Stephanie Gilmore continues winning momentum on day 1 of TSB Bank NZ Surf Festival – Surfing News
Australia’s Stephanie Gilmore got off to a flyer at the TSB Bank NZ Surf Festival featuring the Dow AgroSciences Pro, third of seven stops on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Women’s World Tour, after clinching a comprehensive victory
in her Round 1 heat that went down at Fitzroy Beach in Taranaki, New Zealand, on Wednesday, April 11.
Gilmore got the better of New Zealand’s Sarah Mason and her compatriot Gaby Sansom in the third heat to make her way straight into the third round while sending both her rivals into the relegation Round 2 to surf again for their place in Round 3.
With promising two-to-three foot lefts and rights breaking at the primary event site on the opening day of the competition, the day was expected to be full of thrilling surfing action. The ASP Top 17 were expected to put their huge array of skills on exhibition
as they resumed their campaign for the coveted ASP Women’s World Title.
Gilmore, a former four-time ASP Women’s World Champion and current No.1 on the ASP Women’s World Title Series rankings, was being considered as one of the strongest contenders for the event title. Justifying the faith and huge expectations that everyone
had off her, the 24-year-old Australian completely stole the show during the third heat of Round 1 through her spectacular performance.
Locking her first business-wave in the later stages of the battle, the Australian surfer unloaded a string of exquisite tricks to earn a near-perfect 9.50 out of possible 10.00. Keeping the momentum going, she immediately locked an impressive 8.25-point
wave to finish with a heat-total of 17.75 points, which held up until the end to take her through into the third round.
“Sarah [Mason] has beaten me at this event in the past,” Gilmore said. “And last night I was wondering how Gaby [Sansom] surfed, so I looked her up online and she surfs really well! Luckily there was lots of waves in that heat and I stayed busy and kept
my mind off them. It’s pretty tiring having all these events so close together. This morning when I woke up I was praying they would have a lay-day, but the waves were really fun so I’m glad we ran.”
The 17-year-old Mason put on a rather lacklustre performance to eventually finish with a heat-total of 9.35 points, which comprised of a 4.10 and 5.25-point wave.
Sansom, the 17-year-old event wild-card entry, put on a disappointing performance, scoring a mere 1.75 and 2.25 off her best-two waves for a heat-total of 4.00 points. This consequently led her to accompany Mason into the relegation Round 2 to surf again
for the Round 3 spot.
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