Laura Enever off to an ideal start at TSB Bank NZ Surf Festival featuring the Dow AgroSciences Pro
Australia’s Laura Enever kicked-off the TSB Bank NZ Surf Festival featuring the Dow AgroSciences Pro, third of seven stops on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Women’s World Tour, with a comprehensive win in the first heat of Round 1 that
got underway at Fitzroy Beach in Taranaki, New Zealand.
Enever took the win over her compatriot Rebecca Woods and Hawaii’s Malia Manuel in the opening heat of Round 1 to advance through directly into the third round, consequently forcing both Manuel and Woods to take a trip to the relegation Round 2.
With the ASP Top 17 female surfers from around the globe competing for top honours at the latest ASP Women’s elite tour event, there was plenty of action in store for the fans. The surfing conditions prevailing at Fitzroy Beach turned out to be quite good
as well, enabling top-class surfers to put their stylish skills on display in two-to-three foot waves that included both left and rights.
As the first heat of Round 1 got underway, the 20-year-old Enever got off to a modest start, struggling to find a decent wave-score. However, she slowly began to find her rhythm and eventually locked her first business-wave halfway through the heat to unload
a series of exquisite turns on it to earn an 8.75 for the effort.
Keeping the momentum going, Enever got in position to catch and another juicy wave and this time managed to score an 8.30 off it, taking her heat-total to an intimidating 17.05 points. The score held up until the end to eventually seal the fate of the triple-threat
heat in her favour.
“I think I was trying to force things a bit too much at the start,” Enever said. “I caught a couple of waves all the way to the shore and didn’t get much of a score. So I changed my game plan to try to do the biggest turns I could and it paid off. I did
two turns and got an 8.60 [out of a possible 10], and after that I got some other big scores. It was great way to finish a heat.”
Manuel was forced settle for runner-up place after scoring a 6.75 and 7.75 off her best-two waves for a heat-total of 14.50 points.
Woods rounded out the third position after finishing with a heat-total of 10.75 points, which included a 4.75 and 6.00-point wave. As a result, she accompanied Manuel into the relegation Round 2 to surf again for the Round 3 spot.
Tags: