Team News

Cory Lopez - Lone 'CT Surfer on EC X Games Squad

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 30 June, 2006 : - - Indian Rocks Beach, FL. Cory Lopez, the #11 ranked WCT Surfer in 2005 and current top 16, heads back to Mexico this week to lead the Charge with brother Shea in the East Coast's defense of their 4th Gold Medal in X GAMES 12 at Puerto Escondido.

Lopez is coming off a respectable 9th Place finish in the Rip Curl Search WCT event held in pristine conditions at the famed right hand point break code named "La Jolla" (Spanish for "The Jewel"); not far from the X Games site at the famed Mexican Pipeline. Cory spent advance time at the break training in anticipation of the contest, purportedly logging a 24 second barrel prior to the event!

Rumor has it that a video exists of this wave and should surface somewhere soon. The training paid off big and Senor Lopez was only out surfed in the fourth round by an in-form Taj Burrow who was just able to get a "little deeper" on his frontside. Still the finish moved Cory to =16 in the ratings. 

Cory bolted home for a couple of days to see his fiancé Jen, do a few media interviews and check on his new surf shop (opening later this summer). In the absence of the fellow East Coast WCT campaigners the Hobgood twins and Kelly Slater (who declined their invitations to compete for undisclosed reasons), Cory and Shea Lopez are with out a doubt the big stars on the East Coast Team this year.

Cory is featured on the June Cover of ESM Magazine displaying the "Xtreme" surfing skills that have made him a star on the WCT circuit and helped earn him 3 X Games Gold Medals to date. Cory hopes to add a 4th one to his collection this coming week. Bring it on.

Lopez will be joined "in-battle" by fellow East Coast Pros, brother Shea Lopez, Baron Knowlton, Pete Mendia, Jamie O'Brien (Hawaii Wild Card) and X Games "Darkhorse" Rookie Ryan Helm (among others), when East meets West for their 4th Gold Medal Showdown, in Puerto Escondido Mexico July 3rd through July 4th, 2006.

Shea Lopez has been getting ready by training at his second home in Costa Rica and by towing into some huge Puerto sized barrels at a secret outer reef during the last Southern Hemi swell to hit the Central American coastline. According to Shea, some of the waves ridden were breaking "Just like Pipeline" (he has photos to back-up this claim).

The TV coverage for surfing will air on Saturday, Aug 5th on ESPN affiliate ABC. Mexico and Central America have been blasted with huge surf over the past few weeks. Everyone's anticipation is running high that this will be the best year ever for the X Games Surfing competition in Mexico.

Vote for Cory and Shea in the 2006 Surfer Mag Poll Awards, log-on to their website and click-on the Surfer Voter Links. Cory Lopez displays his "freak" skills that have helped the East win 3 X Games Gold Medals; June Cover of ESM

www.EXPN.com
www.LopezBrothers.com

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Mark Hartman

Team News - Surfersvillage