Courtney Conlogue and Sage Erickson qualify for quarter-finals of Estoril Surf & Music Billabong Girls Pro
The third heat of Estoril Surf & Music Billabong Girls Pro’s round of 12 (Round 4) was won by America’s Courtney Conlogue on Saturday, June 11th, at the beach-break of Praia do Guincho in Estoril, Portugal.
The successful result confirmed her place in the quarter-finals. Her compatriot and one of the two rivals in the heat, Sage Erickson, also managed to stay alive in the event by clinching the second position. Argentinean Ornella Pellizzari failed to make
a solid impact in the heat and ended up finishing in third place, consequently getting eliminated from the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 6-Star event.
In all the previous rounds, Conlogue had consistently asserted her amazing current form and she apparently carried the same momentum to the round of 12 as well. Determined to make a place for herself in the quarter-finals, she remained the highlight of the
heat. Regardless of the low weak tides and the strong cross shore winds, the American held her own and gave an impressive performance during the heat.
In the initial stages of the third heat, Conlogue moved into the lead by surfing a good wave to earn a decent score of 6.75 points. The score was, in fact, impressive as it was not easy to earn such a good score in the type of conditions that were prevailing
at the primary event site.
In the later stages of the heat, she added a 4.30 to her score to finish with a heat-total of 11.05 points. The score might not have been her best but it was enough to get her the top honours and qualify her for the quarter-finals.
Erickson had no intention of getting ejected from the event either and her determination was made evident by her performance. She kept on searching for a good score feverishly, but could only managed to earn a 4.50 and 4.80 from her two waves. While the
score seemed insufficient, it turned out to be good enough to secure her place in the fourth round of the competition.
The Argentinean surfer, Pellizzari, looked to be in a lot of misery during the 30-minute heat. She was not able to utilise a single wave for a good score and the best that she could come up with included a 3.00 and 2.55. The conditions are more to blame
for such a poor performance because Pellizzari had already made her good form evident in the previous heats of the competition. Finishing third in the heat, she was removed from the race for the event title.
With the third heat concluding, only one more heat was left in the round of 12.
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