Sarah Mason and Stephanie Gilmore triumph in Round 4 to enter Rip Curl Women’s Pro Quarter-finals
New Zealand’s Sarah Mason and Australia’s Stephanie Gilmore successfully made it through their respective Round 4 rounds of Rip Curl Women’s Pro Bells Beach presented by Ford Fiesta that resumed at Bells Beach in Victoria, Australia, on Friday, April 6.
The first heat of Round 4 saw Mason get the better of New Zealand’s Paige Hareb to advance through into the Quarter-finals, bringing the competition to a premature end for her rival in the process.
Gilmore managed to claim victory over her compatriot Laura Enever in the second heat to successfully earn her place in the Quarter-finals while removing her rival from the contention for the event title.
With the best female surfers from around the globe competing for top honours at the second stop of the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Women’s World Title Series, the crowd expected to be treated to a heavy dose of thrilling action. The previous
rounds had delivered exactly that and with the competition field trimmed even further over the course of the first three rounds, the battles were expected to become even more intense.
A stumble in their respective Round 3 heats had added both Mason and Hareb to the fourth round to battle it out for survival. Both the surfers were determined to extend their life in the event by putting on a solid performance in their Round 4 heat.
As the first heat got underway, Mason went through a series of average scores before locking her first business-wave to earn a 7.67 off it. As the battle progressed, she managed to find another juicy wave and unloaded a series of exquisite tricks to collect
an 8.17 for the effort. The resultant heat-total of 15.84 points turned out to be a decisive one, sealing the fate of the first heat in her favour to carry her through into the Quarter-final.
Hareb was nothing short of impressive during the battle either, but eventually had to concede victory to her rival after finishing with a heat-total of 13.94 points, which comprised of a 6.17 and 7.77-point wave.
The second heat pitted the former four-time ASP Women’s World Champion Gilmore against Enever. The two had faced-off during Roxy Pro Gold Coast’s Final, where Gilmore had managed to prevail over her compatriot to walk away with the event title.
As their clash kicked-off, the 24-year-old Gilmore opened her account with a 7.17-point wave and soon backed it up with a perfect 10-point wave, leaving everyone at the beach stunned. Finishing with a heat-total of 17.17 points, she walked away with a comprehensive
victory.
Enever failed to make much of an impact during the heat, collecting a couple of scores in the four-point range to finish with a heat-total of 8.90-point wave. As a result, she found herself out of the contention for the event title.
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