Kolohe Andino, Dane Reynolds and Nicol Yadin advance to Round 4 of 2011 Nike US Open of Surfing
The latest edition of Nike US Open of Surfing resumed with the seventh, eighth and ninth heat of round of 24 (Round 3) taking place on Friday morning, August 5, at the Huntington Beach Pier, California.
America’s young sensation, Kolohe Andino came up with an impressive performance during his head-to-head heat 7 battle against Brazil’s Jesse Mendes, walking away with top honours to earn a place in the round of 12 (Round 4).
The eighth heat saw America’s Dane Reynolds continue his winning momentum by prevailing over Australia’s celebrated surfer, Adam Melling, to go through to the next round, consequently removing his rival from contention for the event-title.
Australia’s Nicol Yadin defeated compatriot Bede Durbidge in the ninth heat to make his way to the next round, while eliminating his opponent from the event.
Friday turned out to be a much better day in terms of surfing conditions, with around two-to-four foot waves breaking at the Huntington Beach Pier. The day promised to be full of exciting battles as the surfers took each other on for survival and moving
closer to the title-shot.
The opening heat of the day pitted the 17-year-old San Clemente-native, Andino, against Brazil’s Mendes. Both surfers had shown good form over the last few days, raising expectation for a thrilling contest.
However, the battle turned out to be a pretty one-side one, with Andino taking control of the heat since the start and finishing with a heat-total of 14.06 points against his rival’s 7.87. Mendes’ disappointing performance led to his elimination from the
competition.
The 25-year-old Reynolds took on the two-time Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Champion, Melling, in the eighth heat. Despite an abundance of experience and undeniable skills, the Australian ended up succumbing to his American rival. Reynolds
gladly took the win after finishing with a heat-total of 11.17 points against Melling’s 6.77.
The ninth heat pitted Nicol against Durbidge in a battle for survival. Both surfers seemed to be in good form and had earned their way to Round 3 through consistent and impressive performances.
However, Durbidge failed to make a solid impact in his Round 3 heat, evidently lacking rhythm and struggling to earn a good score. On the other hand, the 26-year-old Nicol unloaded a string of impressive tricks on a set of waves to finish with a heat-total
of 14.33 points against his rival’s 11.83. The convincing victory sent Nicol off to the next round, while ejecting Durbidge from the competition.
For more updates on Round 3 of 2011 Nike US Open of Surfing, stay tuned to bettor.com
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