Torrey Miester and Vincent Duvignac clinch victory in Round 1 of the 2011 Reef Hawaiian Pro
The first stop of Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, the Reef Hawaiian Pro, continued to deliver intense surfing action at the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii, on Monday, November 21, with the Round of 128 (Round 1). The 11th heat of the opening round saw Hawaii’s Torrey Meister square off with his compatriots TJ Barron, Liam McNamara and Gavin, while France’s Vincent Duvignac took on America’s Tim Reyes and the two Hawaiian surfers, Tanner Hendrickson and Olamana Eleogram, in the 12th heat.
Meister managed to clinch top honours in the 11th heat to advance through in the Round of 96 (Round 2), while Barron successfully extended his life in the competition by securing the runner-up place. McNamara and Gillette rounded out the third and fourth positions respectively, consequently getting removed from the contention for the event title.
The 12th heat saw Duvignac emerge triumphant after putting up an impressive performance to confirm his place in the next round. Hendrickson put up a determined fight, but eventually had to settle for second place, which was sufficient to get him through into Round 2.
The 21-year-old Meister did not have a glorious time in the head-high waves that were on offer at the primary event site. However, he still managed to select a couple of waves with enough juice to enable him to execute decent tricks. The effort earned him a 5.73 and 5.77-point wave, moving him to a heat-total of 11.50 points. The score carried him off to victory, sending him through into the next round.
Barron did not look too comfortable during the four-man battle either, but still managed to collect a 5.23 and 5.00-point wave to get to a two-wave total of 10.23 points. The effort earned him the runner-up place, consequently keeping him alive in the competition.
McNamara and Gillette finished with a heat-total of 9.34 and 4.23 respectively. The performance by the latter in particular was extremely disappointing. Gillette seemed to have completely succumbed to the challenge offered by the demanding surfing conditions. The lacklustre performances by the two surfers got them ejected from the event.
The 12th heat turned out to be pretty exciting as the 23-year-old Duvignac began to entertain the crowd with a charge early in the battle. Quickly adjusting to the conditions, the Frenchman locked a wave to pull off a string of impressive tricks, posting a 6.00 on the score-board. He later followed it up with a 6.33-point wave, taking his heat-total to a decisive 12.33 points.
Hendrickson had no intention of letting his French rival walk away with an easy win and showed immense determination to offer a solid challenge. The Hawaiian surfer collected a 5.50 and 6.03-point wave to finish with a heat-total of 11.53 points. The score was not sufficient to affect Duvignac’s position, but proved to be adequate to carry Hendrickson into the second round by helping him secure second position.
Reyes finished in third place with a heat-total of 10.20 points, while Eleogram rounded out the bottom position after finishing with a two-wave total of 10.07 points. The bottom-two finish led to the elimination of the two surfers from the competition.
For more updates on Round 1 of the Reef Hawaiian Pro, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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