Courtney Conlogue looking good in the current season of ASP Women’s World Tour
American professional surfer Courtney Conlogue wasted no time in attracting the attention of critics as she made her debut in the ASP Women’s World Title Series last year. However, she has returned to the biggest stage of female surfing to continue making
waves and earning recognition for her skills.
Competing against the top female talent in the sport is not a walk in the park as every battle ends up putting the skills and experience to test. However, the 19-year-old Californian has looked extremely confident and put on a series of spectacular performances
to give even the likes of former ASP World Champions a run for their money.
After finishing 8th in the previous season, Conlogue seemed to have made up her mind to get a better result in the next season.
As the 2012 ASP Women’s World Tour kicked-off with Roxy Pro at Snapper Rocks in Gold Coast, Australia, the young Santa Ana-based surfer did not get off to the best off starts. Looking a bit rusty, she ended up succumbing to her rival in the first heat of
the season that she surfed. However, the event was far from over for her as she managed to bounce back in the relegation round, only to find herself getting relegated once again, this time failing to outperform Hawaii’s Malia Manuel.
Making yet another comeback in the fourth round, Conlogue advanced into the Quarter-finals to find herself facing the former four-time ASP Women’s World Champion Stephanie Gilmore. Despite putting up a superb fight, the American surfer was forced to concede
victory to her rival. However, the excellent performance against one of the world’s best female surfers was just the sort of thing that Conlogue needed to gain confidence.
As expected, the 19-year-old surfer looked to be in a much-more intimidating form at the second stop of ASP Women’s World Tour, Rip Curl Women’s Pro, at Bells Beach in Victoria, Australia. Starting off with a successful Round 1 heat, Conlogue confidently
made her way into the third round. However, she found herself pitted against Australia’s Sally Fitzgibbons in a batter for the Quarter-final spot. The 2011 ASP Women’s World Runner-Up got the better of her American rival, sending the latter into the fourth
round.
Succumbing to Hawaii’s Coco Ho in the fourth heat, Conlogue was forced to make a premature exit from the competition, failing to reach the Quarter-final stage of the event and thus missing out on coveted ranking points.
Travelling to New Zealand for the third of seven stops on the 2012 ASP Women’s World Tour, the TSB Bank NZ Surf Festival featuring the Dow AgroSciences Pro Conlogue seemed to be in a mood for some redemption. She completely dominated her two rivals in her
first heat of the event, but ended up faltering during her clash with the reigning ASP Women’s World Champion Carissa Moore. The American surfer defeated Peru’s Sofia Mulanovich for the second time this season to get into the Quarter-finals, only to find herself
pitted against Moore once again. The Hawaiian sensation got the better of her rival once again, thus eliminating her from the competition.
The Commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic, fourth stop on the ASP Women’s World Tour, at Dee Why point in Australia saw Conlogue get off to yet another ideal start, only to find herself stumbling in the third round and thus taking a trip to the relegation
Round 4. This time, she found herself facing Moore instead of Mulanovich, thus turning the odds against her. However, she managed to end the streak of losing to the Hawaiian surfer and successfully managed to get into the Quarter-finals.
Things did not get any easier as she came across Fitzgibbons. Instead of getting intimidated, the Californian surfer went hard during the heat and eventually managed to surprise everyone by clinching success. Her excellent run of form continued during the
Semi-finals, allowing her to defeat Australia’s Rebecca Woods to reach the Final.
Conlogue squared off with Hawaii’s Manuel, an in-form surfer who had eliminated current No.1 on the ASP Women’s World Rankings in the Quarter-finals and later backed it up with a victory over Australia’s Tyler Wright to get into the Final.
The battle between Conlogue and Manuel turned out to be intense, with both surfers fighting tooth-and-nail for a maiden elite tour victory. As the dust settled, it was Conlogue who stood victorious.
The Santa Ana surfer had finally managed to go the distance and defeat a handful of extremely formidable competition to eventually get her hands on a coveted win. It would be interesting to see if Conlogue manages to make the most of the confidence gained
through her winning performance at Dee Why point.
Even though the ASP Women’s World Tour has crossed the half-way stage, it is still hard to tell how the season will eventually unfold. Sitting at No.4 spot on the ASP World Tour rankings, Conlogue does not pose a serious threat to Gilmore as the Australian
gradually creeps towards her fifth coveted ASP World Title, with Fitzgibbons being the only surfer in the position to deprive her compatriot of the honours.
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