Dege O’Connell and Hank Gaskell prevail in Round 3 at ASP 4-Star Quiksilver Surf Open Acapulco
Hawaii’s Dege O’Connell and his fellow countryperson Hank Gaskell made their way into the fourth round (Round of 32) at the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 4-Star Quiksilver Surf Open Acapulco after clinching victory in their respective Round
3 (Round of 64) heats that went down at Playa Revolcadero in Acapulco, Mexico, on Friday, July 20.
America’s Ricky Whitlock and his compatriot Chris Tucker managed to make the Round 4 cut as well after successfully claiming runner-up position in their respective Round 3 heats.
Still relatively new to professional surfing, the young local and foreign contenders for the event title were understandably struggling to collect big scores in demanding two-to-four foot waves accompanied by off-shore winds.
Pitted against his compatriot Eala Stewart, America’s Whitlock and Argentina’s Marcelo Rodriguez, O’Connell had his work cut out for him. The battle was never expected to be anything short of intense, especially with the scarcity of potent scoring opportunities.
O’Connell, however, managed to make the most of his local knowledge and whatever was on offer and subsequently managed to reach a heat-total of 10.47 points. The score held up throughout the course of the battle, consequently earning him victory.
A heat-total of 7.43 points proved adequate to put Whitlock in runner-up place and took him into the next round of the competition.
Rodriguez barely missed out on second position after finishing with a heat-total of 7.33 points, while Stewart had to settle for fourth place after registering a heat-total of 6.90 points. The bottom-two position brought the competition to a premature end
for the two surfers.
The final heat of Round 3 saw Gaskell take on Tucker, local talent Christian Corzo and Peru’s Sebastian Correa.
Gaskell, winner of the Copa Quiksilver El Salvador, wasted no time to stamp his authority in the heat, pulling off a clean barrel and flurry of powerful turns to reach a heat-total of 13.00 points, which remained unbeatable until the end to earn him the
win.
“It’s nice when you get two 6s right off the bat and there was no stress from there,” Gaskell said. “Everyone was struggling and there were not a lot of good waves. It seems like whoever catches the best waves is going to win because everyone surfs so well.
It’s all about positioning, being aggressive and surfing smart.”
Tucker qualified for the next round as well after finishing with a heat-total of 5.83 points, while both Corzo and Correa were forced to leave the competition field after rounding out the bottom-two positions with a heat-total of 5.06 and 4.53 points respectively.
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