Oxbow WLT 

ASP World Longboard Tour Event #2
San Onofre, San Diego California
5 - 9 November 2008

Live Scoring  |  Results/Photos/Videos etc

Trialist Joe Aaron Eliminates Reigning ASP WLT Champion Phil Rajzman in Round 3        >  Francaise 

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 7 November, 2008 : - - San Clemente -- The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Longboard Tour (WLT) completed Round 3 of the Oxbow World Longboard Tour at San Onofre State Beach today in Peaky two-to-three foot (1 metre) surf.

Round 3 action saw event trialist Joe Aaron (USA), 17, eliminate reigning ASP WLT Champion Phil Rajzman (BRA) from competition, while Hawaiians Bonga Perkins (HAW), 36, and Ned Snow (AUS), 23, posted some big scores in their bouts.

The Oxbow World Longboard Tour at San Onofre State Beach marks the last of two events on the ASP WLT with the top finisher of the series taking the title of ASP World Longboard Champion. Ingleby won the last Oxbow World Longboard Tour event at Les Cavalliers in Anglet, France and the Australian is still in the hunt for back-to-back Oxbow World Longboard Tour wins.

Aaron, who entered the Oxbow World Longboard Tour event via the trials, issued the upset of the contest by eliminating the defending ASP WLT champion, Rajzman, from competition in a tight Round 3 heat to advance into Round 4. The unexpected elimination of Rajzman by the young local surfer halts the Brazilians chances of a repeat ASP WLT title.

Taylor Jenson : photo ASP Morris/Covered Images

“I’m so psyched,” Aaron said. “I’m just stoked that I got the sets and beating him is just such a career highlight for me. To me, before I started that heat I was kind of thinking that going against the world champ, that it was impossible for me to advance, but I guess nothing’s impossible.”

Aaron, who is the youngest surfer remaining in the event, hopes he can carry the confidence earned from defeating the current ASP WLT Champion into his next heat. “This helps my confidence,” Aaron said. “This betters me and I just want to keep on trucking and try to stay confident in my next heat.”

Perkins opened up his heat by dropping an 8.0 and followed it up with the highest single wave score of the event, a 9.50, both out of a possible 10, in the opening minutes of his Round 3 match up against local surfer Brad Vetter (USA) and held on to take the heat victory.

“The 9.5 was my second wave and it wasn’t a set wave, but it lined up really good,” Perkins said. “I think when you have these conditions sometimes the biggest waves aren’t the best ones because the smaller ones have more of a wall. That wave really helped me out in the long run, because I had a couple of 8’s and Brad (Vetter) had a couple of 8’s, so that made the difference. I’ll take it.”

Cole Robbins : photo ASP Morris/Covered Images

Despite the fact that Perkins earned one of the highest heat totals of the event, Vetter fought back and posted a 17.15 out of 20, falling just short of Perkins’ near-perfect performance. “Brad (Vetter), my props to him because he just made it that much harder,” Perkins said. “He started banging out a couple of 8’s, it came down to the last couple of minutes. It was a pretty close one though. That was a nail biter.

All these guys who surf here, especially the local boys, you’re kind of at a disadvantage when you surf against them when San Onofre State Beach gets a little small and a little more technical. These guys pick up on it quick so I just wanted to catch a couple waves early in my heat so at least I’d have a chance. It proved to be the winning combination so I’m pretty happy about that.”

Perkins, who is currently third on the ASP WLT, is still in contention to claim this year’s ASP World Longboard Title, but the veteran surfer is focusing on his Round 4 heat against Jared Neal (AUS) first. “It would be nice, but I can’t even think about it right now,” Perkins said. “Of course that’s the ultimate reward, but right now I’m just taking it heat by heat. I’ve got Jared Neal next and I’m more focused on that at the moment than I am going for a world title.”

Ned Snow took advantage of a desired rematch against 2006 ASP World Champion Josh Constable (AUS) and earned the better of the exchange at San Onofre State Beach today by posting a heat total of 17.40 to oust the defending champion from the event. Snow lost to Constable in the Final of the 2006 ASP WLT Championships and was happy to get his chance to top the fierce competitor at this year’s Oxbow World Longboard Tour event.

Mathew Moir : photo ASP Rowland/Covered Images

“It was a good rematch,” Snow said. “When I saw my name dropped in next to his I was really excited. I’m stoked with how it turned out. I’ve been waiting to come up against him for a while because he won the World Championships in 2006 and I got second. I wish I was in his position back then, but it’s all good. That was that event and there’s always another.”

Tomorrow’s Oxbow World Longboard Tour at San Onofre State Beach will see the event’s top performers hit the water in Round 4 at 7:30am. Log on to oxbowpro.com for live scoring, results, photos and additional event info.

Check the Live Scores

Oxbow World Longboard Tour Round 3 Results:
Heat 1: Colin McPhillips (USA) 16.00 def. Damien Castera (FRA) 12.20
Heat 2: Timothee Creignout (FRA) 14.00 def. Troy Mothershed (USA) 12.15
Heat 3: Jared Neal (AUS) 12.60 def. Duane de Soto (HAW) 12.45
Heat 4: Bonga Perkins (HAW) 17.50 def. Brad Vetter (USA) 12.60
Heat 5: Eduardo Bage (BRA) 10.55 def. Jonathan Larcher (FRA) 10.50
Heat 6: Jamie Viudes (BRA) 13.00 def. Jeremias da Silva (BRA) 12.25
Heat 7: Ned Snow (HAW) 17.40 def. Josh Constable (AUS) 14.20
Heat 8: Harley Ingleby (AUS) 17.60 def. Steve Newton (USA) 13.75
Heat 9: Antoine Delpero (FRA) 10.00 def. Tom Witt (USA) 9.07
Heat 10: Bryce Young (AUS) 11.75 def. Tom Lloy (USA) 10.25
Heat 11: Josh Baxter (USA) 13.50 def. Amaro Matos (BRA) 10.10
Heat 12: Romain Maurin (FRA) 14.85 def. Cole Robbins (USA) 13.50
Heat 13: Joe Aaron (USA) 11.50 def. Phil Rajzman (BRA) 11.25
Heat 14: Alex Salazar (BRA) 14.75 def. Ben Skinner (GBR) 12.90
Heat 15: Matthew Moir (ZAF) 14.60 def. Sam Bleakley (GBR) 10.40
Heat 16: Taylor Jensen (USA) 18.25 def. Kekoa Uemura (HAW) 8.35
 
 

Previous reports:
# 1 : Oxbow World Longboard Tour to hold 2nd event in U.S.A.
# 2 : Final leg of the Oxbow World Longboard Tour hits San'O
# 3 : Oxbow World Longboard Tour sets sights on San Onofre

# 4 : Oxbow contest to decide ASP World Longboard Champ 
# 5 : Oxbow World Longboard Tour final leg to hit San Onofre 
# 6 : ASP World Longboard Champ to be named at Oxbow WLT 

# 7 : Top seeds shine Day 1 of Oxbow World Longboard Tour
# 8 : Oxbow World Longboard Tour finishes Rd 2 in clean surf

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