Billabong Pro

Corona Crown Series Event 3
Whangamata, NZ
26 - 28 January 2008

Gisborne Surfers Dominate in Perfect Conditions

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 27 January, 2008 : - - New Zealand’s top surfers attacked perfect conditions at Whangamata today while competing at the Billabong Pro – the third of six events of the 2007/08 Corona Crown Series.  Solid 1.5m – 2.0m waves made for insane surfing in which Gisborne surfers came to the fore securing half of the eight places left in the man-on-man quarterfinals to be contested on Monday (28th January).

Jay Quinn (Gis) continued his good form from Day 1 posting 14.8 points in the last heat of the round to effortlessly win his heat.  Quinn’s surfing was fluid and he made easy work of the long rights that he caught completing some big re-entry-floater combinations posting 7.75 points on his best wave.  Quinn progressed along with Zennor Wernham (Rag) in second who posted 11.85.

Quinn was happy with his surfing in what is his last event in New Zealand before he heads back to Australia to train for the World Qualifying Series this year.  Quinn was also excited about the prospect of surfing man-on-man heats on the finals day.  A regular format used on the world tours, man-on-man surfing has not been used on the Corona Crown Series for the past fifteen years.

The format is self explanatory – one surfer against another instead of the usual four surfers in the water at one time.  The theory behind the format is that there will be less hassling for waves in the water.  This allows surfers to let their surfing do the talking.  The Quinn brothers along with Bobby Hansen will be the only surfers with recent experience under the new format and that may prove crucial when the action unfolds tomorrow.

The eldest of the Quinn brothers Maz showed glimpses of form in his heat powering through some huge turns sending spray skyward in the offshore winds.  His best wave netted 8.0 points – the highest of the round.  Quinn then backed that up with a 5.30 point ride on his last wave to extend his scoreline.  In second place was Dru Adler the sole Australian in the event who also relished the chance to surf good sized waves. 

Adler posted 11.60 and looks like a serious contender for the title after he progressed in second narrowly eliminating Ben Kennings (WGM) on a count-back and Mount Maunganui surfer Nick White who finished in fourth.

Fellow Gisborne surfers Bobby Hansen and Blair Stewart also progressed through their heats today in dominating performances from Gisborne surfers.  Hansen posted 13.50 to push Stewart into second place with another high score of 13.0 points.  Together they eliminated Bodhi Whitaker (Gis) in third and Sam Willis (Mnt) in fourth.

Late in the day the under 18 men completed their quarterfinal heats.  The biggest showdown came via a duel between Taranaki surfer Keone Campbell and Gisborne surfer Johnny Hicks. 

Keone used his powerful stature to complete big forehand turns on the rights while Hicks used his smooth backhand surfing to pull in the big scores.  Both surfers finished with 14.50 points a piece with Hicks getting the nod over Campbell by way of surfing to the single highest scoring ride of 7.75 points.

Local Whangamata surfer Braedon Williams scored 8.25 on his best ride to also dominate his heat and progress to the semifinals alongside Adam Cranston (Gis) who scored an 8.75 total heat score.  Williams will now get to face off against New Zealand Junior Champ Sean Peggs (Tai) in the semifinals along with Cranston and Taranaki surfer Mike Mallalieu.  In the second semifinal Hicks and Campbell will face off against Buck Woods (Gis) and Matt Hewitt (Mnt).

First thing this morning the women got together to discuss the waves and after watching the open men take up to ten minutes to get out the back in the big surf decided that they would contest their heats on the final day of the event.

Tonight sees the introduction of the Von Zipper Bikini Quest at the Embassy with $1000 up for grabs as well as a New Zealand Surfing Magazine calendar shoot.  Competition will commence at 7.30 on Sunday morning with a schedule of events to be posted once conditions are assessed.

Please see below for a rundown of the heats contested today (Sunday) as well as the women’s heats to be surfed on Monday.

Billabong Pro – Event 3 of 6 on the Corona Crown Series

Billabong Open Men’s Round 3
Heat 1  David Van Staden (Rag), 1  Ben Kennings (Whmata), 2, Kierin Van Der Helder  (Rag), 3, Luke Cederman (Rag), 4,
Heat 2 Matt Hewitt (Mnt), 1, Nick White (Mnt), 2, Mark Dovey (Mnt), 3, Batchelor Tipene (Tara), 4
Heat 3 Dru Adler (Aus), 1, Leon Santorik (Rag), 2, Jarrod Hancox (Tara), 3, Jai Earnshaw (W.Coast), 4,
Heat 4 Maz Quinn (Gis), 1, Jeremy Evans (HBay), 2, AJ Matthews (Whmata), 3, Dan Scott (Whngmata), 4
Heat 5 Bobby Hansen (Gis), 1, Jay Quinn (Gis), 2, Keone Campbell (Tara), 3, Felix Dickson (Ota), 4
Heat 6 Blair Stewart (Gis), 1, Bodhi Whittaker (Gis), 2, Gauranga Ormond (Whmata), 3, Morehu Roberts (Gis), 4
Heat 7 Zennor Wernham (Rag), 1, Scott Casey (Auck), 2, Troy Riley (HBay), 3, Simon Deken (Tara), 4
Heat 8 Sam Willis (Rag), 1, Mike Banks (Rag), 2, Luke Hughes (Rag), 3, Nathan Welch (Gis), 4

Billabong Open Men Round 4
Heat 1 Leon Santorik (Rag), 1, Jeremy Evans (HBay), 2, Matt Hewitt (Mnt), 3, David Van Staden (Rag), 4
Heat 2 Maz Quinn (Gis), 1, Dru Adler (Aus), 2, Ben Kennings (Whmata), 3, Nick White (Mnt), 4
Heat 3 Bobby Hansen (Gis), 1, Blair Stewart (Gis), 2, Scott Casey (Auck), 3, Mike Banks (Rag), 4
Heat 4 Jay Quinn (Gis), 1, Zennor Wernham (Rag), 2, Bodhi Whitaker (Gis), 3, Sam Willis (Rag), 4

Billabong Under 18 Men Round 1
Heat 1 Tim Thompson (Auck), 1, Blake Myers (Whmata), 2, Stefan White (Whmata), 3
Heat 2 Michael Mallalaieu (Tara), 1, Braedon Williams (Whmata), 2, Alex Dive (Mnt), 3, Dune Kennings (WGM), 4
Heat 3 Zen Wallis (Piha), 1, Ben Poulter (Rag), 3, Ryan Heath (Whmata), 2
Heat 4 Karne Pitcher (Whmata), 2, Tyler Anderson (Tara), 3, Matt Hewitt (Mnt), 1

Billabong Under 18 Men Quarterfinals
Heat 1 Sean Peggs (Tairua), 1, Michael Mallalieu (Tara), 2, Tim Thompson (Auck), 3, Kieran Pullman (Sandy Bay), 4
Heat 2 Braedon Williams (Whmata), 1, Adam Cranston (Gis), 2, Tane Wallis (Piha), 3, Blake Myers (Whmata), 4
Heat 3 Johnny Hicks (Gis), 1, Keone Campbell (Tara), 2, Zen Wallis (Piha), 3, Karne Pitcher (Whmata), 4
Heat 4 Buck Woods (Gis), 1, Matt Hewitt (Mnt), 2, Travis McCoy (Tau), 3, Ben Poulter (Rag), 4

Previous reports:
# 1 : Day 1 of Billabong Pro cut short due to bad conditions
# 2 : Coming soon
# 3 : Coming soon
# 4 : Coming soon  

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