Dane Ward : photo Marc Prefontaine

O'Neill Cold Water Classic
Presented by Jeep

Oakley Pro Jr ASP NA Champs

ASP WQS 4 Star Men's Event
ASP Grade 3 Pro Junior Men's Event
Steamer Lane Santa Cruz California
9 - 14 October 2007

Live Coverage  |  Results/Photos/Videos etc

BIG SURF AND BIG SCORES ON DAY TWO OF THE O’NEILL COLD WATER CLASSIC PRESENTED BY JEEP

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 10 October, 2007 : - - Santa Cruz, Ca  – The surf increased overnight with solid four-to-six foot waves pulsing through Steamer Lane for Day 2 of the O’Neill Cold Water Classic presented by Jeep, and competitors rose to the improved conditions, exhibiting some of the most dynamic surfing of the season.

The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Qualifying Series (WQS) 4-Star event holds a lot on the line with the $75,000 prize purse as well as valuable qualifying points, but the O’Neill Cold Water Classic presented by Jeep also carries the added prestige of being the final event on the 2007 Macy’s California Trifecta Surf Series presented by Jeep (an ASP North America Specialty Series).

The Macy’s Trifecta culminates at Steamer Lane, offering an additional $15,000 prize purse to the top three finishers, as well as an all-new Jeep Patriot, valued at $26,000, to the eventual champion. 

Jay Phillips (Gold Coast, AUS), in his first-ever competition at the O’Neill Cold Water Classic presented by Jeep, posted impressive wins in both his Round 1 and Round 2 heats today, dominating the punchy righthanders on his forehand and netting the event high single-wave score of an 8.83 out of a possible 10.

“I’m so happy to be here as it’s my first time ever surfing Steamer Lane,” Phillips said.  “I’ve brought the family and we’re really just enjoying the beauty up here.  I’m extremely comfortable out there having surfed pointbreaks my entire life.  I think today, the conditions are washing through a little bit, but there are still some great waves to be had.”

Once touted as one of Australia’s greatest exports, Phillips has taken a brief sabbatical from professional competition, but the recent exploits of his fellow countrymen have reignited the competitive flame.

“Back home, Mick (Fanning) and Dean (Morrison) and Joel (Parkinson) have been telling me that they want to see a Jay Phillips comeback,” Phillips said.  “Seeing those guys doing so well at that level has really motivated me to give it a go again.  At the moment, I’m just competing in select events, but I think the Cold Water is an event I could do really well at, and I would love to claw my way onto the Dream Tour.”

Dane Ward (San Clemente, CA) caused a big upset today in eliminating local favorite Josh Mulcoy (Santa Cruz, CA) from O’Neill Cold Water Classic competition.  Facing Mulcoy, another Santa Cruz standout in Josh Loya, as well as fellow junior Blake Jones (Melbourne Beach, FL), Ward wasted no time, racking up an impressive 8.00 out of a possible 10 for blistering series of backhand hacks.

“I’ve been watching heats all day and the guys who catch a lot of waves get through the heats,” Ward said.  “I thought Loya was going to go, but he didn’t and that wave stood up really well.  I’m stoked I got the score and I’m looking forward to getting through a few more heats.”

In addition to his campaign in the ASP WQS 4-Star O’Neill Cold Water Classic presented by Jeep, Ward will also be competing in the Oakley Pro Junior ASP North America Championships, the first ASP Grade-3 in North American history, which will begin on Friday, Oct. 12, 2007.

“Definitely making it through a few heats in the WQS event builds the confidence heading into the juniors on Friday,” Ward said.  “I need a pretty solid result to claw my way into the top four for Australia, so I’ll just be taking it heat by heat until then.”

As the final event on the 2007 ASP North America Pro Junior Series, the Oakley Pro Junior will play a deciding role in determining the top four junior surfers of the season, who will then receive entry into the prestigious Billabong ASP World Junior Championships next January. Competition at the O’Neill Cold Water Classic presented by Jeep is scheduled to recommence tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. with Heat 1 of Round 3.

All O’Neill Cold Water Classic presented by Jeep as well as Oakley Pro Junior action will be webcast All O’Neill Cold Water Classic presented by Jeep as well as Oakley Pro Junior action will be webcast LIVE at www.coldwaterclassic.net.  FUEL TV will also air event highlights. Visit www.fuel.tv for more information.
 
Special thanks to the Cold Water Classic sponsors: O’Neill, JEEP, Oakley, Red Bull, Macy’s, Coors, Surfer Magazine, Surfing Magazine, WaveWatch, and FUEL TV. For more information on the Macy's California Trifecta Surf Series visit www.catrifecta.com.

WAVEWATCH FORECAST:

Thurs (10/11): West swell slowly fading from 8 ft @ 12 secs early. Surf 5-6 ft early with possible 7 ft sets. Near calm early turning northwest 10-15 kts midday. Clean early with sideshore bump building in the afternoon.

Fri (10/12): New Gulf windswell building-in to 5.2 ft @ 10 secs midday. Surf 3-4 ft. Calm winds early coming up from the south mid-afternoon 10-15 kts. Rain possible late in the day. Clean early with conditions deteriorating mid-day.

Sat (10/13): Residual windswell fading from 5.2 ft @ 9-10 secs. Surf in the 2-3 ft range. Light offshore winds and clean early with light northwest winds in the afternoon and a little bump.

Sun (10/14): Northwest windswell continues at 4.0 ft @ 10-11 secs. Surf 2 to maybe 3 ft. Calm all day and clean.

Results O’Neill Cold Water Classic pres. by Jeep – ASP WQS 4-Star

Round 1: 160 surfers remaining (1st and 2nd advance)
Heat 7: Brandon Roberts (ZAF) 11.20, Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 10.46, Tommy Bursian (PRI) 6.67, Sam McGee 6.66
Heat 8: Jay Phillips (AUS) 12.16, Layne Harrison (USA) 11.00, David Giddings (USA) 8.60, Thomas Petriken (USA) 5.90
Heat 9: Matt Meola (USA) 10.10, Rylan McCart (USA) 9.00, Marshall Alberga (USA) 7.40, TJ Mikus (USA) 6.47
Heat 10: Kai Barger (HAW) 11.36, David Post (USA) 10.24, Brent Reilly (USA) 7.63, Eddie Lester (USA) 5.10
Heat 11: Josh Mulcoy (USA) 11.44, Jason Harris (USA) 9.76, Nick Kovack (USA) 8.90, Rory Parker (HAW) 6.76
Heat 12: Tyler Smith (USA) 12.67, Dane Ward (USA) 9.23, Jeffrey Lowe (USA) 5.57, Jordan Gaudet (USA) 5.30
Heat 13: Leif Engstrom (USA) 9.57, David Gonsalves (HAW) 7.00, Cory Kvenild (USA) 5.73, Michael Bailey (USA) 5.70
Heat 14: Travis Mellem (USA) 12.33, Ryan Sakal (USA) 6.47, Riley Metcalf (USA) 5.74, Shane Murray (USA) 3.60
Heat 15: Kiron Jabour (HAW) 12.13, Matt Pagan (USA) 12.00, Richie Collins (USA) 11.67, Austin Smith-Ford (USA) 8.87
Heat 16: Javier Swayne (HAW) 14.67, Randy Bonds (USA) 12.00, Brandon Guilmette (USA) 9.24, Andy Robson 6.30

Round 2: 128 surfers remaining (1st and 2nd advance)
Heat 1: Chris Dennis (TTO) 10.27, Luke Davis (USA) 8.17, Sean Hayes (USA) 6.77, Peter Mussio (USA) 5.64
Heat 2: Adam Lambert (HAW) 12.10, Omar Ercheverry (USA) 11.90, Sterling Spencer (USA) 11.70, Jesse Colombo
Heat 3: Billy Kemper (USA) 9.03, Andrew Bennett (USA) 8.93, Granger Larsen (HAW) 7.83, Jamie Parkhurst (USA) 3.87
Heat 4: Sean Taylor (USA) 10.73, Peter Mel (USA) 10.50, Anthony Ruffo (USA) 10.43, Kyle Ramey (HAW) 6.53
Heat 5: Johnny Craft (USA) 10.74, Jake Kirschenbaum (USA) 9.5, Kevin Kapsky (HAW) 6.27, Ben Graeff (USA) 5.20
Heat 6: Zach Plopper (USA) 10.20, Clay Marzo (HAW) 9.83, Tarik Khashoggi (USA) 9.17, Matt Mohagen (USA) 3.67
Heat 7: Layne Harrison (USA) 14.23, Kellen Ellison (USA) 10.50, Brandon Roberts (ZAF) 9.00, Chris Drummy (USA) 7.20
Heat 8: Jay Phillips (AUS) 11.17, Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 9.00, Roger Eales (USA) 7.50, Jeremy Sherwin (HAW) 5.53
Heat 9: David Post (USA) 9.84, Eddie Guilbeau (USA) 9.23, Justin Swartz (USA) 6.33, Matt Meola (USA) 4.43
Heat 10: Kai Barger (HAW) 11.10, Zach Keenan (USA) 10.06, Cory Arrambide (USA) 8.23, Rylan McCart (USA) 5.37
Heat 11: Dane Ward (USA) 11.50, Josh Loya (USA) 10.26, Josh Mulcoy (USA) 6.70, Blake Jones (USA) 6.63
Heat 12: Tyler Smith (USA) 10.80, Ian Ekberg (USA) 8.16, Jason Harris (USA) 7.50, Casey Landvogt (USA) 6.20
Heat 13: Ryan Sakal (USA) 9.50, Ryan Briggs (USA) 7.73, Wesley Larsen (HAW) 4.80, Leif Engstrom (USA) 5.83
Heat 14: Travis Mellem (USA) 12.00, David Gonzalves (HAW) 6.93, Golden Depesa (HAW) 5.77, Matt Myers (USA) 5.70
Heat 15: Randy Bonds (USA) 9.17, Kiron Jabour (HAW) 8.70, Casey Brown (HAW) 4.80, Garth Engelhorn (USA) 4.00
Heat 16: John Daniels (USA) 11.93, Shey Yates (USA) 7.83, Javier Swayne (PER) 5.53, Matt Pagan (USA) 4.86

About O'Neill
O’Neill, the original Californian surf, snow and lifestyle brand, was founded in 1952 when a young man named Jack O’Neill took his unstoppable passion for surfing and used it to beat Mother Nature at her own game. Pioneering the world’s first neoprene wetsuit, Jack had successfully found a way to extend his surf sessions in the bone-chilling breaks of Northern California. He opened up the garage doors to his first surf shop in Santa Cruz soon after.

While many things have changed since those humble beginnings, Jack’s initial vision of producing functional and innovative boardriding products continues to lie at the core of everything the company does. O’Neill’s set of core values – innovation in style and technology – has seen the brand devote itself wholeheartedly to the evolution of action sports. From the first ever neoprene wetsuit and surf leash, to the world’s first stitchless boardshorts and range of groundbreaking wearable electronics, O’Neill’s spirit of innovation will always drive the company forwards.

Today, O’Neill can be found the world over. In touch with its rich heritage and the universal stoke of boardriding culture, O’Neill will always be committed to progressing that evolution and growing its reputation as one of the world’s leading youth lifestyle brands.

About the Jeep Brand
The Jeep brand has expanded to seven models in the 2007 model year, the most available to retail consumers at one time in the brand’s 66-year history. With the introduction of the all-new 2008 Jeep Liberty mid-size sport-utility vehicle (SUV), Jeep offers customers the freshest, most capable and widest range of sport-utility vehicles under one brand in the industry. At the start of 2004, the brand’s trio of tough, capable, rugged SUVs included the venerable Jeep Grand Cherokee, Jeep Liberty (Cherokee outside North America) and the icon of the brand, the Jeep Wrangler. In 2005, the Jeep Commander was introduced. In 2006, the redesigned Jeep Wrangler was unveiled. Also debuting in calendar year 2006 were three more all-new Jeep vehicles: Jeep Patriot, Jeep Compass and the four-door Jeep Wrangler Unlimited.

About PRIMEDIA'S Action Sports Group
Reaching more than two million enthusiasts, PRIMEDIA's ASG is the dominant force in the action sports and adventure sports arenas. In addition to SURFER, the ASG publishes leading lifestyle publications such as Surfing, Snowboarder, Skateboarder, Bike, Powder, Climbing and Canoe & Kayak. PRIMEDIA's ASG delivers a cutting-edge network of online properties, events and television programming. 

About Macy’s
Macy's, the largest retail brand of Federated Department Stores, Inc., delivers fashion and affordable luxury to customers at more than 800 locations in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. Offering distinctive assortments including exclusive fashion and home brands, Macy's stores are operated by seven regionally based retail divisions – Macy's East, Macy's Florida, Macy's Midwest, Macy's North, Macy's Northwest, Macy's South, and Macy's West – and an online store at macys.com.

About Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP)
The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the governing body of professional surfing.  Crowning surfing’s undisputed world champions since 1976 (formerly as IPS), the ASP sanctions the following tours: the Foster’s ASP Men’s World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, the World Qualifying Series (WQS) and the World Longboarding, Junior and Masters Championships. The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world's best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts.

The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Japan, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America.  These regions manage all their respective domestic affairs under the guidance of ASP International, which is located on the Gold Coast of Australia.  ASP International and ASP North America are committed to the progression of surfing and are dedicated to continuing excellent relationships with their surfers, event operators, sponsors and media. 

Previous reports:
# 1 : O'Neill Cold Water Classic offers up more than $110,000
# 2 : O'Neill Cold Water Classic hot with WQS ratings crunch
# 3 : ASP N America Oakley Pro Junior title battle in full swing

# 4 : The O'Neill Cold Water Classic kicks off early next week  
# 5 : Jordy Smith given wildcard in O'Neill Cold Water Classic  
# 6 : O'Neill Cold Water Classic runs trials & start of Round 1

www.oakley.com
www.catrifecta.com
www.aspnorthamerica.org
www.actionsportsgroup.net

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