South Africa’s Rosanne Hodge matched her career best result on the ASP Women’s World Tour by clinching third place in the Rip Curl Women’s Pro Search event in Portugal yesterday.
Despite finishing third behind rookies Coco Ho (HAW) and Paige Hareb (NZL) in bumpy one metre waves at Belgas in Round 1 on Wednesday, the 22 year-old East Londoner revelled in the cleaner conditions at the same venue yesterday. Hodge started the final day of Stop No. 4 of 7 on the 2009 ASP Women’s World Tour by winning her Round 2 encounter over Megan Abubo (HAW) and Rebecca Woods (AUS).
She then gained some revenge by ousting Hareb in Round 3 and followed that by squeaking past current ASP No. 5 Melanie Bartels (HAW) in the quarters before bowing out to former World champ and eventual event runner-up Chelsea Hedges (AUS) in the semis.
“I’m really very happy with my performance in Portugal,” Hodge said. “It’s been a very important competition for me with the WQS having already finished. I need some good results in the last four events and this event has given me a good start.”
The event was won by Ho, 18, who recorded her maiden World Tour victory by comboing Hedges in the final to move from No. 5 to No. 3 on the ratings and into contention to clinch what would be an historic World Title in her home surf in December.
Hodge, in her third year as a full time campaigner at the highest level of women’s surfing, matched her previous best result achieved at the yearend event at Honolua Bay in Hawaii in 2007. This result moves her up one place in the rankings to No. 11 and a scant 7 points behind Jacqueline Silva (BRA) with three events to go before the top 10 ranked surfers automatically qualify for the World Tour the following year.
Hodge’s run in the event must have been watched with mixed feelings by close friend and fellow East Londoner Nikita Robb. Robb, 20, finished No. 9 on the 2009 ASP Women’s World Qualifying Series (WQS) and will qualify for her maiden season on the World Tour provided Ho, Hareb and Wood retain their places in the top 10 in the 2009 rankings.
RIP CURL WOMEN’S PRO SEARCH FINAL RESULTS:
1 – Coco Ho (HAW) 15.83
2 – Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 9.37
RIP CURL WOMEN’S PRO SEARCH SEMIFINALS RESULTS:
SF 1: Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 11.17 def. Rosanne Hodge (ZAF) 5.10
SF 2: Coco Ho (HAW) 14.84 def. Silvana Lima (BRA) 8.66
RIP CURL WOMEN’S PRO SEARCH QUARTERFINALS RESULTS:
QF 1: Rosanne Hodge (ZAF) 8.30 def. Melanie Bartels (HAW) 7.13
QF 2: Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 12.16 def. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 11.73
QF 3: Silvana Lima (BRA) 11.67 def. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 9.34
QF 4: Coco Ho (HAW) 15.06 def. Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 9.16
RIP CURL WOMEN’S PRO SEARCH ROUND 3 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Melanie Bartels (HAW) 13.50 def. Bruna Schmitz (BRA) 7.90
Heat 2: Rosanne Hodge (ZAF) 9.74 def. Paige Hareb (NZL) 7.67
Heat 3: Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 17.70 def. Samantha Cornish (AUS) 12.40
Heat 4: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 14.83 def. Megan Abubo (HAW) 9.00
Heat 5: Silvana Lima (BRA) 13.40 def. Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS) 13.13
Heat 6: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 17.67 def. Jacqueline Silva (BRA) 13.07
Heat 7: Coco Ho (HAW) 12.40 def. Amee Donohoe (AUS) 11.23
Heat 8: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 13.00 def. Alana Blanchard (HAW) 10.30
RIP CURL WOMEN’S PRO SEARCH ROUND 2 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 17.00, Alana Blanchard (HAW) 10.17, Pauline Ado (FRA) 8.23
Heat 2: Rosanne Hodge (ZAF) 10.66, Megan Abubo (HAW) 9.33, Rebecca Woods (AUS) 5.57
CURRENT ASP WOMEN’S WORLD TOUR TOP 5 (After RC Pro Women’s Search):
1 – Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 3793 points
2 – Silvana Lima (BRA) 3636 points
3 – Coco Ho (HAW) 2923 points
4 – Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 2691 points
5 – Melanie Bartels (HAW) 2535 points
11- Rosanne Hodge (East London) 1872 points
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Jordy Smith takes 5th in Portugal; jumps to No. 10 on World Tour
Jordy Smith posted the second best result of his 2009 ASP World Tour campaign when he reached the quarterfinals to place fifth overall in the Rip Curl Pro Search, the penultimate event of the year, in gaping two to three metre barrelling waves at Supertubos in Perniche, Portugal, on Tuesday.
Smith, 21, in his second year on the ASP Dream Tour, had a semifinal spot wrenched from his grasp when current world No. 4 and eventual event runner-up Bede Durbidge, needing a near perfect 9.67 point ride with two minutes remaining, successfully negotiated his way through a 30 metre curtain of water to be awarded a perfect 10 points by the judges.
Nevertheless, Smith’s haul of US $9 000 (approx. R66 000) and 732 precious ratings points sees the Durbanite handily placed in No. 10 on the rankings going into the last event in Hawaii in December, where he will be competing at Pipeline for the first time.
East London’s Greg Emslie advanced past Aritz Aranburu (EUK) to Round 2 where he was ousted by current ASP No. 9 Damien Hobgood (USA) in a low scoring match-up. His 17th place finish in Portugal sees Emslie sitting right on the re-qualification ‘bubble’ for the 2010 ASP World Tour going into Hawaii. The 31 year-old needs to repeat his 17th place at Pipeline to have a chance of forcing his way into the top 27 who re-qualify.
David Weare (Durban) was ousted in Round 1 to post his fifth 33rd place finish of the year and needs to finish first or second at Pipe to climb from his current rating of No. 41 into a re-qualifying position.
CURRENT ASP WORLD TOUR TOP 10 (Following Rip Curl Pro Search):
1 – Mick Fanning (AUS) 7140 points
2 – Joel Parkinson (AUS) 6772 points
3 – Adriano de Souza (BRA) 6148 points
4 – Bede Durbidge (AUS) 6146 points
5 – C.J. Hobgood (USA) 5748 points
6 – Taj Burrow (AUS) 5524 points
7 – Kelly Slater (USA) 5514 points
8 – Bobby Martinez (USA) 5421 points
9 – Damien Hobgood (USA) 5116 points
10 – Jordy Smith (ZAF) 4828 points
South Africans
31 – Greg Emslie (ZAF) 3095 points
41 – David Weare (ZAF) 2540 points
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First round exits for Saffas as Ingelby clinches ASP World Longboard crown
Matthew Moir, (Tokai), Justin Bing (Noordhoek) and Dylan McLeod (Port Elizabeth), the trio of South Africans who competed in the second leg of the 2009 Oxbow World Longboard Tour at Pasta Point in the Maldives, were all eliminated in Round 1 of the 32-man event.
Two-time ISA World champion Moir was ousted by wildcard Remi Arauzo (FRA); Bing, the 2009 SA Open champ was no match for newly crowned ASP World Longboard champion Harley Ingelby (AUS) and 2008 SA champ McLeod tasted defeat at the hands of former multiple ASP World Longboard champ Colin McPhillips (USA).
The event enjoyed excellent 1 – 1.5 metre waves throughout, starting on Monday and culminating yesterday with Kai Sallas (HAW) taking victory over Ingleby in the final. The World Title was decided over two legs with Ingelby winning the first event in Japan earlier this year.
OXBOW WORLD LONGBOARD TOUR MALDIVES RESULTS
FINAL
1 – Kai Sallas (HAW) 15.65
2 – Harley Ingelby (AUS) 14.00
OXBOW ASP WORLD LONGBOARD TOUR MALDIVES SEMIFINALS
SF 1: Kai Sallas (HAW) 14.50 D Ned Snow (HAW) 13.45
SF 2: Harley Ingelby (AUS) 14.80 D Antoine Delpero (FRA) 14.35
ASP Final World Longboard 2009 Ratings
1 – Harley Ingelby (AUS)
2 – Kai Sallas (HAW)
3 – Antoine Delpero (FRA)
4 – Phil Rajzman (BRA)
5 – Bonga Perkins (HAW)
South Africans
15 – Matthew Moir (Tokai)
25 – Dylan McLeod (Port Elizabeth)
35 – Justin Bing (Noordhoek) – one event only.
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Brandon Jackson last Saffa left in O‘Neill Coldwater Classic Canada
Brandon Jackson is the last South African in the 19 surfers still in contention for the 6-Star rated Oakley Cold Water Classic Canada currently being staged at Tofino on Vancouver Island.
Jackson, 22, from Durban North, came into the event No. 20 on the WQS and needing to finish higher than 25th to improve his ranking and have the chance to qualify for the 2010 ASP World Tour amongst the Top 15 in the yearend WQS standings. He is already guaranteed of a minimum of 17th place and will be fully focused on advancing further when he takes on Charley Martin (GLP) and Killian Garland (USA) with the top two in the heat progressing.
Rudy Palmboom (Bluff), 16 year-old Beyrick de Vries (Umhlanga) and current WQS No. 10 Travis Logie (Durban) all reached the last 48 in the event which is billed as the ‘coldest surfing contest in the world’. Canada is Stop No. 4 of five on the O’Neill Cold Water Classic series that has seen events in Tasmania, Scotland and Cape Town and concludes in Santa Cruz, California next month.
Capetonians Sean Holmes, Dave Richards and Damien Fahrenfort were all eliminated in the Round of 96.
See www.oneill.com/cwc/canada for more information and live scoring
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For more information on the ASP Africa members, including profiles and rankings, visit www.aspafrica.com
Ends
Issued on behalf of:
ASP Africa
Contact: Colin Fitch – Operations Manager
Tel: 021 534 5738
Email: aspafrica@mweb.co.za
Compiled & Distributed by:
Life’s a Beach Communications
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About ASP:
The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the governing body of professional surfing. Crowning surfing’s undisputed world champions since 1976, the ASP sanctions the following tours: the ASP World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, the World Qualifying Series (WQS) and the World Longboarding, Junior and Masters Championships. The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world’s best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America.
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