ASP 2004 Women’s World Championship Tour (WCT)
Tavarua & Namotu Islands, Fiji
17 - 22 April 2005

Live scores/results/photos etc

 

 

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, April 20, 2005  -- (Tavarua & Namotu Islands, Fiji): A nailbiting finish in the dying seconds of the Roxy Pro in Fiji was all Sofia Mulanovich (Peru) needed to reassert her supremacy over women’s surfing today. 

 

In clean five foot (1.5m) waves at Cloudbreak Reef, Mulanovich caught a winning ride with only 10 seconds remaining in the final after Layne Beachley (Aus) appeared to have won the title.

 

“I’m in the clouds, this place never lets me down,” current world champion Mulanovich said after the win, which makes her the first-ever repeat winner of the Roxy Pro in Fiji. “Last year I was on my way to being world champion and then this year I felt all that pressure, so this win is even better than last year’s.”

 

Needing less than a five-point ride at the halfway mark of the 35-minute final, the Peruvian waited patiently while holding priority to catch the wave she needed. 

 

 

 

Sofia Mulanovich : photo ASPWorldtour/Karen

 

 

Paddling into a wave with only seconds to go, she performed a series of quick maneuvers under intense pressure to score seven-plus points for an emphatic victory.  “I always had hope into the last minutes and then God sent me a wave and I took advantage of it and I won - and I’m so happy,” Mulanovich said.

 

A very disappointed Beachley struggled to make sense of it all after the loss.  “I’m not taking it very well because I put so much heart into it,” she said. “I’m really happy for Sof, she surfed well, but I’m very disappointed in myself because once again I made a tactical wave selection error which cost me the whole contest.”

 

With the Roxy Pro being the richest event on the 2005 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Women’s World Championship Tour (WCT), Mulanovich won a first prize check of US$10,600 out of the total US$75,800 purse.

 

Mulanovich has now won back-to-back victories on this year’s tour, after winning at Bells Beach, Australia last month, and she has taken the lead on the 2005 ratings.  Hawaiian Megan Abubo is in second place with Layne Beachley third.

 

 

 
Layne Beachley : photo ASPWorldtour/Karen

 

 

 Mulanovich looked very focused on the final day of the Roxy Pro, defeating Hawaiian Rochelle Ballard in a semi-final, Australian Samantha Cornish in the quarterfinals, and Australian wildcard Stephanie Gilmore in round three.
 
Beachley defeated Megan Abubo (Haw) in the semi-finals, and Hawaiian Keala Kennelly in the quarter-finals.
 
The Roxy Pro was memorable for huge 6-10 foot (2-3m) surf on the first day of competition with outstanding performances from the top women professional surfers, who broke new ground for women’s surfing.

 

Roxy Pro Final (1st=1,200 points and $10,600, 2nd= 972 points and $6,600)
Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 13.75 def Layne Beachley (AUS) 11.25

 

Roxy Pro Semifinals (1st>Final; 2nd=3rd  and $4,600)
SF1: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 15.65 def Rochelle Ballard (HAW) 12.75
SF2: Layne Beachley (AUS) 14.75 def Megan Abubo (HAW) 11.90

 

Roxy Pro Quarterfinals (1st>Semifinals; 2nd=5 th and $3,600)
QF1: Rochelle Ballard (HAW) 13.75 def Chelsea Georgeson (AUS) 10.50
QF2: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 9.00 def Samantha Cornish (AUS) 3.50
QF3: Megan Abubo (HAW) 10.15 def Jacqueline Silva (BRA) 9.25
QF4: Layne Beachley (AUS) 12.90 def Keala Kennelly (HAW) 9.00

 

 

Rochelle Ballard : photo ASPWorldtour/Karen

 

 

1 Sofia Mulanovich PER 2760
2 Megan Abubo HAW 2484
3 Layne Beachley AUS 2280
4 Serena Brooke AUS 1692
5 Rochelle Ballard HAW 1668
5 Chelsea Georgeson AUS 1668
7 Jacqueline Silva BRA 1464
7 Samantha Cornish AUS 1464
7 Melanie Redman-Carr AUS 1464
10 Claire Bevilacqua AUS 1296
11 Keala Kennelly HAW 1284
12 Trudy Todd AUS 1272
13 Laurina McGrath AUS 1080
13 Rebecca Woods AUS 1080
15 Heather Clark ZAF 900
15 Melanie Bartels HAW 900
17 Maria Tita Tavares BRA 540
18 Pauline Menczer AUS 180