With two of the three best waves of the event, Tatiana Weston-Webb has moved into the quarterfinals at the 2013 HD World Junior Championships. Having been born in Brazil but now living on Kauai, Tati has dual citizenship and is
With two of the three best waves of the event, Tatiana Weston-Webb has moved into the quarterfinals at the 2013 HD World Junior Championships.
Having been born in Brazil but now living on Kauai, Tati has dual citizenship and is looking for the prestigious title in her birth nation, with the competition taking place in Florianopolis, Brazil.
There were 18 surfers in the Girls draw to start the event, which required a previous title of significance for an invitation. Some of the other top surfers included fellow Team Hawaii regulars Mahina Maeda and Dax McGill, American Frankie Harrer, South African Bianca Biutendag and France’s Johanne Defay. Tati had a tough battle in the opening three-surfer heat, going back and forth with Chelsea Tuach of Barbados. In the end, Tati pulled ahead with a 14.27 total to Tuach’s 13.50 and earned a spot in the third round.
Harrer, Biutendag, Maeda, New Zealand’s Ella Williams and Australia’s Stephanie Single also won their non-elimination opening heats to move directly into Round 3.
The first heat of the third round pitted Tati against teammate McGill. Each are expected to be major forces in the future of women’s surfing, with Tati having already placed well in just about every competition available to her and Dax winning the International Surfing Association’s Women’s Under 18 world title at just 14 years of age. This time, Tati got the best of Dax, using an 8.83 score – the highest of the event – and backed it up with a 7.67 for a 16.50 to 12.20 win. Those two scores for Tati were actually the two highest of the round for any of the 16 competitors.
Harrer, Tuach, Biutendag, Maeda, Williams, Single and Defay also won their head-to-head elimination heats and moved into the quarterfinals. Tati and Harrer will now go head-to-head for a spot in the semifinals when action resumes today.
Keanu Asing and Josh Moniz are two of the 24 remaining surfers on the Men’s side, which was halfway through Round 3 when Thursday’s action concluded. Follow the action at hd-wjc.com.
– The HIC Pro at Sunset Beach resumed Thursday after a lay day call on Wednesday. Action picked up in the Round of 128 and moved into the Round of 96.
Kauai’s Evan Valiere, Alex Smith, Dylan Goodale and Kaimana Jaquias all advanced into the Round of 64 on Thursday, while Koa Smith, Nathan Carvalho and Chris Foster were all eliminated in earlier heats.”
Continued coverage can be found at vans.com/eventsites/hicpro/
RED SOX TOP REDBIRDS: The Boston Red Sox proved to be the better team and took care of the St. Louis Cardinals in six games. It was certainly a learning experience for Kolten Wong, who now has one of the more memorable pick-offs in playoff history. The fact that it was Carlos Beltran at the plate really compounded the error that ended Game 4. Had it been the bottom of the order and not one of the best postseason hitters of all-time, it would have been simply a mistake and not such a blunder. Remember, the Cards were still down by two runs with two outs and facing the apparently unhittable Koji Uehara, so they were still a huge underdog to tie things up. But seeing Beltran have to walk back to the dugout past Matt Holiday, each without a chance to at least take a crack at Uehara is what will keep that play alive for quite some time.
On the other side of the coin, Shane Victorino showed again why he has been so important to Boston’s success. Despite going just 2 for 13 in the World Series, Victorino ignited Boston in the clincher, going 2 for 3 with 4 RBIs, including a bases-loaded double to plate all three runners in the third inning. That got the ball rolling for the Sox, who chased St. Louis starter Michael Wacha in the fourth inning and went on to a 6-1 victory and their third World Series title in 10 years.
In his postseason career with the bases loaded, Victorino is now 6 for 8 with two home runs and 20 RBIs. Some argue there’s no such thing as “clutch hitting,” but I’ll take Victorino in a big spot over just about anyone.
