, the 2011 ASP Women’s World Runner-Up Fitzgibbons got off to a modest start but soon found her rhythm to lock a wave and unload a string of exquisite manoeuvres, posting a near-perfect 9.43 on the score-board to take an early lead.
She went on to add an additional 5.00 to her account to eventually finish with a heat-total of 14.43 points.
Peterson responded with a heat-total of 11.76 points, which comprised of a 7.83 and 3.93-point wave. The score turned out to be insufficient, putting her in a 2.67-point deficit to force her into conceding victory and thus the Semi-final spot to her rival.
Tags: