The womens' event cruised through rounds 2, 3 and 4 today to decide this year's quarter finalists. Conditions were challenging early, with lulls and strong offshores providing a few lessons in frustration. A couple of potentially heat-deciding waves slipped through desperate fingers as the brisk winds held competitors off.
Conditions improved dramatically later in the morning however as the winds subsided, allowing some of the girls to really unleash on the open Margs faces. Notable mentions were Carissa Moore (HAW), Tyler Wright (AUS), and South Africa's new shredder Bianca Buitendag. On their forehand, Carissa carved and Tyler demolished the rights, while Bianca belted the rights vertically on her backhand, turning heads yet again, as she did at Snapper last month. Former event winner (twice) Courtney Conlogue (USA) was also a standout, reading conditions better than anyone, carving hard and showing fearless commitment over very shallow end sections.
Despite making the quarter finals, 5x World Champ Steph Gilmore appeared to struggle to read today's conditions. When she did hook into a wave though, she looked sharp and powerful, and if she does manage to unlock the Margies Code prior to her QF, she will be a real force to be reckoned with.
Quarter Finals match-ups are as follows:
H1: Steph Gilmore v Courtney Conlogue
H2: Carissa Moore v Malia Manuel
H3: Laura Enever v Tyler Wright
H4: Sally Fitzgibbons v Bianca Buitendag
Next call is tomorrow at 7am (West Oz Time +8hrs GMT) and you can watch all heats live online, plus highlights and heat replays, at aspworldtour.com
Enjoy!
I have to confess, this isn't Margs, but it sure looks like it hey! This is me sampling a bit of Cobra Reef in The Mentawais, the closest-looking photo I had to Margs on my laptop. Enjoy! :D Photo by Joey Melroy
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