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RIP CURL PRO Bells 2008 Surf Contest Headlines

Dane Reynolds Wows the Crowds in Round 2 of the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach pres. by Snickers

Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach: Saturday, March 22, 2008 ASP World Tour rookie Dane Reynolds (USA) was a world renowned surfer long before he joined the Dream Tour. The 22-year-old Californian brought the boundary-breaking surfing he’s best known for to Round 2 of the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach today.

Surfing Photo: Dane Reynolds throws some spray to send Heitor Alves home in Round 2 of the Rip Curl Pro pres. by Snickers. Credit ASP Tostee

Fellow newcomer Heitor Alves’ (BRA) Bells Beach hopes were sacrificed in the process.

“I got pretty lucky,” Reynolds said of his heat against Alves. “I went out there with a good, positive attitude feeling like the waves were going to come my way and they did. I didn’t see another wave out there that looked like the ones I got, so I was pretty fortunate.”

Alves opened the heat with an excellent 9.17 wave score, but Reynolds answered back with a couple 9s of his own to net the highest wave score (9.73 out of 10.00) and heat total (18.73 out of 20.00) of the event.

“That (9.73) was just a perfect clean face,” Reynolds said. “I would have had to really blow it to not get a score. I basically connected the dots, I didn’t do anything too ridiculous, but that is all it took.

A signature new-school aerial at the end of his fourth ride netted Reynolds the 9.00 he needed to nail the heat and wow the crowds.

“There was a funky section and I really didn’t do a whole lot on the outside so I knew I wasn’t really wasting anything if I tried an air,” Reynolds said. “It paid off.

So far, Reynolds laid back approach to competitive surfing hasn’t hindered his campaign against the world’s best. Reynolds was responsible for Mick Fanning’s only major hiccup last year when he beat the reigning world champion at Lower Trestles, California as a wildcard.

“I don’t want to sacrifice my progressive type of surfing to fit the criteria,” Reynolds said. “That has sort of been my goal this year and so far it’s working.”

The South African contingent, high-profile rookie Jordy Smith among them, was eliminated in one fail, four-heat swoop today. Heats 8-12 each featured Travis Logie, Royden Bryson, Smith and Ricky Basnett respectively, but it was their opponents who will move through to Round 3.

Smith’s elimination came at the hands of 2001 Bells Beach runner-up Danny Wills (AUS).

“Jordy is one of the best surfers in the world but it is hard out here,” Wills said. “Bells is a hard wave to surf. I’ve been coming here for a long time and experience paid off I suppose.”

Wills has competed on the World Tour for 12 years; his highest year-end finish a 3rd in 1998. Wills has won two elite tour events, but never rung the bell.

“I’d love to ring the bell, ring its neck,” Wills joked. “One step at a time though, it feels good to make it out of a heat. It has been awhile.”

Injured surfers redeemed themselves in Round 2 today. Ben Dunn (AUS), Tim Reyes (USA) and Fred Patacchia (HAW) are each through to Round 3 after overcoming ailments that have sidelined them in recent months and years.

Dunn and Reyes are back on tour after receiving injury wildcards for the 2008 season. Both surfers missed events after undergoing knee surgeries last year. Patacchia sat the first event of the year out after deeply bruising his thigh muscle in a Pipeline freesurf a few weeks before the season opener. He took out fellow Hawaiian and housemate Bruce Irons today.

“Me and Bruce are really good friends and we are also staying here at Bells so it was tough,” Patacchia said. We knew one of us wasn’t going to make it through. It’s just unfortunate that we couldn’t have been out there together in the Final but that is just the way it goes.”

Brazilian surfers Adriano de Souza, Jihad Kohdr and Neco Padaratz will join countryman Rodrigo Dornelles in the next round after winning their heats today. Despite earning the highest wave score of the Brazilians today, Alves will have to settle for a 33rd place result and bragging rights after his heat with Reynolds.

Round 3 of the Rip Curl Women’s Pro hit the water upon completion of the Rip Curl Pro Round 2 and another release detailing the outcome of those eight heats will follow later today.

Today’s Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Round 2 Results:
Heat 5: Luke Stedman (AUS) 13.67 def. Chris Ward (USA) 13.33
Heat 6: Jihad Khodr (BRA) 11.30 def. Leonardo Neves (BRA) 10.33
Heat 7: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 14.66 def. Tiago Pires (PRT) 9.66
Heat 8: Ben Dunn (AUS) 13.00 def. Travis Logie (ZAF) 11.14
Heat 9: Tim Reyes (USA) 13.33 def. Royden Bryson (ZAF) 6.80
Heat 10: Daniel Wills (AUS) 13.50 def. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 11.57
Heat 11: Neco Padaratz (BRA) 12.77 def. Ricky Basnett (ZAF) 10.50
Heat 12: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 12.50 def. Bruce Irons (HAW) 11.67
Heat 13: Luke Munro (AUS) 11.27 def. Mikael Picon (FRA) 9.33
Heat 14: Dane Reynolds (USA) 18.73 def. Heitor Alves (BRA) 11.64
Heat 15: Roy Powers (HAW) 13.33 def. Ben Bourgeois (USA) 9.53
Heat 16: Kieren Perrow (AUS) 11.33 def. Michael Campbell (AUS) 7.06

Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Round 3 Match-Ups:
Heat 1: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW)
Heat 2: Tom Whitaker (AUS) vs. Dayyan Neve (AUS)
Heat 3: Taylor Knox (USA) vs. Neco Padaratz (BRA)
Heat 4: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Daniel Wills (AUS)
Heat 5: Jeremy Flores (FRA) vs.Kieren Perrow (AUS)
Heat 6: Bobby Martinez (USA) vs. Jay Thompson (AUS)
Heat 7: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Adriano de Souza (BRA)
Heat 8: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Troy Brooks (AUS)
Heat 9: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Daniel Ross (AUS)
Heat 10: Luke Stedman (AUS) vs. Ben Dunn (AUS)
Heat 11: Pancho Sullivan (HAW) vs. Roy Powers (HAW)
Heat 12: C.J. Hobgood (USA) vs. Dane Reynolds (USA)
Heat 13: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Jihad Khodr (BRA)
Heat 14: Damien Hobgood (USA) vs. Tim Reyes (USA)
Heat 15: Andy Irons (HAW) vs. Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA)
Heat 16: Kai Otton (AUS) vs. Luke Munro (AUS)