Kaua‘i bodyboarders dominated the Dave & Buster’s Sandy Beach Pro, which concluded Sunday on O‘ahu. Kaua‘i boarders filled in the top four positions of the Men Pro division and two of four positions in the DK Pro and rounded out
Kaua‘i bodyboarders dominated the Dave & Buster’s Sandy Beach Pro, which concluded Sunday on O‘ahu.
Kaua‘i boarders filled in the top four positions of the Men Pro division and two of four positions in the DK Pro and rounded out the competition with another two of four positions in the Open Men Am division.
Sammy Morretino, after struggling through the open heats, quarterfinals and semis, topped the final round of the Men Pro division with 15.84 points, edging out United States Bodyboarding Association No. 2 Jeff Hubbard who finished with 14 points.
Dave Hubbard, top seeded in USBA ranking, showing strong in the heats leading to the finals, ended in third with 11.34 points and Matt Holzman rounding out the leaders with 7.5 points.
Morretino opened with a second place in Round 1, netting a 6.5 below JB Hillen who topped the heat with a 13.16 showing.
The scenario repeated in Round 2 where Hillen topped the heat on a 15.16 showing followed by Morretino at 12.5 and Tanner McDaniel, who is the youngest Kaua‘i surfer in the event sponsored by Mike Stewart, according to Debra Kekaualua in an email to The Garden Island, and ranked tied for No. 5 by USBA. McDaniel finished with 7.5 points.
Dave Hubbard entered the fray by topping his heat on a 12.34 showing along with Jeff Hubbard, who tallied 15 points, and Holzman, who ended tops at 12.16 points.
Dave Hubbard topped the heat in the quarterfinals, netting a 14.73 over Morretino’s 12.5 points.
Jeff Hubbard topped his heat on 14.27 points followed by Holzman at 11.6 points, all four surfers advancing to the semis.
Dave Hubbard continued his strong showing, topping his heat with 14.66 points over Morretino’s 14.4, while Jeff Hubbard topped his heat in the semis with 17.1`7 points, his best showing in the division, over Holzman who ended with 13.67 to advance to the finals.
But Dave Hubbard rebounded in the DK Pro to finish top in the finals on 10.67 points, edging out Morretino by .17 of a point. Morretino ended with 10.5 points for the 1-2 final placement.
In that event, Dave Hubbard opened with a second place in his quarterfinal heat while Morretino ended tops in his heat and Pohaku Kekaualua, ranked No. 25 by the USBA, getting nudged with a fourth finish.
Both Dave Hubbard and Morretino showed strong in the Third-Final, Dave netting a 15.33 showing for first while Morretino carded 15 points for his first finish, advancing to the semis where they repeated with first finishes, Dave netting 16.67 while Morretino pocketed 15.83 points heading to the final heat.
Holzman topped the Open Men Am division with 15.24 points in the finals while Morretino settled for third place at 12.4 points.
Leading to the finals, Morretino opened Round 1 with a first finish at 15.2 points along with Holzman who pocketed 13.93 points for his first finish.
McDaniel was relegated to third in his heat with 5.5 points.
Holzman topped his heat in the quarterfinals with 13.83 points, while Morretino settled for second place with 13.5 points, tying Michael Raithaus on points, but being given the No. 2 position in the heat, but advancing to the finals against Holzman.
Stephanie Franke, Anabelle Guittard, Karlie Thomas, Ciara Boggs and Liana Carson filled in the leader boards for the Open Women Am division.
Karla Costa Taylor, ranked No. 3 by the USBA, topped the Woman Pro division, followed by Liana Carson, Roberta Bitzer, ranked No. 2 by USBA, and Claudia Ferrari, ranked No. 1 by USBA.
Next on the USBA U.S. National Championship Tour is the Scion Jenks Pro, which runs from Sept. 1 through 7 in California.
Visit www.usbatour.com for more information.
