Kaua‘i’s Rochelle Ballard eliminated Laurina MacGrath of Australia to advance to the quarterfinals where she will face rookie Rebecca Woods. Fellow Kauaian Keala Kennelly got a good one in her round one heat and avoided round two in the process.
Kaua‘i’s Rochelle Ballard eliminated Laurina MacGrath of Australia to advance to the quarterfinals where she will face rookie Rebecca Woods.
Fellow Kauaian Keala Kennelly got a good one in her round one heat and avoided round two in the process. Sitting in third with thirty seconds on the clock, Kennelly caught a wave worth 7.15 points to jump into first in front of Megan Abubo and Claire Bevilacqua. Still suffering some from a gash on her head courtesy of the Tahitian reef, Kennelly was stoked to avoid round two.
“When that cold water hit where I had my injury, it felt like somebody was taking a nail and a hammer and just pounding it into the back of my skull. It was excruciating — I started screaming. That was really my motivation going into round one, I was thinking, ‘if I make it through this heat, I won’t have to surf again,” Kennelly said. The Roxy Jam UK is the fifth women’s WCT event on the 2005 schedule and features the top 17 women surfers in the world and one wildcard.
Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) ratings leaders, Sofia Mulanovich and Chelsea Georgeson, who sit first and second respectively, posted the days’ highest heat scores; their standout surfing setting the scene for what could potentially become a budding world title race between the best friends.
Georgeson, who posted the event’s highest combined wave score of 17.50 with relative ease, surfed powerfully Todd and Pauline Menczer. Fresh off a victory in Tahiti, the Gold Coast surfer appeared confident and relaxed as she illustrated the new judging criteria perfectly—performing radical, controlled maneuvers in critical sections of the fourfoot waves.
Georgeson has surfed well all year, but seems to have found her stride in recent weeks.
