Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Sees Big Battles and Unexpected ExitsTuesday, 7 April 2015
BELLS BEACH, Victoria/Australia (Monday April 6, 2015) – Action continued today at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, the second stop on the Samsung Galaxy World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT), and saw clean, lined-up conditions for the world’s best surfers. A day of big battles unfolded as surfers fought for a place in the Quarterfinals.The day kicked off with the final two heats of Women’s Round 3. First up goofyfooters Bianca Buitendag (ZAF) and Tatiana Weston Webb (HAW) took on three-time Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach champion, Stephanie Gilmore (AUS). Needing only two waves to post an excellent heat total of 18.37 (out of a possible 20), the reigning six-time WSL Champion put her competitors in a combination situation and moves through to the Quarterfinals. Buitendag and Weston-Webb will have another chance to continue on in the competition when they surf again in Round 4.“I watched the surf before my heat and there were so many good waves coming through so I was just excited to get out there,” Gilmore said. “I ended up being on the right side of priority for the sets, which helped and I found two good waves which is all you really need”.Women’s Round 3 concluded with a nail-biter between Coco Ho (HAW), Courtney Conlogue (USA) and 2014 Bells runner-up Tyler Wright (AUS). With the lead changing a number of times between all three competitors and less than a point between them at the final buzzer it was Ho who was able to hang on to skip Round 4 and move directly into the Quarterfinals.Next up Men’s Round 3 took to the water. In a round where the red jersey’s (higher seeds) dominated overall, there were still a few shock exits with past Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach winner Taj Burrow (AUS) going down to Jadson Andre (BRA). Julian Wilson (AUS) wasn’t able to back up last year’s Semifinal berth and John John Florence (HAW) couldn’t find a score against Jeremy Flores (FRA).With plenty of waves still on offer, Round 4 hit the lineup. The opening heat saw a fiery exchange between Kelly Slater (USA), Adriano de Souza (BRA) and Josh Kerr (AUS). Slater slashed and carved his way to an 8.50 on his opening wave, earning an early advantage as De Souza and Kerr started with 7.83 and 2.33 respectively. De Souza answered back by punching out big turns on a set wave, finishing strong on the inside to net a near-perfect 9.63 and book a Quarterfinal berth. Slater and Kerr will get another opportunity to advance in Round 5 where Slater will face Gabriel Medina (BRA) and Kerr will match-up against Joel Parkinson (AUS).“Kelly and I went wave for wave, and somehow I got the best wave of the exchange,”De Souza said. “I’m so lucky to make it straight to the Quarters and I’m really proud of myself to make it this far.”Joel Parkinson (AUS) faced Owen Wright (AUS) and reigning WSL Champion Gabriel Medina (BRA) in their Round 4 Heat. Wright held the lead at the halfway mark but the two-time Bells winner came back, lighting up the Bells walls to post an 8.77 and steal the lead. A battle unfolded between the two Australians and Wright reclaimed the top spot, leaving Medina in a combination situation. A last-minute attempt by Parkinson didn’t produce the score when an uncharacteristic fall ended his chances of a win. Wright moves through to the Quarterfinals, equalling his best Bells result, while Parkinson and Medina will look to bounce back in Round 5.“I feel really comfortable here at Bells,” said Wright. “Being in the Quarterfinals is definitely the platform for me to achieve here but I really to want to go further this year.”Three-time Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach champion and defending event winner Mick Fanning (AUS) looked dominant in Round 4, opening his heat with an excellent 9.00. South African Jordy Smith (ZAF) was also on fine form, posting an 8.50 to keep him in contention. 2013 Bells finalist Nat Young (USA) posted two mid-range scores but couldn’t compete with the natural footers, who went wave for wave, with Smith coming out on top and moving through to the Quarterfinals.“I made a few mistakes in that heat and if I can clean them up I will be happy,” Smith said. “As the tide dropped it seemed that every set got better. When the tide is low on The Bowl it gets really fun and you can really lay down some big tracks.”The Final heat of the day saw Filipe Toledo (BRA) continue his red hot run of form as he took to the sky and took another win to advance directly into the Quarterfinals and skip Round 5. Jadson Andre (BRA) and Jeremy Flores (FRA) were left in his wake and will have to take to the water again in the next Round.Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Round 3 Results (1st to R4, 2nd = 13th):Heat 1: Kelly Slater (USA) 16.90 def. Keanu Asing (HAW) 14.33Heat 2: Josh Kerr (AUS) 14.93 def. Freddy Patacchia Jr. (HAW) 14.00Heat 3: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 15.67 def. Adam Melling (AUS) 13.44Heat 4: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 14.84 def. Matt Banting (AUS) 13.00Heat 5: Owen Wright (AUS) 16.10 def. Kolohe Andino (USA) 14.76Heat 6: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 10.00 def. Mason Ho (HAW) 8.10Heat 7: Mick Fanning (AUS) 16.84 def. Brett Simpson (AUS) 12.73Heat 8: Nat Young (USA) 14.37 def. Julian Wilson (AUS) 12.73Heat 9: Jordy Smith (AUS) 14.03 def. Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 7.90Heat 10: Jadson Andre (BRA) 13.87 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 7.00Heat 11: Filipe Toledo (BRA) 18.57 def. Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 15.10Heat 12: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 11.00 def. John John Florence (HAW) 10.76Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Round 4 Results (1st to QF, 2nd & 3rd to R5):Heat 1: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 17.46, Kelly Slater (USA) 15.93, Josh Kerr (AUS) 12.43Heat 2: Owen Wright (AUS) 15.97, Joel Parkinson (AUS) 15.70, Gabriel Medina (BRA) 11.96Heat 3: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.97, Mick Fanning (AUS) 15.17, Nat Young (AUS) 13.96Heat 4: Filipe Toledo (BRA) 13.47, Jeremy Flores (FRA) 13.17, Jadson Andre (BRA) 11.90Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Round 5 Match-ups (1st to QF, 2nd = 9th):Heat 1: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Gabriel Medina (BRA)Heat 2: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Josh Kerr (AUS)Heat 3: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Jadson Andre (BRA)Heat 4: Nat Young (USA) vs. Nat Young (USA)Rip Curl Women’s Pro Bells Beach Round 3 Results (1st to QF, 2nd & 3rd to R4):Heat 1: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 16.17, Lakey Peterson (USA) 16.04, Alessa Quizon (HAW) 12.36Heat 2: Carissa Moore (HAW) 18.50, Silvana Lima (BRA) 12.37, Johanne Defay (FRA) 9.40Heat 3: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 18.37, Bianca Buitendag (ZAF) 8.67, Tatiana Weston-Webb (HAW) 5.03Heat 4: Coco Ho (HAW) 13.97, Courtney Conlogue (USA) 13.77, Tyler Wright (AUS) 13.74Rip Curl Women’s Pro Bells Beach Round 4 Match-ups (1st to QF, 2nd = 9th):Heat 1: Lakey Peterson (USA) vs. Silvana Lima (BRA)Heat 2: Johanne Defay (FRA) vs. Alessa Quizon (HAW)Heat 3: Bianca Buitendag (ZAF) vs. Tyler Wright (AUS)Heat 4: Courtney Conlogue (USA) vs. Tatiana Weston-Webb (HAW)For regular updates and happenings, become a fan of our Facebook page here.

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Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Sees Big Battles and Unexpected Exits

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