Nobuyuki Osawa and Conner Coffin pass through Round 3 of ASP 4-Star Vans Pier Classic unharmed
Japan’s Nobuyuki Osawa and America’s Conner Coffin prevailed in their respective Round 3 (Round of 96) heats of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 4-Star Vans Pier Classic that went down at the Huntington Beach Pier in California, America, on
Thursday, March 29.
Both Osawa and Coffin advanced through into the fourth round (Round of 64) of the event following their success in their Round 3 heats. Venezuela’s Francisco Bellorin and Hawaii’s Jesse Merle-Jones made their way through into the next round as well after
claiming runner-up position in the 15th and 16th heat respectively.
With both international as well as local surfers battling it out for survival in challenging surfing conditions, there was plenty of excitement and thrilling action on offer for the crowd. The low frequency of scoring opportunities made the contest quite
intense, keeping the surfers on their toes throughout the course of the heat.
Continuing his solid run of form, Osawa put on an impressive performance to get the better of his rivals Bellorin, Hawaii’s Jonah Morgan and America’s Colin Moran in the 15th heat.
The Japanese surfer got down to business as soon as the heat started and successfully caught a juicy wave in the opening minutes of the battle to post a 7.77 on the score-board. He continued his search for another good score and eventually added an additional
4.80 to his account to finish with a heat-total of 12.57 points. The score kept him well ahead of his rivals on the score-board to seal the fate of the four-man battle in his favour and carry him through into the next round.
Bellorin collected a couple of scores in the four-point range to finish with a heat-total of 9.37 points. The score proved sufficient to earn him runner-up place, consequently adding him to the Round 4 line-up as well.
Morgan was forced to settle for third place after scoring a heat-total of 8.10 points, whereas Moran rounded out the bottom position with a heat-total of 7.50 points. Both the surfers failed to earn their place in the next round due to their bottom-two finish.
The final heat of Round 3 pitted Coffin against his compatriot Bobby Morris, Hawaii’s Merle-Jones and his fellow countryman Alex Smith.
It turned out to be a low-scoring contest, with Coffin’s heat-total of 10.73 points proving to be sufficient to earn him victory.
Merle-Jones finished in second place with a heat-total of 9.66 points, consequently accompanying Coffin into Round 4.
Morris and Smith found their names getting added to the elimination list after their lacklustre performances for a heat-total of 8.80 and 6.80 points respectively.
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