Coco Ho and Malia Manuel pass through Round 1 of Rip Curl Women’s Pro Bells Beach unharmed
Hawaii’s Coco Ho and her compatriot successfully clinched top honours in their respective Round 2 heats of Rip Curl Women’s Pro Bells Beach presented by Ford Fiesta that went down at the renowned Bells Beach in Victoria, Australia, on Wednesday, April 4.
Ho got the better of Australia’s Rebecca Woods in the first heat of Round 2 to advance directly into the third round while bringing the competition to a premature end for her rival.
The second heat saw Brazil’s Jacqueline Silva succumb to Manuel to find herself removed from the contention for the event title while sending the latter into the third round.
With the best female surfers from around the world competing for survival at Bells Beach on the second day of the latest Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Women’s World Title Series, the crowd expected the day to be nothing short of enthralling.
The clean three-to-five foot waves on offer at the primary event site provided the female surfers with an ample opportunity to unleash their class and skills while battling it out for the Round 3 spot.
Pitted against Woods in the first heat of Round 2, Ho was clearly at a disadvantage as her rival not only had the support of the local crowd behind her, but also possessed the local knowledge of the waves.
However, the Hawaiian surfer pushed herself real hard during the course of the heat and eventually found a 6.83-point ride halfway through the heat. After a series of more average-wave scores, she locked her second business-wave and unloaded a series of
exquisite tricks on it to post a 7.83 on the score-board. The last-minute effort carried her to a heat-total of 14.66 points. The score held up until the buzzer sounded to seal the fate of the battle in her favour.
Woods was forced to settle for second place after scoring a 5.67 and 6.07 off her best-two waves for a heat-total of 11.74 points. Her performance was not good enough to challenge Ho’s score and thus resulted in her elimination from the competition.
The second heat turned out to be a pretty one-sided affair with Manuel walking away with a comprehensive victory. The Hawaiian surfer found a couple of seven-point rides to finish with a heat-total of 14.87 points.
Silva failed to offer a significant resistance and only managed to post a 5.67 and 1.00 on the score-board off her best-two waves. The lacklustre performance brought the event to a premature end for her while sending her rival into the next round of the
competition.
Tags: