Corona Crown Series Event 4

Surfing New Zealand
Mount Maunganui New Zealand
23 - 24 February 2008

Christie Corona Pro Champ

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 24 February, 2008 : - - Richard Christie (Mah) took out the Corona Pro held at Mount Maunganui in convincing fashion posting 18.35 points – the highest of the entire event.  Christie has only recently returned from Australia where he has been competing on the Australasian Pro Junior Tour (under 20s).  The Corona Pro is the fourth of six events on the Corona Crown Series with a six star rating offering $15,400 in prize money.

Christie completely dominated the 25 minute final saving his best surfing until the end of the event.  His powerful forehand surfing suited the messy 1.5m swell at Mount Maunganui’s Main Beach.  Catching big righthand waves in the middle of the bay, Christie was able to complete full power turns when the wave faces opened up also unleashing his aerial manoeuvres on the critical end sections.

Christie’s best wave of 9.5 included a massive futuristic forehand re-entry setting his fins free.  Apart from falling on the last manoeuvre on the inside section Christie would have undoubtedly scored a perfect ten point ride. 

“I was having a good surf out there” commented a stoked Christie “a few good waves came to me while I was sitting out wide and it made it easier to complete bigger turns.  The ‘airs’ that I pulled off were a bonus and I was stoked to be able to pull them off in the final and get rewarded for them” Christie further added.

While not having contested all the events on the Corona Crown Series this year Christie has made two finals in the two events that he has entered.  Today’s win betters his second placing at the first event of the series and will make a huge impact on his series ratings and his confidence going into next weekend’s Rip Curl Pro at Raglan. 

A further good result at that event could see him jump into contention for the season ending Corona Super 16 in late March should he be available and not be competing in Australia.

Placing second today and securing his first finals appearance was Gauranga Ormond (WGM).  Ormond moved into second place with his last wave of the final scoring 4.8 points helping his tally to 11.95 – which still left him in a combination situation if he was to challenge for the lead.  Ormond surfed smooth throughout the event and busted airs when the conditions allowed but with Christie’s stampeding performance in the final, a well deserved second place was all he could hope for. 

Local surfers Sam Willis and Tim O’Connor placed third and fourth respectively.  The local knowledge finally ran out of steam for the two surfers.  Willis held second for much of the final only to be pipped by Ormond.  O’Connor made a late charge on the final only to fall 0.60 points behind the second placed surfer showing just how close it was between the minor place getters.

The results of the event made little impact on the overall standings on the Corona Crown Series.  Maz Quinn (Gis) was pegged back slightly by Zennor Wernham (Rag) with Wernham posting a 9th compared with Quinn’s 17th.  However other title chasers Bobby Hansen (Gis), Jay Quinn (Gis) and Matt Scorringe (WGM) also had indifferent performances or were absent over the weekend.

Earlier in the semifinals Christie and Ormond eliminated Billy Stairmand (Rag) and Rowan Aish (Mur) in semifinal one while O’Connor and Willis progressed over Larry Fisher (Rag) and Braedon Williams (WGM).

Mischa Davis (Piha) stormed to her second win in a row on the Corona Crown Series and in doing so took the lead on the ratings.  From the outset Davis looked solid in her performance posting a 5.25 point ride on her first wave backing it up with a 4.8 later in the final.  However, late in the heat she posted an excellent 9.0 point ride for several smooth backhand re-entries.  Davis’ wave loaded the pressure on her fellow competitors and she ultimately finished streaks ahead.

Mount Maunganui surfer Laura Rishworth finished the final in second place.  Rishworth had originally kept pace with Davis posting a 6.25 point ride and finished with a total of 9.50.  Rosa Thompson (Auck) celebrated her inclusion in the New Zealand junior team with a finals berth today and her best result of the season placing third.  Raglan’s Jess Santorik finished in fourth place unable to find many linking waves on her backhand.

Previous ratings leader Daisy Thomas (Chch) slips to second on the ratings after today’s event with Jessica Santorik in third and Laura Rishworth now in fourth place.  A mere 260 points separate first from fourth.

Matt Hewitt (Mnt) required the full 25 minutes in the final to put away his opponents and take the under 18 men’s title – his first of the year after having been competing in Australia part of this summer.  Hewitt sat in third place for much of the final requiring a 7.0 point ride to win. 

On his last wave with only one minute remaining, Hewitt used his local knowledge to pick off an inside right-hander that peeled down the bank commonly known as the ‘blowhole’.  After five good turns Hewitt ended his wave on the beach to post a 7.5 point ride and pip Sean Peggs (Tai) who had led the final until then.

Peggs had looked strong all day in both the open men’s and juniors.  His form led to a huge upset in the open men’s division when he eliminated both Maz and Jay Quinn in the third round. 

In the final of the under 18 boys he posted a 6.0 point ride early to hold the advantage but in the difficult conditions requiring a further 6.0 point ride could not lock down a good last wave falling 0.50 points short with his last ride of 5.5 points to place second.  Buck Woods (Gis) placed third in the final scoring 8.75 with Auckland’s Tim Thompson making his first final in the under 18 men’s division to place fourth.

The results see Sean Peggs go to the top of the ratings with previous leader Johnny Hicks (Gis) slipping back to second and Keone Campbell (Tara) who placed fifth today in third place.

Open Men’s Quarterfinals
Heat 1 Billy Stairmand (Rag), 1, Gauranga Ormond (Whmata), 2, Jarrod Hancox (Tara), 3, Blair Stewart (Gis), 4
Heat 2 Richard Christie (Mahia), 1, Rowan Aish (Muriwai), 2, Luke Cederman (Rag), 3, Sean Peggs (Whmata), 4
Heat 3 Braedon Williams (Whmata), 1, Larry Fisher (Rag), 2, David Van Staden (Rag), 3, Nathan Welch (Gis), 4
Heat 4 Tim O'Connor (Mnt), 1, Sam Willis (Rag), 2, Zennor Wernham (Rag), 3, Ben Kennings (Whmata), 4

Open Men’s Semifinals
Heat 1 Richard Christie (Mahia), 1, Gauranga Ormond (Whmata), 2, Billy Stairmand (Rag), 3, Rowan Aish (Muriwai), 4
Heat 2 Tim O'Connor (Mnt), 1, Sam Willis (Rag), 2, Larry Fisher (Rag), 3, Braedon Williams (Whmata), 4

Open Men’s Finals
Richard Christie (Mahia), 1, Gauranga Ormond (Whmata), 2, Sam Willis (Rag), 3, Tim O'Connor (Mnt), 4

Under 18 Men’s Quarterfinals
Heat 1 Matt Hewitt (Mnt), 1, Buck Woods (Gis), 2, Michael Mallalaieu (Tara), 3, Tane Wallis (Piha), 4
Heat 2 Johnny Hicks (Gis), 1, Alex Dive (Mnt), 2, Tyler Anderson (Tara), 3, Zen Wallis (Piha), 4
Heat 3 Sean Peggs (Tairua), 1, Travis McCoy (Mnt), 2, Blake Myers (Whmata), 3, Braedon Williams (Whmata), 4
Heat 4 Keone Campbell (Tara), 1, Tim Thompson (Auck), 2, Kieran Pullman (Sandy Bay), 3, Adam Cranston (Gis), 4

Under 18 Men Semifinals
Heat 1 Matt Hewitt (Mnt), 1, Buck Woods (Gis), 2, Alex Dive (Mnt), 3, Johnny Hicks (Gis), 4
Heat 2 Sean Peggs (Tairua), 1, Tim Thompson (Auck), 2, Keone Campbell (Tara), 3, Travis McCoy (Mnt), 4

Under 18 Men Finals
Matt Hewitt (Mnt), 1, Sean Peggs (Tairua), 2, Buck Woods (Gis), 3, Tim Thompson (Auck), 4

Open Women’s Semifinals
Heat 1 Mischa Davis (Auck), 1, Jessica Santorik (Rag), 2, Anna Hawes (Westport), 3, Nicola Colson-Koster (Auck), 4
Heat 2 Laura Rishworth (Mnt), 1, Rosa Thompson (Auck), 2, Daisy Thomas (ChCh), 3, India Wray- Murane (Muri), 4

Open Women’s Finals
Mischa Davis (Auck), 1, Laura Rishworth (Mnt), 2, Rosa Thompson (Auck), 3, Jessica Santorik (Rag), 4

For more information on the event please contact Ben Kennings on 021 2278732 or email benkennings@surfingnz.co.nz.  Media releases will be distributed at the end of each days surfing.  High resolution action images will be available to media free of charge courtesy of New Zealand Surfing Magazine.

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