Final-four decided in women’s division at Australian Open of Surfing – Surfing News
Australia’s Laura Enever, her compatriot Sally Fitzgibbons, Hawaii’s Malia Manuel and Peru’s Sofia Mulanovich prevailed in their respective Quarter-finals at Australian Open of Surfing that went down at Manly Beach in New South Wales, Australia, on Wednesday, February 15.
The 6-Star Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) event had attracted the elite female surfers from around the world to warm up for the upcoming 2012 ASP Women’s World Tour opening, Roxy Pro.
With decent surfing conditions prevailing at the primary event site on Wednesday, the stage was set for the event to determine the four Semi-finalists.
The first Quarter-final pitted Enever against France’s Pauline Ado in a one-on-one battle. The Australian got down to business right away and posted a 5.83 on the score-board in the opening minutes of the heat. Ado immediately responded with a 5.33-point wave to continue breathing down her rival’s neck.
As the heat progressed, the French surfer added another 6.67 points to her account to move to a heat-total of 12.00 points. In the final minutes of the battle, Enever managed to edge past her with a 7.67 off her final wave of the heat, consequently clinching the Semi-final spot.
The 2011 ASP Women’s World Title runner-up got the better of America’s Lakey Peterson in the second Quarter-final. The young Australian scored a 6.33 and 4.40 off her top-two waves to finish with a heat-total of 10.73 points, while Peterson responded with a disappointing heat-total of 5.44 points. As a result, Fitzgibbons comfortably advanced through into the Semi-finals.
The third Quarter-final saw Manuel and France’s Joanne Defay take each other on for the coveted Semi-final spot. Both the surfers finished with an equal heat-total of 11.67 points, but Manuel’s higher single-wave score of 6.67 against Defay’s 6.00 earned her the win and sent her through into the next stage of the competition.
The last Quarter-final saw Mulanovich comfortably prevail over Australia’s Rebecca Woods to clinch the Semi-final spot. The Peruvian scored a 7.87 and 7.57 off her top-two waves to beat Woods’ heat-total of 11.50 points.
The Semi-finals and Final of the women’s division at Australian Open of Surfing will go down at Manly Beach on Sunday.
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