Jeremy Flores and Matt Wilkinson prevail in Round 3 at O’Neill Coldwater Classic
France’s Jeremy Flores and Australia’s Matt Wilkinson emerged triumphant in their respective Round 3 heats at the O’Neill Coldwater Classic, the ninth of ten stops on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship Tour, which resumed
at Santa Cruz in California, America, on Monday, November 5, 2012.
Flores got the better of Australia’s Yadin Nicol in the ninth heat to advance to Round 3, while bringing the contention for the event title to a premature for his rival in the process.
The tenth heat saw Australia’s Owen Wright succumb to his compatriot Wilkinson after an intense battle, getting eliminated from the competition as a result while sending his rival into the next round.
The conditions on offer at the point-break of Steamer Lane continued to be demanding on the latest day of the competition, once again demanding something extra and special from the elite ASP surfers before awarding them with the desired results.
Pitted against Nicol in the ninth heat, Flores was well aware of the importance of putting on a good performance to stay alive in the competition. However, the sea was refusing to be generous and thus keeping him at day.
The French surfer still managed to get in position to catch a couple of juicy waves, which he utilised to post a 4.00 and 5.50 on the score-board to register a heat-total of 9.50 points.
While the opportunity was there for Nicol to take the win, he failed to capitalise on it. The Australian surfer ended up earning a 6.33 and 2.33 off his best-two waves for a heat-total of 8.66 points, surrendering the Round 4 spot to his rival as a result.
The tenth heat pitted winner of the 2010 edition of O’Neill Coldwater Classic Wilkinson against Wright.
As the battle got underway, Wilkinson got down to business right away, earning an 8.50 off his first business-wave and soon backed it up with a 6.33-point ride, finishing with a heat-total of 14.83 points.
Wright had no intention of going down without a fight. Scoring a 7.77 off his first business-wave halfway through the heat, the Australian added another 6.23 points to his account, thus finishing with a heat-total of 14.00 points.
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