Tanner Gudauskas and John John Florence qualify for Nike Lowers Pro Quarter-finals
America’s Tanner Gudauskas and Hawaii’s John John Florence advanced into the Quarter-finals at the Nike Lowers Pro, an Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) PRIME event, after putting on a spectacular show during their respective Round 7 (Round of 16)
heats that went down at the fabled beach-break of Lower Trestles in San Clemente, California, on Friday, May 4.
The success of the American and Hawaiian surfer led to the elimination of America’s CJ Hobgood and Cory Lopez, who succumbed to their respective rivals in the third and fourth heat.
The glassy two-to-four foot waves breaking at the primary event site on day 3 of the competition continued to serve a heavy dose of thrilling action to the fans, with the top surfers from around the globe putting on a series of exquisite performances, much
to the delight of the crowd.
The 23-year-old Gudauskas put on the day’s most enthralling performance to down his compatriot Hobgood in the third heat.
The San Clemente-based surfer got down to business right from the start of the heat, earning a 9.10 off his first business-wave and immediately backed it up with a 9.63-point ride to finish with a heat-total of 18.73 points.
Hobgood completely succumbed to his rival, collecting a couple of scores in the third-point range for a two-wave total of 6.90 points.
The fourth heat saw the in-form Florence dominate Lopez despite the latter’s local knowledge of the waves.
The 19-year-old Oahu-based surfer locked his first business-wave early in the heat to post an 8.00 on the score-board. After a lengthy search, he added an additional 8.27 to his account to get to a heat-total of 16.27 points.
Lopez struggled to find his rhythm throughout the course of the battle and eventually finished with a heat-total of 8.26 points, which included a 5.33 and 2.93-point ride.
“The waves were super fun and I was nervous going against Cory [Lopez],” Florence said. “He’s been one of my favourite surfers since I started surfing and surfing against him is pretty scary. He’s so consistent and he’s got airs down like nothing. He’s been
looking so sharp and I’m just really happy to have made it through that heat.”
The surfing action continued with the Round 7 heats of ASP PRIME Nike Lowers Pro at Lower Trestles on Friday.
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