Gabriel Medina and Dane Reynolds move into the Quarter-finals at Nike Lowers Pro
Brazil’s Gabriel Medina and America’s Dane Reynolds confirmed their place in the Quarter-finals at the Nike Lowers Pro, an Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) PRIME event, after putting on a spectacular performance to clinch victory in their respective
Round 7 (Round of 16) heats at the point-break of Lower Trestles in San Clemente, California, on Friday, May 4.
America’s Brett Simpson and Hawaii’s Granger Larsen were forced to settle for runner-up place in the fifth and sixth heat respectively, consequently getting eliminated from the competition.
The surfing fans were getting treated to a heavy dose of thrilling action on day 4 of the competition as the best surfers from around the globe took each other on in man-on-man battles for the Quarter-final spot.
Pitted against Simpson in the fifth heat, Medina surely had his work cut out for him. He was up against a rival who enjoyed local knowledge of the waves and support of the local crowd, two factors that could definitely prove to be vital to the eventual outcome
of the heat.
However, the 18-year-old Brazilian surfer managed to overcome the odds and put on a superb performance to post an 8.43 and 9.53 on the score-board for a heat-total of 17.96 points.
Simpson did not make it a smooth sailing for his rival, finding a 9.50 and 7.93-point ride through the use of his experience and familiarity with the waves. However, he finished 0.53 points short of the required score and was thus forced to concede victory
to his rival.
“I was comfortable and I knew that was going to be a tough heat,” Medina said. “Brett [Simpson] surfed really well, he had the 9 and the 8 and it was the hardest heat that I’ve had here. I was just waiting for one more wave and I fell on the one before.
I needed the last one and I went big and got the score.”
The sixth heat saw Reynolds get the better of Larsen to advance through into the Quarter-finals. The 26-year-old Ventura-based surfer scored an 8.83 off his first business-wave and backed it up with a 9.80-point ride to finish with a heat-total of 18.63
points, whereas Larsen finished with a heat-total of 16.47 points, which included a 7.67 and 8.80-point wave.
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