Fitzgibbons, Peterson, Gilmore among surfers successful on day 1 of TSB Bank NZ Surf Festival
The opening day of TSB Bank NZ Surf Festival, third of seven stops on the 2013 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Women’s World Championship Tour, delivered a handful of exquisite performances by some of the top surfing talent from across the globe
during the first and second round heats that went down at Taranaki in New Plymouth, New Zealand, on Thursday, April 4, 2013.
America’s Courtney Conlogue, Hawaii’s Coco Ho and her compatriot Carissa Moore managed to confirm their spot in the third round before the action went on hold due to low tide.
However, a huge upset had already taken place, with reigning five-time ASP Women’s World Champion Stephanie Gilmore getting relegated to the second round.
When the competition resumed, South Africa’s Bianca Buitendag got the better of young Australian sensation and current No.1 Tyler Wright and Peru’s Sofia Mulanovich in the fourth round to head straight into the third round.
“I just really wanted to skip that second round,” Buitendag said. “The last two or three months is the first time I’ve surfed three man heats where i have had to win the heat to get through, so i have been getting used to that. It’s my rookie year so I’m
just finding my feet and it’s an exciting year for me.”
Australia’s Sally Fitzgibbons downed her compatriot Rebecca Woods and Brazil’s Silvana Lima in the fifth heat to secure her place in the third round as well, relegating her two rivals to the second round in the process.
America’s Lakey Peterson stole the show on day one with her perfect 10 ride, which added up with her 7.60-point ride to get her to a heat-total of 17.60 points, earning her a comprehensive victory over Australia’s Laura Enever and Hawaii’s Alana Blanchard.
“The waves got really fun, actually,” Peterson commented on her 10-point ride. “It was bigger than it had been in the morning and I was really relaxed. It turned on right before we paddled out.”
The surfing action continued at Taranaki with the Round 2 heats, which saw Gilmore, Enever, Wright, America’s Sage Erickson, Hawaii’s Malia Manuel and Australia’s Woods going through into the third round, ending their day on a good note.
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