Daniel Ross : photo Aquashot/ASPEurope

Ocean & Earth Pro
Presented by La Caja de Canarias

ASP 4 Star WQS Mens Event
Las Palmas, Gran Canaria-Canaries
6 - 12 October 2008 

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Ross Takes Top Honours in ASP WQS 4-Star Ocean & Earth Pro in Gran Canaria

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 12 October, 2008 : - - El Confital, Gran Canaria – Daniel Ross (Yamba, AUS), 25, won the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Qualifying Series (WQS) 4-Star Ocean & Earth Pro pres. by La Caja de Canarias in pumping five to six foot (1.5 to 2 meter) waves at the world famous venue of El Confital today.

Ross, who defeated Stuart Kennedy (Lennox Head, AUS), 18, in an exciting 100% Australian 35-minute Man-on-man clash, rose throughout the week with excellent skills and variety in his surfing to end up 1st of the 2008 edition and clinch the valuable 1500 winner's ratings' points.

Ross ended up his run with an excellent performance posting a 16.60 point heat tally (out of a possible 20) to secure his win in a tricky final after his opponent had opened the battle well. Ross did not surf any wave in the last fifteen minutes leaving Kennedy almost catching up but missing out by 0.53 points.

"I was very relaxed out there and I felt good," Ross said. "I knew there were not that many excellent waves so I chose mine very carefully and got some good scores. That last wave put me ahead and I just sat there with priority and waited. Patiently. It was such a good event and to surf aganst Stuart (Kennedy) was even better. He is such a good surfer to watch."

Ross, who has had a tough time for his first year on the ASP World Tour, gets back on track to requalify thanks to his win and will move to the next events confidently. "The last event I won was years ago when was still a junior so this one is even better," Ross said. "I was definitely here to win because it was as well about business and points and I could not hope for a better end. It is just perfect and I hope I can keep it rolling next week."

Ross, who impressed all week with his power-surfing, was in excellent form and did not leave much option to runner-up Stuart Kennedy. Kennedy, ASP Australasian champion and renowned rising surfer from the Gold Coast of Australia, secured his best result to date by reaching the final and gets his Fall European campaign underway with a 2nd place finish.

At 18 years of age, Kennedy was definitely representing the "news school" of surfing and came up with impressive vertical tricks throwing the fins out on many of his turns but failed to get the 8.41 point ride (out of a possible 10) he needed to take the win.

"I tried hard in the final and went on for any tricks I could but it just didn't pay off," Kennedy said. "It has been a great week and we had fun surfing the good conditions on offer. I am stoked for Daniel (Ross), it is good to see all of us Australians doing here on this wave so I am happy."

Kennedy, who will surf in the upcoming events in Lanzarote and Portugal, accomplished his goal which was to start off his three-week serie with a good result. "I was hoping to get a result here and I end up in the final which is just excellent," Kennedy said. "Hopefully I can finish the year in the top 100 and have a good seeding for next year. There is a good chance I go full time on the WQS so I need to get more results in the upcoming events."

Jonathan Gonzalez (Tenerife, CNY), 28, and Owen Wright (Sydney, AUS), 18, both placed equal 3rd in the Ocean & Earth Pro being stopped in Semifinals of the prestigious event after going down respectively to Ross and Kennedy.

"I am pretty bumped not to make the final and get to surf these conditions again today," Gonzalez said. "It was a tough heat with few very good waves and we both waited for the better ones but Daniel (Ross) got that excellent one with five minutes remaining and it made it a lot more difficult for me."

Gonzalez, who led the 30-minute encounter until the last five minutes, waited patiently before disappearing deep inside a crystal-clear water barrel with all the crowd holding his breath but failed to reappear and gave Ross his ticket for the final battle.

"I did two mistakes in that heat and it cost me the final," Gonzalez said. "I used my priority a bit too early then I got stuck by the foam ball inside the barrel and couldn't make it. It is a shame because I really wanted to surf again today. I know the wave so well I know I could have found another barrel but this is how it is and I am still happy with that 3rd place."

Gonzalez, who made several finals at El Confital, has never won the Ocean & Earth Pro and is the second most consistent surfer in the last three years behind Michel Bourez (Tahiti, PYF) who won in 2006 and placed 3rd and 2nd in 2006 and 2007. Gonzalez leaves with 1125 ratings' points. Wright was the other Semifinals' loser of the Ocean & Earth Pro placing equal 3rd as well but still securing his best result ever in an ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) event.

Wright, who was the only surfer on his backhand here to reach the Semifinals, opened the battle of rookies with an impressive 9.5 point ride (out of a possible 10), nailing half of his ticket for the final in the first minute but was not able to secure a good enough back-up score to catch up with Kennedy's very good 16.43 pts heat tally (out of a possible 20).

"I got that first great wave and I felt pretty in rhythm out there because it was definitely pumping," Wright said. "There were few waves with really good scoring potential and I got that second one but my leash held my front foot back and fell off. It was close I got that second wave but I am stoked for Stuart (Kennedy)."

Wright, who was one of five Australians to reach the Quarterfinals, stayed ten minutes after his heat enjoying the surf and left the water happy with his run in the Ocean & Earth Pto.

"I came to Europe to compete in the last three events of the year and I want to get some results," Wright said. "Starting the leg with a 3rd is excellent and definitely makes me happy. The Australian crew has done good here and we are always stoked for one another when there's a result and it is great to see Daniel (Ross) and Stuart (Kennedy) in the final."

The ASP WQS European caravan will fly out to the beautiful island of Lanzarote tomorrow and the next event will start Tuesday, October 14 at the famous lefthander of San Juan on the North Shore of the island.

FINAL
Heat: Daniel Ross (AUS) 16.60 pts Def. Stuart Kennedy (AUS) 16.03 pts

SEMIFINALS
Heat 1: Daniel Ross (AUS) 16.83 pts Def. Jonathan Gonzalez (CNY) 14.50 pts
Heat 2: Stuart Kennedy (AUS) 16.43 pts Def. Owen Wright (AUS) 12.73 pts

Check the Full Results

Current WQS Ratings

1	Curran,Nathaniel	USA	13200
2	Davidson,Chris	AUS	12525
3	Boal,Tim	FRA	11888
4	Gudauskas,Patrick	USA	11438
5	Kerr,Josh	AUS	11325
6	Lipke,Marlon	DEU	10950
7	Weare,David	ZAF	10675
8	Bourez,Michel	PYF	10600
9	Emslie,Greg	ZAF	10588
10	Nicol,Yadin	AUS	10500
11	Courtney,Drew	AUS	10475
12	Bettero,Hizunome	BRA	10375
13	Henrique,Pedro	BRA	10263
13	Khodr,Jihad	BRA	10263
15	Kling,Gabe	USA	10088
16	Monteiro,Raoni	BRA	9775
17	Pires,Tiago	PRT	9663
18	Paulino,Pablo	BRA	9600
18	Romao,Simao	BRA	9600
20	Simpson,Brett	USA	9525
21	MacDonald,Phillip	AUS	9450
22	Sedley,Leigh	AUS	9375
23	Gossmann,Shaun	AUS	9363
24	Garcia,Sunny	HAW	9350
25	Barca,Dustin	HAW	9263
26	Dornelles,Rodrigo	BRA	9125
26	Muscroft,Nic	AUS	9125
28	Cansdell,Shaun	AUS	9050
29	Yeomans,Nathan	USA	9000
30	Melling,Adam	AUS	8975
31	Atkinson,Dion	AUS	8851
32	Neves,Leonardo	BRA	8800
33	Robertson,Adam (Vic)	AUS	8715
34	Ware,Austin	USA	8713
35	Sodre,Yuri	BRA	8700
35	Andre,Jadson	BRA	8700
37	Duru,Joan	FRA	8669
38	Hall,Glenn	IRE	8600
39	Centeio,Joel	HAW	8426
40	Cardoso,Willian	BRA	8425
41	Cuizon,Dustin	HAW	8325
42	Alves,Heitor	BRA	8225
42	Wilkinson,Matt	AUS	8225
44	Bacalso,Kekoa	HAW	8176
45	Hedge,Nathan	AUS	8175
46	Bombaci,Rhys	AUS	7925
47	Beven,Patrick	FRA	7850
48	Dantas,Wiggolly	BRA	7738
48	Ross,Daniel	AUS	7738
50	Silva,Andre	BRA	7713
51	Zubizarreta,Gony	ESP	7675
52	Gonzalez,Jonathan	CNY	7638
53	Flintoff,Kirk	AUS	7450
54	Miranda,Bernardo	BRA	7438
55	Gudauskas,Dane	USA	7426
56	Losness,Mike	USA	7350
57	Gudauskas,Tanner	USA	7051
57	Wright,Warwick	ZAF	7051
59	Ziems,Corey	AUS	7025
60	Souza,Adriano de	BRA	6969
61	Thompson,Jay	AUS	6944
62	Savalli,Hugo	REU	6913
63	Padaratz,Neco	BRA	6900
64	Logie,Travis	ZAF	6838
65	Ohno,Masatoshi	JPN	6788
66	Coutinho,Odirlei	BRA	6725
67	Wilson,Blake	AUS	6632
68	Thornton,Blake	AUS	6625
69	Polo,Marco	BRA	6600
70	Collazo,Hodei	ESP	6588
71	Acero,Eneko	EUK	6575
72	Fahrenfort,Damien	ZAF	6557
73	Ward,Shaun	USA	6513
74	Campbell,Ryan	AUS	6500
75	Barron,T.J	HAW	6464
76	Sullivan,Jarrad	AUS	6444
77	Bortoletto,Antonio	ZAF	6313
78	Toth,Brian	PRI	6288
79	Fisher,Paul	AUS	6275
80	Riou,Alain	PYF	6188
81	Galvao,Renato	BRA	6113
82	Aranburu,Aritz	EUK	6094
83	Bastos,Leandro	BRA	6088
84	Silva,Jean da	BRA	6025
85	Hansen,Bobby	NZL	6013
86	Herdy,Guilherme	BRA	5938
87	Rothman,Makuakai	HAW	5844
88	Howse,Jarrad	AUS	5813
88	Laulhe,Romain	FRA	5813
90	Payne,Dusty	HAW	5757
91	Roberts,Gavin	ZAF	5713
92	Geiselman,Eric	USA	5669
93	Benson,Tonino	HAW	5650
94	Rebiere,Eric	FRA	5600
95	Stang,Che	USA	5525
96	Campbell,Luke	AUS	5489
97	Novak,Flynn	HAW	5488
98	Spencer,Sterling	USA	5414
99	Kimmins,Clint	AUS	5313
100	Santos,Robson