Evan Geiselman and Alex Ribeiro enter Quarter-finals at Australian Open of Surfing
America’s Evan Geiselman and Brazil’s Alex Ribeiro made their place in the Quarter-finals of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 6-Star Australian Open of Surfing after winning their Round 5 (Round of 16) heats at Manly Beach in New South Wales, Australia, on Saturday, February 18.
In the first heat of the day, Geiselman faced off with his compatriot and friend Kolohe Andino in a battle for the Quarter-final spot. He drew first blood with an impressive 7.33-point wave and soon added an additional 6.33 points to his account, taking his heat-total of 13.66.
The young sensation Andino searched hard for an adequate response, but he failed to get his hands on a good wave and eventually finished with a heat-total of 10.00 points, which comprised of a 4.17 and 5.83-point wave. As a result, he was forced to watch Geiselman advance to the Quarter-finals.
“I've been surfing against Kolohe [Andino] since I was 10, it's always a fun match-up and I'm really glad to get the win," Geiselman said. “I'm really stoked to be through to the Quarterfinals, this is my first good result in a 6-Star and I'm looking forward to the rest of the event”
The second heat featured an exquisite performance from Ribeiro as he created one of the biggest upsets of the day by removing Australia’s Joel Parkinson, 2011 ASP World Title Series first runner-up, from the competition.
As the man-on-man battle got underway, Ribeiro collected a 7.17 off his first business-wave and soon added another 7.33 to his account to finish with a heat-total of 14.50 points.
Parkinson needed to come up with a strong performance to surpass the Brazilian on the score-board, but he failed to match Ribeiro’s energy and wit during the course of the heat. Finishing with a heat-total of 11.90 points, the event’s No.1 seed conceded a rather comfortable win to Ribeiro, sending him through into the Quarter-finals.
Talking after the heat, the Brazilian sensation conceded that it was a dream for him to surf with Parkinson. He had grown up watching the latter in movies and competitions and was glad for getting an opportunity to face him in at the current event.
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