It’s been a solid start to the 2013 campaign for Kaua‘i’s Alana Blanchard, who added her second good result in the season’s second Women’s World Championship Tour contest this past week. After an Equal 5th place finish at the Gold
It’s been a solid start to the 2013 campaign for Kaua‘i’s Alana Blanchard, who added her second good result in the season’s second Women’s World Championship Tour contest this past week.
After an Equal 5th place finish at the Gold Coast Roxy Pro, the year’s inaugural event, Blanchard again reached the quarterfinals for another Equal 5th at the Drug Aware Pro at Margaret River, Australia. The year begins with a trio of events Down Under, the third being this coming week’s Rip Curl Women’s Pro at Bells Beach (March 27 to April 1).
Blanchard’s opening-round result placed her in a head’s up heat with Brazil’s Silvana Lima in the second round. She managed to tally a 12.00 to 9.73 victory, scoring on a 6.50 ride and later a 5.50 that put Lima in difficult position. With 12 surfers remaining the third round, Blanchard dominated her three-woman heat and gained access directly into the quarters. Her 12.83 total combo’d the Australian duo of Sally Fitzgibbons (6.94) and Laura Enever (1.25), each of whom saw the triangle for an interference call during the heat.
The waves were less kind in the quarters when Fitzgibbons gained some revenge and bested Blanchard with a combo of her own, 15.40 to 4.77.
The overall result nets Blanchard 5,200 points in the rankings.
Fitzgibbons takes on O‘ahu’s Carissa Moore in one semifinal heat, while Australian surfers Tyler Wright and Stephanie Gilmore make up the second semifinal.
Wailua’s Malia Manuel was knocked out by New Zealand’s Paige Hareb in the second round, taking an Equal 13th place. Hareb’s opening score of 7.83 ended up being too much for Manuel to overcome, with the final tally at 11.23 to 10.17.
Patterns are beginning to take shape early in the season. Blanchard and Manuel have now each picked up the same standing in the first two contests, while Wright, Fitzgibbons, Gilmore and Moore have made the final four in both. With only seven events on the season schedule, points will soon be at a premium and all the women making a run at the top spot will not only have to score well, but hope those top four don’t continue to run deep every time out.
On the men’s side, Gavin Gillette and Sebastian Zietz each made the trip down to Margaret River, but both were unable to advance past the Round of 96. The men’s ASP event is not part of the World Championship Tour season, but there is plenty of cash and points on the table.
O‘ahu’s Dusty Payne was the last Hawai‘i surfer standing, still alive in the quarterfinals.
After the upcoming Bells Beach action, the Women’s World Championship Tour heads to Taranaki, New Zealand for the TSB Bank NZ Surf Festival on April 3.
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