Jack Freestone and Roy Powers victorious in Round 2 of the Reef Hawaiian Pro
The first stop of the 2011 Triple Crown of Surfing, the Reef Hawaiian Pro, carried on with its Round of 96 (Round 2) on Tuesday, November 22, with Australia’s Jack Freestone competing against his compatriots Shaun Cansdell and Blake Thornton, along with Basque’s Artiz Aranburu in the 13th heat, while the 14th heat saw Hawaii’s Roy Powers go against America’s Ian Gentil, his compatriot Cory Lopez and the sole women surfer in the competition line-up, Hawaii’s Carissa Moore.
Freestone managed to secure victory in the 13th heat to confirm his place in the Round of 64 (Round 3), while Aranburu successfully extended his life in the competition by clinching the runner-up place. Cansdell and Thornton got ejected from the competition after finishing in third and fourth place respectively.
The 14th heat turned out to be another low-scoring affair, which eventually ended in Powers’ favour. Gentil finished as runner-up to remain alive in contention for the event title. Lopez and Moore shared a disappointing fate of ejection from the competition after rounding out the third and fourth position respectively.
As the 13th heat got underway, Freestone did not have much luck with the waves early on. However, he remained patient and kept his hunt going. The persistence eventually paid off and allowed him to catch a 6.50 and 4.40-point wave to finish with a heat-total of 10.90 points, which eventually carried him off to victory.
Aranburu made the Round 3 cut as well after securing a 5.67 and 4.33-point wave for a heat-total of 10.00 points. The performance could not be regarded as an impressive one, but it proved to be quite effective for the Basque-native.
Cansdell and Thornton finished with a heat-total of 8.70 and 5.40 points respective. Their disappointing effort led to their premature elimination from the competition.
The local-favourite, Powers, was able to walk away with top honours in the 14th heat despite being pitted against a healthy talent pool. He was only able to catch two waves during the heat, one of which merely earned him a 1.50. However, the second wave turned out to be spectacular, featuring a combination of exciting stunts from the Hawaiian, consequently carrying him off to a decisive heat-total of 10.00 points.
Gentil offered a decent fight to his Hawaiian rival, but an early blunder proved to be quite costly for him in the end. Despite collecting a 6.00 and 5.00-point wave, an interference call on the first wave resulted in a penalty and reduced his heat-total to 8.50 points. Fortunately for him, the score was still enough to put him in runner-up place and take him into the next round.
Lopez finished in third place with a heat-total of 7.50 points, which resulted in his early elimination from the competition. The American promised much more than he actually delivered, which turned out to be a huge disappointment for his fans.
The 2011 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Women’s World Champion, Moore, was unable to do justice to her repute and all the hype that surrounded her participating in the men’s surfing event. She was only able to get to a heat-total of 5.60 points, which included a 2.43 and 3.17-point wave, which resulted in her elimination from the competition.
For more updates on Round 2 of the Reef Hawaiian Pro, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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