Nathan Hedge and Jesse Mendes prevail in Round 2 at Vans World Cup of Surfing
Nathan Hedge from Australia and Brazilian young gun Jesse Mendes earned their place in the next round (Round of 64) at the Vans World Cup of Surfing, the second jewel on the 30th anniversary Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, after claiming victory
in their respective Round 2 (Round of 96) heats that went down at Sunset Beach in Oahu, Hawaii, on Friday, November 30, 2012.
Hawaii’s Ezekiel Lau took second place in the fifth heat to accompany Hedge into the next round, while Brazil’s Keanu Asing and Hawaii’s Olamana Eleogram rounded out the bottom-two positions, which resulted in their elimination from the competition.
The sixth heat saw Hawaii’s Ian Walsh finish behind Mendes in second place, which served to carry both the surfers into the next round. America’s Tim Reyes finished third, while Brazil’s Filipe Toledo had to settle for fourth place. Both the surfers were
consequently removed from the contention for the event title.
The coveted prize purse and Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) ranking points on offer at the latest ASP Prime event served as a huge motivation for the talented surfers from around the globe to push hard during the latest day of the competition.
The conditions were not easy, but it was nothing that the surfers had not faced before or were not capable of besting.
Pitted against Lau, Asing and Eleogram, Hedge had his work cut out for him. However, he rose to the challenge and put on a decent performance. Collecting a 6.93 off his first business-wave and backing it up with a 5.50-point ride, the Australian surfer finished
with a decisive heat-total of 12.43 points.
Lau finished in second place with a heat-total of 8.10 points, which included a 4.83 and 3.27 points. The score proved sufficient to carry him through into the next round.
Asing finished third with a heat-total of 6.86 points, while Eleogram had to settle for fourth place after registering a heat-total of 4.74 points.
The next heat saw Mendes get the better of Walsh, Reyes and Toledo after putting on a phenomenal show.
Despite the wild nature of the swell, the Brazilian young gun looked pretty much in control during the course of the event. Posted an 8.50 and 6.23 on the score-board, Mendes got to a heat-total of 14.73 points, which served to seal the fate of the battle
in his favour.
Walsh made the Round 3 cut after registering a heat-total of 13.10 points, which included a 6.93 and 6.17-point wave.
Reyes and Toledo got eliminated from the competition after finishing with a heat-total of 12.67 and 8.44 points respectively.
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