Cory Lopez gets his groove on at Lower Trestles with Top 3 Finish;

Catapults up WCT Ratings Ladder...

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 21 September 2004: - - Professional Surfer, Cory Lopez (Indian Rocks Beach, Florida, USA) has ended an uncharacteristic competitive slump on the WCT tour with a huge (Top 3) finish at the Boost Mobile Pro of Surfing, Lower Trestles, CA. in clean 4' + waves. In the end, he was stopped only by (an in form) 6x World Champion Kelly Slater. Slater was determined to make good on current ratings leader, Andy Iron's early exit from the event, while trying to close the points gap. Still, Cory's 3rd place Semi-Final Finish (his best WCT placing to date on the '04 Tour) has enabled the nimble goofy footer from Florida's West Coast to jump from 32nd to 21st in the highly competitive and elite ASP World Championship Ratings. Cory finished up the 2003 season with a top ten finish in 9th place. He was ranked as high as 3rd place in 2001 after leading the world rankings for a good part of that year, following his WCT win in Tahiti; his best finish to date on the ASP World Championship Tour (WCT).

The Boost Mobile Pro marks the 2nd major professional surfing tournament held this summer in California, where Cory has placed 3rd - the first being the 6 Star WQS U.S. Open of Surfing in late July (while in defense of his 2003 title of the same); followed now by a 3rd place semi-final finish at Trestles - California's premiere and only WCT event. The '04 summer was also punctuated by Cory's aerial charge in ESPN's X Games X - helping the East Coast Team retain their Gold Medal status by defeating a fired-up West Coast Team bent on revenge from their defeat in 2003 - a consecutive Gold Medal Victory for the East. The 10th annual X Games X was just the second year that surfing had been featured in the extreme sports extravaganza and the first year that professional surfing was televised to a live international audience. A special waiver was granted by the ASP, enabling the top WCT pros to compete for the second year running.

The Boost Mobile Pro, the 7th major event on the 2004 ASP WCT Tour is viewed by many observers to be a turning point for aspiring pros (and tour vets) to get their groove on in an all out attempt to re-qualify for next year's Championship Tour and avoid being consigned to the grueling World Qualifying (WQS) Series for 2005 - pro surfing's equivalent of the minor leagues.

“It was a good event for me,” acknowledged Lopez. “I really needed a result badly, and pretty stoked to have gotten a third. Obviously it would have been nice to make the final, but Kelly got off to a good start with a 9.27 and I buckled my board first wave. It didn’t really affect the heat outcome, as I didn’t catch the right waves and he did. I’m psyched for Europe now, and maybe I’ll get a couple of results there to solidify the year so I’m not stressing out in Hawaii.” Competitive rivals since their early days on the WCT, it is just a matter of time until the two Floridians will meet again and with the way Cory has been surfing of late, the results could be very different next time around.

Cory boasted the 4th highest scoring wave of the entire event with his heat winning aerial reverse 360 for a (near perfect) 9.67 score in the 3rd round. Ironically, it was Kelly Slater who was singing Cory's praises over a live world wide internet commentary during that heat - unbeknownst to both surfers that they would later meet in the semis. In the end it was Slater who tore a page from Cory's book to progress into the final - for a runner-up finish to Aussie Joel Parkinson. It is an interesting side note for the stat books, but if Slater's score in the final had been the same in his semi final heat with Lopez, Cory would have advanced to the final for a different over-all result. Rest assured, Cory will have another opportunity to try and settle the score - stay tuned as the WCT heads to Europe for the next tour leg.

Cory's 2004 Contest/Event Highlights:
4th place 'Kelly Slater Invitational' (Tavarua Fiji)
9th place 'Quiksilver Pro' - Fiji (WCT)*
7th place 'O'Neill Deep Blue Open' - Maldives (6 Star WQS)
3rd place 'Honda U.S. Open' - H.B. CA (6 Star WQS) *2003 Defending event Champion
9th place 'Quiksilver Pro' - Japan (WCT)*
3rd place 'Boost Mobile Pro' - Trestles, CA (WCT)*
1st Place 2004 'X Games X' Gold Medal (Consecutive Team Victory)

Cory's sponsorship endorsements include, O'Neill Wetsuits & Clothing, Anarchy Eyewear, DVS Shoes, Freestyle Watch, Mayhem Surfboards and the new Ron Jon Surfpark. For more information on Cory Lopez, log-on to www.lopezbrothers.com

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Lopez Management Team
www.lopezbrothers.com

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