05.02.01
ASP World Tour

ASP number ten Rochelle Ballard (HAW) surfs to round three.

Tavarua Island, Fiji - World number eight Rochelle Ballard (Haw) today posted the highest total score and convincingly eliminated Prue Jeffries (Aus) from the Roxy Fiji Surf Jam. Also advancing out of the second round was world number six Heather Clark (SAfr), who narrowly edged past Roxy Trials winner Sofia Mulanovich (Peru).

Conditions initially looked promising this morning with perfect 3-4 foot (1.3m) waves, but as the tide increased, the swell acted contrary, forcing organizers to place the event on hold for most of the day. Eventually, after most of the world's best women had 'free-surfed' the un-crowded lineup for hours, contest director Rod Brooks postponed the remaining rounds of competition.

Ballard, 30, enjoyed the best waves of the morning as she racked up her impressive win over Jeffries. The Hawaiian made the most of conditions, collecting an 8.5 out of a possible 10-points for one ride, leaving her opponent little chance of a comeback.

"It was actually kind of fun out there," said Ballard afterward. "Really glassy conditions and the water was so warm. I kind of just got blessed out there. I was fortunate to get the better, open-faced waves in the heat. We actually had a bit of consistency in our heat, so we lucked out, as some of the other ones didn't.

"I think all of us have had expectations of scoring big barrels out here," she reasoned, considering the location of this tournament. "It's still a fun wave, though. If you set aside the fact that it's Cloudbreak and you were to just put that wave out somewhere else, it'd look really fun.

"I think it's great, Rod is making sure we get the best conditions possible. The next round has three women in each heat, and with no priority, there's a lot of hassling and one person ends up getting shafted. It's great that he's really looking after the competitors and he's just been real diplomatic and smart about his decisions. We've been having a great time here."

Clark, 29, surfed a frustrating heat against Mulanovich despite securing the win. Unable to find anything substantial throughout the 30-minutes, she continually caught poor scoring rides and trailed the Peruvian. Mulanovich made a costly error toward the end, however. Paddling for the last set of the day with priority, she opted not to go, leaving the door wide-open for Clark. The South African then proceeded to post her best score of 5.5 and finished the trialists run.

"That was really pathetic, actually," admitted Clark. "Before the heat started, I think Sofia and I had been surfing since about 7 O'clock this morning and there were good sets coming through, and consistently. But then the heat started and it went flat. I was just catching really bad ones. I narrowed the gap a little bit, and then right at the end she had priority and paddled for a wave and then pulled back. I wasn't sure if she lost priority or not, but I was either going to lose, or get an interference, and thankfully (the judges) didn't call it and I scored a 5.5, so I'm stoked.

"She's a really good surfer in small waves," she said of Mulanovich. "So I couldn't just ignore her out there. I had to keep on my toes."

Official Results of the Roxy Fiji Surf Jam

Round Two
H1: Heather Clark (SAfr) 11.9 def. Sofia Mulanovich (Peru) 8.75
H2: Rochelle Ballard (Haw) 20.5 def. Prue Jeffries (Aus) 11.0
H3: Neridah Falconer (Aus) 14.9 def. Kylie Webb (Aus) 13.75
H4: def. Jacqueline Silva (Brz) 16.5 def. Lynnette MacKenzie (Aus) 10.85

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