Tyler Wright and Stephanie Gilmore advance to Rip Curl Women’s Pro Bells Beach Semi-finals
Australia’s Tyler Wright and her compatriot Stephanie Gilmore walked away with top honours from their respective Quarter-finals of Rip Curl Women’s Pro Bells Beach presented by Ford Fiesta that went down at Bells Beach in Victoria, Australia, on Saturday,
April 7.
The first Quarter-final saw Wright take victory over New Zealand’s Sarah Mason to advance through into the Semi-finals while bringing the competition to a premature end for her rival in the process.
The second Quarter-final saw Hawaii’s Malia Manuel succumb to Gilmore, consequently getting eliminated from the contention for the event title while sending her rival through into the next stage of the competition.
The surfing conditions prevailing at the primary event site on the final day of the second Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Women’s World Tour event of the year served to set up the stage for a series of exciting battles. With the competition coming
down to the final eight, the fans expected the heats to be nothing short of enthralling.
The first Quarter-final pitted the 2011 ASP Women’s Rookie of the Year Wright against Mason in a battle for the Semi-final spot. Both the surfers had been exhibiting a formidable form during the previous rounds of the event, successfully down a handful of
world’s best female surfers to eventually reach the Quarter-final stage.
Looking to make the most of their excellent run of form, the two surfers went head-to-head in the first Quarter-final.
As the battle got underway, Wright put her local knowledge of the waves to use and caught a relatively juicy wave to post an 7.83 on the score-board She had to work hard for another big score, but her efforts finally got rewarded as she locked her second
business-wave in the dying minutes of the heat to add an additional 8.80 to her account, consequently finishing with a heat-total of 16.83 points.
Mason was nothing short of impressive either, scoring a 7.43 and 8.50 off her best-two waves for a heat-total of 15.93 points. However, the 0.70-point deficit forced her to concede victory and thus the Semi-final slot to her Australian rival.
The second Quarter-final featured a spectacular performance by the former four-time ASP Women’s World Champion Gilmore as she took down the ASP Women’s elite tour rookie Manuel to confirm her place in the Semi-final.
Locking her first business-wave early in the heat, the 24-year-old Australian posted a near-perfect 9.77 on the score-board and backed it up with an 8.03-point wave in the dying minutes of the heat to finish with a heat-total of 17.80 points.
Manuel responded with a heat-total of 14.83 points, which comprised of a 6.83 and 8.00-point wave. AS a result, she had to surrender victory to Gilmore, sending the latter into the next stage of the competition.
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