Joly wins Roxy Pro trials and beats Kennelly in Heat One

Roxy Pro France

Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP)
2003 World Championship Tour (WCT)
Southwest France, (mobile)
30 September - 11 October 2003

Wildcard Joly Wins Trials and Beats Kennelly

October 1, 2003 (Hossegor, France) France´s Emmanuelle Joly today won the Roxy Pro Trials and then her opening heat against current ratings leader Keala Kennelly (Kauai, Haw). Round one of the Roxy Pro France World Championship Tournament (WCT) was completed, before the men´s Quiksilver Pro France commenced.

Good 3ft (1m) waves arrived at Les Bourdaines, with a dropping tide creating some of the best surf of recent days in the region. Stronger winds messed up the lineup this afternoon, but additional swell allowed competition to progress.

Joly, the 32-year-old mother of two from nearby Biarritz, began her campaign today with a great win in the Roxy Pro France Trials, before facing Kennelly and 1993 world champ Pauline Menczer (Aus) in the main event. The current ASP Europe women´s champion then continued her charge, overcoming the lead Kennelly had generated with a long lefthander and a good right-hander. Kennelly still advanced to round three, and should she win the tournament, will claim her maiden world title.

"I feel happy," began a smiling Joly, after her second win of the day. "I knew the Trials would be hard, so I was glad to win that and have a chance to be in this contest because it´s in France and I´m at home. I didn´t expect to win that last heat, since I saw Keala and Pauline catch a lot of waves, but I was lucky at the end."

Samantha Cornish (Crescent Head, Aus) controlled her heat against five-time world champ Layne Beachley (Manly, Aus) and Prue Jeffries (Aus) with the highest combined tally of the day for 16.67-points. The diminutive natural footer locked in a great 9-point ride and then another 7.67, leaving both opponents requiring a combination of rides to catch her. Beachley still progressed directly into round three though, while Jeffries will have to contest the second elimination round.

"I knew it was going to hard in the windy conditions, but I managed to find a couple of rights with open faces," explained Cornish. "I got a 9.0 and that got me amped up. I really wanted to beat Layne as it gives me a lot of confidence, so it´s good to get off to a good start in this contest."

Megan Abubo (Haw) won the opening heat of round one against fellow Hawaiian Rochelle Ballard and Chelsea Georgeson (Aus). The powerful natural footer selected a couple of clean right-handers and executed her trademark forehand snaps for the superior scores.

"I was pretty lucky to find some waves and do a couple of good turns," reasoned Abubo. "Good to see some surf finally so we can get into rhythm. I competed in the whole qualifying tour here in France a few months ago, so I think that´s helped me a lot. I feel strong and know where to surf over here at the moment."

Brazilian Jacqueline Silva posted the day´s best single score for a 9.17 ride. She advanced ahead of Kate Skarratt (Gold Coast, Aus) and Melanie Redman-Carr (West Australia), making the most of her good fortune by utilizing a great wave.

"It was really long and had a nice wall," said Silva of her winning ride. "I did some turns and got a great score, so I was lucky to get the best wave of the day."

Californian Julia Christian (USA) was another standout, defeating Heather Clark (SAfr) and Lynette MacKenzie (Aus). The WCT newcomer has suffered poor results this year and is currently rated equal last on the WCT, but gained some much need confidence with her win today.

"I kind of feel like I´m getting out of my slump," said Christian. "I always like coming to France and I feel really relaxed since I have my coach/boyfriend here with me. It´s a good start for this contest and hopefully I can keep going."

Roxy Pro France Round One Heats
(1st, 2nd>Rnd3; 3rd>Rnd2)
H1: Megan Abubo (Haw) 14.5; Rochelle Ballard (Haw) 10.5; Chelsea Georgeson (Aus) 8.0
H2: Jacqueline Silva (Brz) 14.94; Kate Skarratt (Aus) 12.5; Melanie Redman-Carr (Aus) 9.5
H3: Emmanuelle Joly (Fra) 10.1; Keala Kennelly (Haw) 9.17; Pauline Menczer (Aus) 8.7
H4: Samantha Cornish (Aus) 16.67; Layne Beachley (Aus) 12.0; Prue Jeffries (Aus) 8.66
H5: Julia Christian (USA) 15.33; Heather Clark (SAfr) 10.4; Lynette MacKenzie (Aus) 9.67
H6: Trudy Todd (Aus) 11.7; Sofia Mulanovich (Peru) 8.57; Marie Pierre-Abgrall (Fra) 6.8

Roxy Pro France Trials
(1st>main event)
1st Emmanuelle Joly (Fra) 13.83; 2nd Caroline Sarran (Fra) 12.17; 3rd Adelina Taylor (Canary Is.) 10.6; 4th Ibaina Moreno (Canary Is.) 3.84

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Previous reports:

# 1 : Roxy Pro starts WCT European leg in France next week
# 2 : Roxy Pro France WCT event postponed on opening day
# 3 : Coming soon
# 4 : Coming soon
# 5 : Coming soon
# 6 : Coming soon

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Jesse Faen
Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP)
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