Jack Freestone and Roy Powers clinch success in Round 1 of 2011 Reef Hawaiian Pro
The crowd kept getting treated to a heavy dose of surfing action as the first stop of Vans Crown of Surfing, the Reef Hawaiian Pro, went on with its Round of 128 (Round 1) at the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii, on Monday, November 21. The action continued as
Australia’s Jack Freestone took on his compatriot Jack Perry, America’s Ian Gentil and Brazil’s Ricardo Santos in the 13th heat, while the 14th heat saw Hawaii’s Roy Powers compete with his countrymen Albee Layer and Ian Walsh, along
with Australia’s Shaun Cansdell.
Freestone completely dominated the 13th heat with his outstanding performance and comfortably earned a spot for himself in the Round of 96 (Round 2). Gentil managed to secure the runner-up place to advance through into the next round as well.
The third and fourth-place finish by Perry and Santos kept them from making the Round 2 cut and thus removed them from the contention for the event title.
The 14th heat saw Powers and Cansdell keep each other on their toes until the very end, fighting tooth and nail for top honours. As the dust settled, however, it was Powers who emerged triumphant, while the latter had to settle for second place.
Both the surfers advanced through into the next round. Layer and Walsh got eliminated from the competition after rounding out the third and fourth positions respectively.
The 19-year-old reigning Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Junior Champion, Freestone, showed off his stuff at the North Shore of Oahu despite the challenging surfing conditions on offer.
As the 13th heat got underway, Freestone separated himself from the rest of the pack, counting on his luck to run his way. The strategy paid off and allowed him to catch a couple of juicy waves, enabling him to post a 6.83 and 8.83 on the score-board.
The heat-total of 15.66 points carried him off to victory eventually.
Talking to a reporter after the heat, Freestone said, “I sat on the little rights at Peaks and it sort of went my way, no-one came over to hassle me. I've been doing a little bit of training with [6-time Vans Triple Crown champion] Sunny Garcia and he's
sorta giving me the insight to all the places, so big thanks to him. It's been amazing.”
Gentil successfully survived the opening round of Reef Hawaiian Pro by finishing with a heat-total of 10.90 points. The score earned him the runner-up place and thus sent him through into the next round.
Perry and Santos finished with a heat-total of 9.57 and 7.24 points respectively, getting eliminated from the competition as a result of their lacklustre performance.
The 14th heat saw the 30-year-old Powers engage in an intense battle Cansdell for the win. Both the surfers put up a determined fight, but a 6.17 and 8.27-point wave by the local-favourite Powers carried him to victory. Cansdell had to settle
for second place with a heat-total of 13.60 points.
Layer finished in third place with a heat-total of 9.00 points, which comprised of a 5.33 and 3.67-point wave. Walsh finished with a similar heat-total, though his two-wave total included a 4.00 and 5.00-point wave. The two surfers were prematurely ejected
from the competition as a result of their bottom-two finish.
For more updates on Round 1 of the Reef Hawaiian Pro, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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