04.30.01
transworld.com

A fog bank blanketing the coast by mid-morning failed to put a damper on the second day of competition during the Quiksilver Pro. A healthy south swell continued to elevate the performance level and keep contestants stoked on Day 2.

In the early going, fortunes were mixed for two local pro surfing veterans and crowd favorites. San Clemente's Jim Hogan was a casualty of a long lull and the lack of a strong third-wave score, while Jeff Booth of Laguna Beach was able to pull off a good third wave near the end of his heat to advance to the next round.

By 11 a.m., a thick fog bank rolled to shore, adding some texture to the 3-5 foot swell that was still strong, though not as clean as the classic conditions of Day 1. At one point, the judges moved from the scaffold platform to a booth set up at water's edge to improve their view of the action. Despite the fog, those exiting the water were still highly pleased with the wave conditions at "Lowers," one of Southern California's premier point breaks.

Among those advancing easily out of the Round of 160 were: San Clemente super grom Travis Mellum, San Diego's Ian Rotgans and Kyle Knox, Todd Morcom of Hawai'i, Benji Severson and Tim Frisk. California's Ricky Schaffer registered the high heat score of the day with a 22.40.

Trestles local Justin Mattison of San Clemente had no problem with the foggy conditions, and advanced easily. His heat was delayed mid-way through, due to a lack of visibility.

"It was nice having a free session out there. That was the best part. We had, what, 20 minutes out there to ourselves? It was ideal. Lowers is such a perfect wave, it just pops up and there it is." Mattison said, also saying he wasn't concerned about burning up his energy during the holding period, "I thought about it for a second, then some waves came in and I couldn't resist."

Strider Wasilewski was not so blessed. After advancing from the first heat of the morning in the clear conditions, he was denied in his second fog-shrouded heat. "It was a little harder to read the waves, " said Wasilewski. "Near the end of the heat, I needed a good score, and I can't see far enough out to see if there's a wave coming, so I'm groveling for what I can see, and that doesn't help. If I would have known there was a set coming, which you could see from a long ways out when it's clear, I could have waited, got the wave and won the heat. I needed one more wave. But it's a contest, it's pretty much based on luck. It's still fun, it's always good surfing no matter what."

For Hawaiian Wiki Villa, surfing in the fog was a new experience, but he still came away winning his heat. Villa, 17, has seen good success on the WQS Tour so far, reaching the quarterfinals of the Cold Water Classic in Santa Cruz earlier this year.

"First time I've ever surfed in the fog," admitted Villa. "I missed two sets because of it. I thought they would go deep but they went wide (south of the typical takeoff point). But there were some great waves, though, that's all that matters."

Sixteen-year-old Travis Mellem lives "a 15 minute bike ride away" from Lowers, so it was no surprise he advanced out of his two heats.

"Surfing with the older guys definitely makes you try harder and prove yourself," said the hot amateur, who's just as excited over getting his driver's license in two weeks. "It's more or less fun for me, while the pros have more at stake."

Robbie Schofield, one of three South Africans competing in the Quiksilver Pro, also advanced out of the third round.

"I really enjoy America, the people are really hospitable. And Trestles is one of the best waves I've surfed. It matches up easily with Jeffrey's Bay (the legendary South African right point), no barrel section but way more rippable."

Foggy conditions postponed the last five heats of Day 2. Day 3 will commence at 8 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time. Seeded surfers scheduled to compete include former world champion Tom Curren, ASP Top 44 surfer Taylor Knox, and big wave legends-in-the-making Peter Mel and Mike Parsons.

 

Mens Round 2 (Round of 160) (3^rd=65^th, 229 pts - 4^th =81^st)

 

Heat 9

1^st Rotgans, Ian USA 16.65

2^nd Wasilawski, Strider HAW 16.60

3^rd Bacha, Brandt USA 14.35

4^th Nakamura, Greg USA 14.30

Heat 10

1^st Mellem, Travis USA 17.50

2^nd Heite, Jeremy USA 13.00

3^rd Falk, Chris USA 10.00

4^th Diamond, Eric USA 7.25

Heat 11

1^st Bryce, Cohn USA 20.25

2^nd Wonders, Aaron USA 16.75

3^rd Shelton, Bryan USA 15.75

4^th Baughman, Dave USA 14.45

Heat 12

1^st Morcom, Todd HAW 14.50

2^nd Clen, Mike USA 14.10

3^rd Hogan, Jim USA 11.70

4^th Barga, Paul USA 9.75

Heat 13

1^st Severson, Benji USA 21.00

2^nd Kaenan, Zach USA 19.75

3^rd Jaffery, Rodger USA 13.60

4^th Mullins, Julian USA 7.75

Heat 14

1^st Frisk, Tim USA 16.00

2^nd Delmorro, Chris USA 15.40

3^rd Baugh, Sam USA 14.95

4^th Stauffer, Joe USA 12.00

Heat 15

1^st Knox, Kyle USA 15.90

2^nd Kennedy, Dan USA 15.35

3^rd Wells, Chad USA 13.35

4^th Heart, Bryce USA 10.40

Heat 16

1^st Booth, Jeff USA 17.10

2^nd Simmons, Wyatt USA 15.90

3^rd Yeomans, Nathan USA 15.25

4^th Tiliakos, Seth USA 10.40

 

 

Mens Round 3 (Round of 128)(3^rd_65^th, 229pts. 4^th=81^st)

Heat 1

1^st Walsh, Frank HAW 19.85

2^nd Hoisington, Mike USA 17.85

3^rd Pribram, James USA 14.25

4^th Denning, Josh USA 12.10

Heat 2

1^st Long, Greg USA 19.00

2^nd Navarro, Ted USA 16.00

3^rd Diaz, David USA 15.50

4^th Bonds, Randy USA 10.00

Heat 3

1^st Matteson, Justin USA 20.50

2^nd Murphy, Kuille USA 13.25

3^rd Plopper, Zach USA 12.40

4^th Baron, Shaun USA 12.10

Heat 4

1^st Maus, Pat USA 20.75

2^nd Tipton, Branden USA 18.75

3^RD Ryan, Jeremy USA 18.00

4^th Mirandon, Eli USA 15.35

Heat 5

1^st Hobson, Andy USA 19.60

2^nd Whittaker, Llewellyn SAF 17.90

3^rd Crush, James USA 12.90

4^th Helm, Ryan USA 12.65

Heat 6

1^st Giddings, David USA 20.25

2^nd Taylor, CC USA 19.40

3^rd Gahan, Andrew USA 18.40

4^th Kline, Todd USA 17.60

Heat 7

1^st Schaeffer, Ricky USA 22.40

2^nd Cerny, Walt USA 16.35

3^RD Johnson, Dane USA 16.05

4^th Dias, Braden USA 14.65

Heat 8

1^st Mc Carthy Kyle USA 18.35

2^nd Soderquist, Eric USA 14.80

3^rd Fox, Tyler USA 14.35

4^th Dougherty, Brad USA 14.80

Heat 9

1^st Villa, Wiki HAW 18.35

2^nd Rotgans, Ian USA 15.90

3^rd Wasilawski, Strider HAW 12.90

4^th Tant, Will USA 11.75

Heat 10

1^st Mellem, Travis USA 16.60

2^nd Schofield, Robbie USA 14.85

3^rd Heit, Jeremy USA 14.00

4^th Smith, Tyler USA 12.65

Heat 11

1^st Cormican, Aaron USA 21.75

2^nd Elmer, Seth USA 19.00

3^rd Wonders, Aaron USA 13.25

4^th Bryce, Cohn USA 12.15

 

Heat #12 postponed (fog) until 4/26/01 @ 8:00am

Semifinals and Finals of Men?s WQS Main and Airshow Saturday April 28, 2001

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