Gabe Kling and Evan Geiselman step into the Quarter-finals at Burton Toyota Pro – Surfing News
America’s Gabe Kling and Evan Geiselman put on superb performances to clinch victories in their respective Round 5 (Round of 16) heats of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 6-Star Burton Toyota Pro at Newcastle’s Surfest that continued at Merewether
Beach in New South Wales, Australia, on Sunday, March 18.
Kling got the better of Australia’s Matt Banting in the third heat, while Geiselman defeated Australia’s Adrian Buchan in the fourth heat of the fifth round to confirm their place in the Quarter-finals.
With the competition field trimmed down to a handful of in-form surfers, the intensity of battles were expected to be huge. There was a significant improvement in surfing conditions as well, with the waves increasing to four feet in contrast to the two-to-three
foot waves that were breaking at Merewether Point over the last few days. With an opportunity to bag a handsome prize cheque and coveted ASP rating points, the surfers were putting on determined performances at the latest ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS)
event, much to the joy of the crowd.
The third heat featured an exciting contest between Kling and Banting. The latter had been in a formidable form over the last few weeks and was nothing short of impressive during the initial rounds of Burton Toyota Pro.
As the third heat of Round 5 got underway, the Australian surfer got off to an excellent start, drawing first blood with an 8.27 off his first business-wave. However, Kling responded well with a 7.83-point wave to stay at his rival’s heels. He continued
the charge to add another 7.93 points to his account to get to a heat-total of 15.76 points.
Banting searched hard for another good score, but only managed to score a 5.77 off his second business-wave to finish with a heat-total of 14.04 points. As a result, he was forced to concede victory to his American rival, sending him through into the next
stage of the competition.
The fourth heat saw an intense battle for the coveted Quarter-final spot as Geiselman and Buchan fought tooth and nail in a man-on-man battle.
Buchan put his local knowledge of the waves to use and navigated his way through the waves to post a 5.00 and an 8.50 on the score-board to rest on a heat-total of 13.50 points.
Geiselman adapted a conservative strategy, waiting for a solid opportunity to arise before making his charge. The risky approach worked out well for him in the end as he caught a couple of juicy waves to post a 6.00 and an 8.07 on the score-board to finish
claim the win with a heat-total of 14.07 points.
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