Hank Gaskell and Nathan Yeomans enter ASP 4-Star Vans Pier Classic Quarter-finals – Surfing News
Hawaii’s Hank Gaskell and America’s Nathan Yeomans secured their place in the Quarter-finals of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 4-Star Vans Pier Classic after clinching victory in their respective Round 5 (Round of 32) heats that took place
at the Huntington Beach Pier in California, America, on Saturday, March 31.
Australia’s Mitch Crews and Brazil’s Krystian Kymerson took first runner-up place in the first and second heat of Round 5 respectively to get their names added to the Quarter-finals line-up as well.
The size and quality of the waves on offer at Huntington Beach had improved considerably, allowing the surfers to feel more confident as they entered the sea. The battles were expected to become even more intense as the local and international surfers continued
to battle each other to extend their life in the competition and get closer to the event title.
The first heat saw Haskell take on Crews, Jeremy Johnston and Japan’s Teppei Tajima in a four-man battle.
The Hawaiian surfer got off to an excellent start, locking a wave in the opening minutes of the heat to post an 8.00 on the score-board. He kept the momentum going and eventually caught his second business-wave to unload a series of exquisite manoeuvres
to earn an 8.60 for the effort and thus move to a heat-total of 16.60 points. The two-wave total remained the highest of the heat to seal the fate of the battle in his favour.
Crews collected a couple of scores in the six-point range to finish with a heat-total of 12.66 points, consequently advancing through into the next round.
Johnston finished in third place with a heat-total of 12.63 points, whereas Tajima rounded out the bottom-position after finishing with a heat-total of 7.80 points. Both the surfers were consequently forced to make a premature exit from the competition.
The second heat turned out to be a low-scoring affair, with Yeoman’s heat-total of 10.50 proving sufficient to carry him to victory.
Kymerson got off to a shaky start, scoring a mere 2.53 off his first business-wave, but added an impressive 7.17 to his account later in the heat to take runner-up place with a heat-total of 9.70 points. As a result, he advanced through into the next round
as well.
Ettinger finished third with a heat-total of 8.03 points, whereas Goold’s excellent run came to an end as he finished in fourth place with a heat-total of 7.53 points. The bottom-two result led to the elimination of both the surfers from the competition.
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