Sarah Mason and Nage Melamed qualify for quarter-finals of Estoril Surf & Music Billabong Girls Pro
New Zealand’s Sarah Mason qualified for the quarter-finals of Estoril Surf &Music Billabong Girls Pro by clinching the win in the final heat of round of 12 (Round 4) on Saturday, June 11th, at the beach-break of Praia do Guincho in Estoril, Portugal.
Hawaii’s Nage Melamed grabbed the last remaining spot in the quarter-finals after finishing as a runner-up in the heat. South Africa’s Sarah Baum rounded out the third position, which put her out of the contention for the event title.
Mason had been one of the few surfers in the event who had been able to adjust to the difficult surfing conditions and come up with a few impressive performances to amass first-place finishes and advance through the competition. Now that she had reached
the fourth round and was competing for a place in the quarter-finals, there was hardly any doubt that she would be able to accomplish the deed. Though she lived up to the expectations, she surely did not have a smooth sailing during the heat.
As the battle commenced, it was the Hawaiian surfer, Melamed, who took an early lead by locking a wave to score 4.25 points off it. For most part of the heat, the scoreboard pretty much remained the same in terms of position. Mason was evidently struggling
to cope with the demanding surfing conditions, clearly not anticipating the two-foot tides and strong cross shore winds pose such a challenge. However, she eventually managed to adjust to the conditions and upped her surfing, securing 4.90 points off a wave
to take the lead from her Hawaiian rival.
Clearly more in control now, Mason locked yet another wave and this time and scored 5.75 points off it to further extend her lead and move to a two-wave total of 10.65 points. Melamed responded with a 5.65-point wave to finish with a two-wave total of 9.90
points.
Finding herself in a 0.75-point deficit, Melamed was forced to surrender victory to her New Zealand rival. However, she had no reason to feel too disappointed as her second-place finish kept her alive in the competition by sending her to the quarter-finals.
Baum was also present in the three-way battle, but the conditions had gotten the better of her and she struggled to match the performances of her rivals. With 3.75 and 3.00 as her best wave-scores, she finished with a heat-total of 6.75 points. The weak
effort resulted in her ejection from the competition.
With the conclusion of the fourth heat, the round of 12 wrapped up. The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 6-Star event had reached its quarter-final stage, now only a few heats away from the climax.
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