Nathan Hedge and Maxima Huscenot off to an ideal start at the Reef Hawaiian Pro
Australia’s Nathan Hedge and France’s Maxime Huscenot made the Round 2 (Round of 96) cut at the Reef Hawaiian Pro, first of three events on the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, after finishing on top in their respective Round 1 (Round of 128) heats that went
down at the North Shore of Oahu in Hawaii, on Thursday, November 15, 2012.
Hawaii’s Koa smith finished below Hedge in second place during the ninth heat to secure his place in the next round as well, whereas Brazil’s Jano Belo and Hawaii’s Roy Powers were forced to make a premature exit from the competition after finishing in third
and fourth place respectively.
The tenth heat saw Australia’s Tom Whitaker accompany Huscenot into the next round after finishing in runner-up place, whereas Brazil’s Flavio Nakagima and Hawaii’s Pancho Sullivan finished in bottom-two, thus getting removed from the contention for the
event title.
The demanding surfing conditions prevailing at Alibi Beach on the first active day of the latest Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Prime event promised a heavy dose of thrilling action, an obvious expectations keeping the talent in contention for
top honours in mind.
Hedge, the 33-year-old Australian powerhouse, showed-off his classy aerial moves during the ninth heat, which pitted him against Smith, Belo and Powers in a four-man battle for the Round 2 spot.
Earning an impressive 7.03 off his first business-wave and later backing it up with a 6.60-point ride, he finished with a heat-total of 13.63 points, which held up until the end to see him through to victory.
“Today’s the perfect day to go for the Hawaiian Air miles,” said Lopez. “There are a couple of long lefts where you can get a lot of speed and do the big air and the wind’s perfect for it.
Smith managed to respond with a heat-total of 12.43 points, comprising of a 7.10 and 5.33-point ride. While the effort was not good enough to earn him the win, it proved just enough to see him through into the next round.
Belo barely missed out on a place in the next round after registering a heat-total of 12.24 points, whereas Powers finished fourth after concluding the heat with a heat-total of 11.20 points.
The tenth heat saw Huscenot clinch the win despite facing a strong resistance from Whitaker in the four-man battle.
The French surfer scored a 7.00 and 6.57 off his best-two waves to reach a heat-total of 13.57 points.
While Whitaker responded strongly with an 8.00 off his first business-wave, he just could not back it up with an impressive score. Adding a 5.33 to his account, the Australian surfer finished with a heat-total of 13.33 points.
Nakagima finished third with a heat-total of 11.57 points, whereas an ordinary performance by Sullivan took him to a dismal heat-total of 4.50 points, thus landing him in fourth place.
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