Tanner Gudauskas off to a stunning start at the ASP PRIME Nike Lowers Pro – Surfing News
American professional surfer Tanner Gudauskas successfully clinched top position in the 11th heat of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) PRIME Nike Lowers Pro’s Round 3 (Round of 96) that continued at the renowned surf-break of Lower
Trestles in San Clemente, California, on Tuesday, May 1.
A win in the third round served to confirm Gudauskas’ spot in the fourth round (Round of 48) of the competition. Reunion Island’s Adrien Toyon also made his way through into the next round after managing to claim runner-up position.
The latest ASP PRIME event promised plenty of adrenaline-pumping action as some of the top local and international talent constituted the competition field. With the prestigious event title, huge prize purse and coveted ASP ranking points on offer, the surfers
had a strong motivation to push themselves during their heats.
The clean two-to-four foot waves arriving at the event site further raised the expectations for a series of exciting battles, promising a huge array of technical tricks by the heavily talented surfers.
Gudauskas found himself facing Toyon, Hawaii’s Joel Centeio and his compatriot Olamana Eleogram in the 11th heat of Round 3. Careful not to underestimate the potential that each of his rival carried, the 23-year-old Californian held nothing back
as he took them on in a four-man battle.
Catching his first business-wave in the opening minutes of the heat, Gudauskas managed to post a 7.50 on the score-board. He went on to lock another juicy wave and this time unleashed his ferocious fore-hand turns, convincing the judges into giving him a
9.27. With a heat-total of 16.77 points, the American surfer walked away with the win.
“I’m stoked because at that point the heat was going so fast, there were a lot of waves and I didn’t have to think about it,” Gudauskas said. “I just like surfing Lowers and that always adds to the psych. It was good to get the ball rolling and I’m just
having fun watching everyone surf.”
Toyon got off to an excellent start, scoring an 8.83 off his first business-wave. Adding another 6.60 points to his account, the Reunion Island-based surfer finished with a heat-total of 15.43 points to finish in runner-up place.
Centeio was forced to settle for a third-place finish after scoring an 8.43 and 6.00 off his best-two waves, while Eleogram finished in fourth place with a two-wave total of 12.34 points. Both the surfers consequently found themselves removed from the contention
for the event title.
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