Chris Ward and Tanner Gudauskas qualify for the ASP 4-Star Vans Pier Classic Quarter-finals
America’s Chris Ward and his fellow countryman Tanner Gudauskas advanced through into the Quarter-finals of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 4-Star Vans Pier Classic after prevailing in their respective Round 5 (Round of 32) heats that went
down at the Huntington Beach Pier in California, America, on Saturday, March 31.
Peru’s Cristobal De Col and Hawaii’s Evan Valiere clinched first runner-up position in the third and fourth heat of Round 5 respectively to confirm their place in the Quarter-finals as well.
A significant improvement could be seen in the surfing conditions prevailing at the primary event site on Saturday. The field comprising of local as well as international surfers appeared much more comfortable during their Round 5 heats as compared to the
previous rounds due to the availability of sufficient scoring opportunities and high-performances waves.
Squaring off with De Col, America’s Jason Harris and Brazil’s Peterson Crisanto in the third heat of Round 5, Ward got off to a slow start but gradually built momentum to eventually begin his charge halfway through the battle. Locking his first business-wave,
the American surfer posted a 6.50 on the score-board and soon followed it up with a 6.53-point wave to move to a heat-total of 13.03 points. The score held up until the end to carry him to victory.
De Col got hold of the runner-up place after scoring a 4.87 and 5.70 off his best-two waves to finish with a heat-total of 10.57 points, consequently advancing through into the next stage of the competition.
Harris finished third with a heat-total of 8.90 points, whereas Crisanto put on a rather disappointing performance for a heat-total of 7.10 points. The bottom-two finish by the two surfers led to their removal from the contention for the event title.
The fourth heat pitted Gudauskas against Valiere, America’s Christian Saenz and Brazil’s Marco Fernandez in a four-man battle for survival.
Gudauskas went to work early in the heat, catching his first business-wave to post a 7.17 on the score-board and immediately backing it up with a 5.83-point wave to finish with a heat-total of 13.00 points.
Valiere was unable to challenge his rival’s score, though he ensured his survival in the competition by snatching runner-up place through his heat-total of 8.30 points, which included a 4.50 and 3.80-point wave.
Saenz finished third with a heat-total of 7.67 points, whereas Fernandez rounded out the bottom position with a heat-total of 5.20 points. Both the surfers were consequently eliminated from the competition.
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