Kolohe Andino and Yadin Nicol advance to 2011 Nike US Open of Surfing semifinals
The exciting surfing action continued at the Huntington Beach Pier, California, with the third and fourth quarter-final of 2011 Nike US Open of Surfing on Saturday morning, August 7.
The third quarter-final saw America’s Kolohe Andino prevail over compatriot Dane Reynolds, though just barely, to earn the semi-final spot while removing his rival from contention for the event title.
Australia’s Yadin Nicol came up with a timely performance to defeat South Africa’s Royden Bryson in the fourth quarter-final and guarantee his spot in the semi-final, while ending his rival’s current Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Prime event
campaign prematurely.
The 17-year-old San Clemente-native, Andino had faltered in his last face-off against Reynolds during Round 4. However, he found himself pitted against his countryman once again and this time, he was determined to walk away with a different result.
As the heat kicked off, Reynolds immediately placed his rival under pressure by locking a wave to earn 5.50 points off it. He soon added an additional 4.83 points to his account and after failing to improve on this score until the very end, finished with
a heat-total of 10.33 points.
Andino got off to a slow start and it was almost midway through the heat that he came across his first business wave, earning a mediocre score of 4.17 off it. As the clock ticked away, the young American kept on struggling to find a decent score. However,
a desperate effort allowed him to earn a 6.27-point wave, putting him ahead of his rival with a heat-total of 10.44 points. Finishing 0.11 points ahead of Reynolds, Andino had finally avenged his Round 4 defeat and secured a place in the semi-finals.
The fourth quarter-final pitted the 26-year-old Nicol against the in-form Bryson in a battle for the last quarter-final spot on offer. The latter seemed to be in a much better form than Nicol, making him a favourite for the heat.
However, the final result of the heat turned out to be on the contrary. The Australian surfer got off to a good start, locking a wave to score 6.00 points off to take the lead. Bryson soon responded with a 3.83-point wave, but that hardly eased that pressure
that had mounted on him.
As the battle progressed, Nicol added an additional 5.60 points to his account to finish with a heat-total of 11.60 points, putting his South African rival in need of a 8.26-point wave for the win. The task proved to be too much for Bryson to accomplish
and he only managed to earn 4.43 points off his second business wave, finishing with a heat-total of 8.26 points to send his rival to the semi-finals.
Nicol would be facing the young American sensation Andino, in his semi-final heat to battle for a place in the finals.
For updates on the semi-finals of 2011 Nike US Open of Surfing, stay tuned to bettor.com
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