Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro quarter-finals reach an exciting finish - Surfing News
The quarter-finals of Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Prime event, the Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro, delivered exciting surfing action on Saturday, May 7, at Lower Trestles in San Clemente, California. After the four action-packed heats, three Brazilians,
Jesse Mendes, Thiago Camarao and Miguel Pupo, joined America’s Tanner Gudauskas in the semi-final’s field.
Known for offering A-class waves, Lower Trestle has acted host to numerous surfing events over the number of years. However, the conditions turned out to be less than ideal on Saturday for the quarter-final. However, the sensational young-guns were determined
to put up a good performance and had no intention of letting the low tides bring their morale down. With all eight surfers on top of their form, an intense battle was expected.
In the first heat of the Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro quarter-finals, American’s Gudauskas took on the surfer from Brazil, Heitor Alves. The American entered the heat as a favourite to win after exhibiting an excellent form in his heat the other day. On the other
hand, the Brazilian had met a defeat in his last heat, but had been fortunate that it was a non-elimination round.
The difference in confidence played out a vital role in deciding the fate of the first quarter-final. Gudauskas prevailed over his rival comfortably, earning a two-wave score of 16.37 against Alves’ 11.76, to become the first surfer to advance to the semi-final.
The second quarter-final pitted Brazil’s Jesse Mendes against the sensational talent from America, Kolohe Andino. The American had already bested his Brazilian rival when they had met in their last heat a day ago. Andino entered the contest with an upper-hand.
However, Mendes managed to overcome the American in one of the greatest upset of the day. The local surfer struggled to lock a good way throughout the course of the contest while the Brazilian managed to get ahead of him with a relatively better performance
along with a little blessing from mother-nature. Mendes bested Andino with a score of 11.60 again 8.33 to progress to the next stage of the event.
The third heat featured a battle between the two Brazilians, Camarao and Junior Faria. Both the surfers put up a determined fight and showcased exceptional skills on the surfboard. However, in the end it was Camarao who walked away with the win, scoring
14.50 against his rival’s 11.47, to make his way to the semi-final.
The last quarter-final saw the Brazilian in exceptional form, Pupo, take on his compatriot Jadson Andre in a real nail-biting contest. After an intense battle with both the surfers giving outstanding performances, it was Pupo who barely managed to win, scoring
15.24 to best Andre’s 14.93.
The quarter-finals narrowed down the field to four surfers, who were evidently in exceptional form. These surfers will be facing each other in the semi-finals to get one step closer to the title.
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