Courtney Conlogue defeats Malia Manuel to claim Commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic title
America’s Courtney Conlogue took out the Commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic, fourth of seven stops on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Women’s World Tour, by defeating Hawaii’s Malia Manuel in the final that went down at Dee Why point
in Sydney, Australia, on Saturday, April 21.
The young American surfer took home a winning prize of USD $30,000 along with coveted ASP World Tour rating points that served to lift her higher on the overall ranking table.
The surfing conditions prevailing at Dee Why point had not been easy, presenting the prestigious ASP female surfers with a tough challenge during their hunt for decent wave-scores.
Conlogue had remained a standout performer since the start of the competition, taking comprehensive victories over her rivals to smoothly make her way through the initial rounds. Even the likes of former four-time ASP Women’s World Champion and current No.1
on the ASP Women’s World Tour Stephanie Gilmore was unable to bring the rampaging American surfer to a halt and thus succumbed to her in the Quarter-final.
Conlogue found herself facing Manuel in the battle for the event title. The latter was in a formidable form as well, eliminating Australia’s Sally Fitzgibbons from the competition during her journey to the Final.
As the Final got underway, both Conlogue and Manuel got off to a modest start, apparently waiting for the sea to send a juicy scoring opportunity at them. Conlogue eventually locked her first business-wave to post a 5.50 on the score-board and soon backed
it up with a 7.67-point ride to get to a heat-total of 13.17 points.
Manuel responded with a 5.23-point wave, staying close to her rival on the score-board. However, she managed to get the required score off her second business-wave, managing to squeeze a 6.33 off it to move to a heat-total of 11.56 points. Finishing in a
1.61-point deficit, she was forced to concede victory and thus the event title to her rival.
“I’m speechless right now!” Conlogue said. “It’s been two years on the ASP Women’s World Championship Tour where I kept losing in the Quarterfinals. Then today after winning my Quarterfinal I just tried to go and win the thing. Malia [Manuel] was surfing
great in the Final, even though the waves were tricky. I’m really stoked to have won this event! I love Steph [Gilmore] and Sally [Fitzgibbons] and to have them chair me up the beach was absolutely amazing!”
The powerful turns pulled off by the American surfer remained the highlight of the Final, though Manuel’s smooth style and impressive turns kept her under the spotlight as well. It turned out to be an exciting event, featuring plenty of twists and turns
before eventually coming to an end.
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