Semi-finals concludes: 2011 ASP 5-Star Oakley Pro Junior
The surfing action continued at the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 5-Star Oakley Pro Junior on Saturday, May 7, with the semi-finals taking place at the Lower Trestles in California. After a relatively low-scoring final, four young guns progressed
to the last stage of the event to participate in the final four-way battle for a big slice of US$25,000 and ASP ranking points. The surfers managing to secure a spot in the final included the Americans, Kolohe Andino and Nat Young, along with the surfer from
Hawaii, Keanu Asing and Australian Jack Freestone.
The semi-final battle that took place on Friday featured the seven best up-and-coming surfers from around the world. There was absolutely no doubt about the talent that these boys possessed and anyone who had seen them in action before knew that an epic
battle is surely to take place between them. Nobody will get himself evicted from the title pursuit without putting up a determined fight.
Lower Trestles was the ideal site for such a showdown as it is renowned for offering some of the most amazing waves in the world. The stage was all set for the semi-final of the seventh of the nine-stop ASP North America Pro Junior Series to get underway.
The second-last stage of the Oakley Pro Junior kicked off with the first heat featuring an exciting triple-threat battle, pitting the rising star from California, Andino, against his best friend and the defending event-champion, Freestone. The two friends-c*m-rivals
were joined by Hawaii’s Dylan Goodale in the battle as well.
While the three surfers possessed all the potential to make the jaws drop, they remained pretty conservative during the heat. The conditions were not as bad as the trio made them look either. In the end, it was Andino’s 12.00 that saw him off as the top
scorer of the heat. His rivals, Freestone and Goodale, remained pretty unimpressive in the semi-final, earning 9.73 and 9.37. However, Freestone still saw himself progressing to the last stage of the event, though in not the most convincing manner.
The 17-year-old California-based surfer, Young, faced Asing, along with America’s Conner Coffin and Andrew Doheny. Unlike the previous heat, this heat was a four-way battle, with the spot in the final reserved for the two surfers scoring the highest in the
heat.
Young grabbed the lead with an amazing early wave and later moved his final score to 14.77 with impressive manoeuvres on the second wave. Asing put up a good fight but ended up behind the leader with 11.47 points. Coffin and Doheny struggled throughout the
semi-finals and ended up with 10.73 and 9.14, respectively.
With the semi-finals wrapped up, the field for the finals of the 2011 Oakley Pro Junior is complete. The battle is expected to be an epic, though Young seems to be in a slightly better form than his rivals. He posted the highest score during the semi-finals.
However, the other three finalists did not look too shabby either and will definitely be giving an amazing performance during the final to get their hands on victory.
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