BELLS BEACH, Victoria/Australia (Tuesday, March 30, 2010) – South Africans Rosanne Hodge and Nikita Robb advanced to Round 3 of the Rip Curl Women’s Pro presented by Ford Fiesta in punchy two-to-three foot (1 metre) waves breaking through the “Rincon” section of the point at Bells Beach in Australia.

The second stop on the 2010 ASP Women’s World Tour, the Rip Curl Women’s Pro Bells Beach plays a vital role in surfers setting their respective seasons up as they track down requalification points and the all-important ASP Women’s World Title.

Hodge and Robb, both from East London, took the long route to stay in contention, having to qualify via cutthroat Round 2 heats after placing third in their opening encounters.

Despite posting the highest single wave score, 6.50 out of 10, in her Round 1clash, Hodge was relegated to Round 2 when, needing 5.07, she could only manage a backup wave of 4.70. However, Hodge cruised to victory in her Round 2 heat and now faces the on-form Chelsea Hedges (AUS), 26, former ASP Women’s World Champion (2005), who lit up the lumpy afternoon right-handers with precision and speed on her backhand, collecting the day’s high heat total of a 17.20 out of a possible 20.

Robb, in her rookie year, will be elated to avoid the dreaded 17th place for the second event in a row. But the 21 year-old will be wondering how to approach her next heat against defending event champion Silvana Lima (BRA), 25, after recorded her fourth successive heat total of less than 10 points in Round 2.

SA’s Jordy Smith, the current ASP No. 2 after his runner-up finish in the opening event on the 2010 ASP World Tour on the Gold Coast, is seeded No. 11 for the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach presented by Snickers. Smith meets 2009 ASP WQS champion Patrick Gudauskas (USA) and Australian Jay Thompson in Round 1.

Travis Logie will be determined to kickstart his challenge to make the cut when the Top 45 are reduced to the Top 32 following the fifth event of 2010 with a good result at Bells. The Durbanite, who requalified for the ASP World Tour after a one year absence during 2009, placed equal 33rd on the Gold Coast and faces a tough opening encounter against 2001 World Champion CJ Hobgood (USA) and Tiago Pires (PRT) when the men’s event commences.

Event organizers will reconvene tomorrow morning at 7:30am (Australian time) for a possible 8am start.

All the action from both the men’s and women’s events can be followed LIVE at via www.live.ripcurl.com

For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com

RIP CURL WOMEN’S PRO BELLS BEACH ROUND 1 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 7.67, Carissa Moore (HAW) 6.17, Rebecca Woods (AUS) 5.44
Heat 2: Coco Ho (HAW) 11.00, Paige Hareb (NZL) 7.67, Lee Ann Curren (FRA) 7.20
Heat 3: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 12.77, Tyler Wright (AUS) 10.00, Bruna Schmitz (BRA) 9.20
Heat 4: Silvana Lima (BRA) 16.50, Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS) 10.67, Nikita Robb (ZAF) 9.17
Heat 5: Claire Bevilacqua (AUS) 12.20, Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 11.56, Rosanne Hodge (ZAF) 11.20
Heat 6: Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 17.20, Melanie Bartels (HAW) 12.27, Amee Donohoe (AUS) 7.80

RIP CURL WOMEN’S PRO BELLS BEACH ROUND 2 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Rebecca Woods (AUS) 10.17, Nikita Robb (ZAF) 8.37, Amee Donohoe (AUS) 7.20
Heat 2: Rosanne Hodge (ZAF) 12.60, Lee Ann Curren (FRA) 11.34, Bruna Schmitz (BRA) 10.16

RIP CURL WOMEN’S PRO BELLS BEACH ROUND 3 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Coco Ho (HAW) vs. Lee Ann Curren (FRA)
Heat 2: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) vs. Carissa Moore (HAW)
Heat 3: Rebecca Woods (AUS) vs. Paige Hareb (NZL)
Heat 4: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) vs. Tyler Wright (AUS)
Heat 5: Silvana Lima (BRA) vs. Nikita Robb (ZAF)
Heat 6: Chelsea Hedges (AUS) vs. Rosanne Hodge (ZAF)
Heat 7: Melanie Bartels (HAW) vs. Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS)
Heat 8: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) vs. Claire Bevilacqua (AUS)

RIP CURL PRO BELLS BEACH ROUND 1 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Dane Reynolds (USA), Andy Irons (HAW), Nate Yeomans (USA)
Heat 2: Damien Hobgood (USA), Luke Stedman (AUS), Matt Wilkinson (AUS)
Heat 3: Bobby Martinez (USA), Jeremy Flores (FRA), Tanner Gudauskas (USA)
Heat 4: C.J. Hobgood (USA), Tiago Pires (PRT), Travis Logie (ZAF)
Heat 5: Kelly Slater (USA), Mick Campbell (AUS), Marco Polo (BRA)
Heat 6: Adriano de Souza (BRA), Kekoa Bacalso (HAW), Blake Thornton (AUS)
Heat 7: Taj Burrow (AUS), Daniel Ross (AUS), Neco Padaratz (BRA)
Heat 8: Mick Fanning (AUS), Kai Otton (AUS), Stuart Kennedy (AUS)
Heat 9: Joel Parkinson (AUS), Chris Davidson (AUS), Gabriel Medina (BRA)
Heat 10: Bede Durbidge (AUS), Adrian Buchan (AUS), Adam Robertson (AUS)
Heat 11: Jordy Smith (ZAF), Patrick Gudauskas (USA), Jay Thompson (AUS)
Heat 12: Taylor Knox (USA), Michel Bourez (PYF), Adam Melling (AUS)
Heat 13: Tom Whitaker (AUS), Jadson Andre (BRA), Brett Simpson (AUS)
Heat 14: Kieren Perrow (AUS), Ben Dunn (AUS), Dusty Payne (HAW)
Heat 15: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW), Owen Wright (AUS), Drew Courtney (AUS)
Heat 16: Dean Morrison (AUS), Luke Munro (AUS), Roy Powers (HAW)

Ends

Issued on behalf of:

ASP Africa
Contact: Colin Fitch – Operations Manager
Tel: 021 534 5738
Email: colin@aspafrica.com

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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.