Juniors fire as Nike US Open of Surfing kicks off

Nike US Open of Surfing
Presented by Hurley & Converse

ASP Prime Men's event
ASP Women's World Tour event
ASP 4-Star Pro Junior Men's event
Huntington Beach California
28 July - 5 August 2012

Live Coverage | Results/Photos/Videos etc

ASP Pro Juniors Kick Off 2012 Nike US Open of Surfing

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 28 July, 2012 : - - The 2012 Nike US Open of Surfing kicked off today with Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 4-Star Nike US Open of Surfing Pro Junior and saw an elite list of international up-and-comers battle through the early rounds to decide the division's Quarterfinalists. The Nike US Open of Surfing represents the fifth of seven events on the ASP North America Pro Junior Series and its ASP 4-Star status plays a vital role is surfers' qualification campaigns for the ASP World Junior Tour.

Felipe Toledo (BRA), 17, defending Nike US Open of Surfing Pro Junior Champion, made a seamless return to competition today and put on two standout performances to advance to the Quarterfinals. Toledo was responsible for the day's highest scores compliments of his aerial repertoire, netting a 9.40 single-wave score en route to the highest heat total of 17.90 out of 20.

'I just went out there and tried some airs'

"It was pretty hard, but sometimes these waves are like Brazil and I've been training a lot in these conditions," Toledo said. "My home break is like this and I just went out there and tried to do some airs."

Toledo established himself on a global stage with his victory at last year's event and feels more confident entering the Nike US Open of Surfing with a year of experience under his belt. "I feel more relaxed coming in to the event this year because last year was my first year with my new sponsor," Toledo said. "It's really nice to come back here again and I'm going to try my best to win."

Keanu Asing (Ewa Beach, HI), 19, current frontrunner on the ASP North America Pro Junior Series, opened his Nike US Open Pro Junior campaign in dominant fashion with wins in both his Round 1 and Round 2 heats. "It was really tough with no swell in the water and it was a struggle, but it went my way," Asing said. "I just stuck to my game and I got lucky. I have a good board under my feet and I'm happy I was able to put together two good heats."

The powerful Hawaiian is out to carry his early round success through to the latter rounds of competition and admits that his victories today have built his confidence for the remainder of the event. "It's a big relief to get those first two out of the way," Asing said. "Those first few rounds are always a struggle for me to get rid of my nerves. To take the confidence from a good opening day is huge."

Kanoa Igarashi (Huntington Beach, CA), 14, Nike US Open Pro Junior wildcard, advanced through two heats today, finishing second in Round 1 before a standout Round 2 heat win where he topped Santa Barbara talent Conner Coffin (Santa Barbara, CA), 18, who advanced in second, and former ASP World Junior Champion Maxime Huscenot (FRA), 20, to earn a berth in the Quarterfinals.

'I'm really happy to make two heats today'

"I'm really happy to make two heats today," Igarashi said. "Conner (Coffin) is one of my favorite surfers and this is the first time I've ever gone up against him and I'm just stoked to get the win."

Igarashi, who won his maiden ASP event this spring at the ASP 1-Star in Florida, is building momentum on the ASP North America Pro Junior Series and hopes that he can deliver a top performance in Huntington Beach to build a seed for 2013. "It's great to get the wildcard in to this event," Igarashi said. "I had that win in Florida and getting a wildcard in to this, I think I'll have a pretty good seed next year and I'm psyched that I got in."

While the ASP Men's Pro Junior competition was responsible for today's schedule, the Women's Nike US Open Pro Junior, ASP Women's World Championship Tour, and Men's ASP Prime event have yet to kick off. Men's competition is slated to begin on Monday.

The Nike US Open of Surfing runs from July 28 through August 5, 2012 and is webcast LIVE starting Monday at usopenofsurfing.com. For more ASP details log on to aspworldtour.com or aspnorthamerica.org. While the action in the water is guaranteed to provide plenty of entertainment, the Nike US Open of Surfing, owned and operated by IMG, a global leader in sports and entertainment, is part of a major action sports festival that includes skateboarding, music, art and more.

Check the Live Coverage

NIKE US OPEN PRO JUNIOR ROUND OF 32 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Keanu Asing (HAW) 14.40, Michael February (ZAF) 11.83, Koa Smith (HAW) 10.20, Tanner Strohmenger
Heat 2: Kanoa Igarashi (USA) 14.16, Conner Coffin (USA) 10.80, Maxime Huscenot (FRA) 8.93, Theo Lewitt
Heat 3: Evan Thompson (USA) 14.04, Hiroto Ohhara (JPN) 10.00, Cameron Richards (USA) 9.94, Dylan Kowalski 
Heat 4: Tanner Hendrickson (HAW) 11.23, Trevor Thornton (USA) 9.46, Nathan Carvalho (HAW) 6.10, Caio Ibelli 
Heat 5: Hiroto Arai (JPN) 13.24, Taylor Thorne(USA) 12.70, Jack Freestone (AUS) 10.73, J.D. Lewis (USA) 5.17
Heat 6: Kaimana Jaquias (HAW) 9.67, Cooper Chapman (AUS) 7.60, Nic Hdez (USA) 4.43, Colin Moran
Heat 7: Andrew Doheny (USA) 10.50, Kalani David (HAW) 7.83, Cristobal De Col (PER) 6.85, Giorgio Gomez
Heat 8: Derek Peters (USA) 12.13, Felipe Toledo (BRA) 10.33, William Aliotti (FRA) 8.43, Makai McNamara

NIKE US OPEN PRO JUNIOR ROUND OF 64 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Keanu Asing (HAW) 11.90, Kanoa Igarashi (USA) 9.40, Jake Marshall (USA) 8.80
Heat 2: Michael February (ZAF) 9.84, Theo Lewitt (USA) 5.20, Mason Barnes (USA) 4.00, Taylor Clark (USA)
Heat 3: Maxime Huscenot (FRA) 15.77, Koa Smith (HAW) 8.93, Bobby Okvist (USA) 8.13, Noah Schweizer
Heat 4: Conner Coffin (USA) 10.84, Tanner Strohmenger (USA) 7.14, Luke Marks (USA) 5.40, Shaw Kobayashi
Heat 5: Evan Thompson (USA) 10.50, Trevor Thornton (USA) 7.46, Parker Coffin (USA) 6.33
Heat 6: Cameron Richards (USA) 12.44, Tanner Hendrickson (HAW) 8.97, P.J. Raia (USA) 7.90, Sam Orozco
Heat 7: Nathan Carvalho (HAW) 11.67, Dylan Kowalski (USA) 9.70, Nathan Behl (USA) 8.10, Keala Naihe
Heat 8: Caio Ibelli (BRA) 15.00, Hiroto Ohhara (JPN) 10.24, Ian Simmons (USA) 8.00, Scott Weinhardt
Heat 9: Jack Freestone (AUS) 10.33, Cooper Chapman (AUS) 10.10, Carlos Munoz (CRI) 9.77, Chris Tucker
Heat 10: Taylor Thorne (USA) 8.66, Colin Moran (USA) 6.33, Breyden Taylor (USA) 5.06, Max Colvin
Heat 11: Nic Hdez (USA) 9.77, J.D. Lewis (USA) 8.83, Ethan Carlson (USA) 5.87, Pat Schmidt (USA) 4.20
Heat 12: Kaimana Jaquias (HAW) 14.17, Hiroto Arai (JPN) 12.70, Andrew Jacobson (USA) 10.37, Jeremy Carter
Heat 13: Andrew Doheny (USA) 10.30, Makai McNamara (HAW) 9.34, Daniel Glenn (USA) 6.87, Robbie Merrell 
Heat 14: Cristobal De Col (PER) 11.33, Derek Peters (USA) 10.14, Jake Halstead (USA) 9.44, Knox Harris 
Heat 15: William Aliotti (FRA) 10.76, Giorgio Gomez (USA) 5.25, Ian Crane (USA) 3.40, Nick Fowler
Heat 16: Felipe Toledo (BRA) 17.90, Kalani David (USA) 8.70, Ryan Croteau (USA) 5.40, Jack Robinson

The Nike US Open of Surfing is proudly sponsored by Casio G-Shock, Red Bull, Pacifico, Paul Mitchell Salon Haircare, TransWorld Media, Verizon Wireless, Casio G’zOne and 7-Eleven.

The Nike US Open of Surfing airs on NBC Saturday, September 13, 2012 at 1:30 pm EST as part of the “Red Bull Signature Series.” Nike partnered with the Red Bull Signature Series on events including Supernatural, Lowers Pro and the US Open of Surfing, to support some of the most progressive and innovative surfing, snowboarding, and skiing action sports events. For more information, visit www.redbullsignatureseries.com

About Nike
Engineered for world-class athletes, Nike Action unites the performance innovation of Nike with a deep commitment to the history, creativity, and raw athleticism of action sports. With a focus on Skateboarding, Snowboarding and Surfing, our footwear and apparel merge advanced materials and design with classic styling, driven by the voice of our athletes. Based at NIKE, Inc. headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, Nike Action is dedicated to inspiring and supporting the world of action sports. For more information, visit www.nikeinc.com.

About Hurley
“Hurley is a company based on inclusion,” says chairman and founder Bob Hurley. This philosophy applied to Bob Hurley¹s early years as a Huntington Beach shaper, working with friends alongside the world¹s best athletes to make a better surfboard. It applied to the company¹s launch in 1999, when Hurley decided to start a brand that was a true microphone for youth. In 2002, Hurley was acquired by Nike ‹ the largest and most influential sporting brand in the world. Inclusion remains a guiding principle of the company today, where innovative products like Phantom Boardshorts and game-changing events like the US Open of Surfing continue to redefine what is possible in our world. Hurley headquarters are in Costa Mesa, CA with international offices in Sydney, Tokyo, Barcelona and Bali. www.hurley.com.

About Converse
Converse Inc., based in N. Andover, Massachusetts, is a wholly owned subsidiary of NIKE, Inc. Established in 1908, the Converse brand has built a reputation as “America’s Original Sports Company”™ and has been associated with a rich heritage of legendary shoes such as the Chuck Taylor® All Star® shoe, the Jack Purcell® shoe and the One Star® shoe. Today, Converse offers a diverse portfolio including lifestyle men's, women's and children’s footwear, apparel and accessories. Converse product is sold globally by retailers in over 160 countries and through 63 company-owned retail locations in the U.S. For more information, visit Media.Converse.com.

About IMG
IMG Worldwide is a global sports, entertainment and media business, with nearly 3,000 employees operating in 30 countries around the globe. IMG’s areas of expertise are diverse and wide ranging: IMG College; IMG’s Joint Ventures in China, Brazil and India and Turkey; IMG Media; IMG Events and Federations; IMG Fashion; IMG Models; IMG Art+Commerce; IMG Clients; IMG Academies; IMG Consulting and IMG Licensing. More information is available at www.imgworld.com. Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.

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Source: Nike

Author: The Editors

Tags: Nike US Open of Surfing,

Events: Surfersvillage