By Press Release:

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) NORTH AMERICA

NEWPORT BEACH PRO PRES. BY JEEP
56TH St., Newport Beach, CA
Friday, September 22, 2006

BIG GUNS FIRE AT BUSINESS END OF NEWPORT BEACH PRO

Dustin Cuizon Picture credit ASP Tostee

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (Friday, September 22, 2006) – Top-seeded competitors blasted through difficult onshore conditions today to advance through to the quarterfinals of the Newport Beach Pro presented by Jeep. An Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) event, the Newport Beach Pro features a World Qualifying Series (WQS) two-star event as well as the ASP grade-two Oakley Pro Junior.

Dustin Cuizon (Ewa Beach, HI), winner of the Body Glove Surfbout last April, further extended his lead in the Macy’s California Trifecta Surf Series as he glided through his Round of 32 heat. With the elimination of main competition Alex Gray (Palos Verdes, CA), a Cuizon victory at the Newport Beach Pro will bring the young Hawaiian one step closer to the $33,333 prize offered to the surfer who wins all three events in the series.

“I just try to focus on one heat at a time and hopefully I will make it there. I’ll try not to fumble the ball as I go all the way,” Cuizon said.

Nathaniel Curran (Oxnard, CA), defending Newport Beach Pro champion, was in excellent form this morning executing lengthy floaters on his backhand despite a recent ankle injury.

“I have a good board so I’m really stoked,” Curran said. “My ankle is feeling better – I had injured it and it’s still a bit shaky with the chop but it feels better now. I’d love to have a repeat of last year.”

Dane Reynolds (Ventura, CA) has been absent from most WQS competitions as of late, but looks to be a real contender for this year’s Newport Beach Pro.

“I’m doing the smaller-star WQS events because I can’t get into the bigger ones so I’m trying to build up some kind of a seed for next year so I can get into the events that I want to do,” Reynolds said. “I’d like to get some sort of a campaign going for the WQS.”

Mike Todd (Laguna Beach, CA) looked solid in his Round of 32 heat this morning as he sniffed out the rare running lefthanders and demolished them on his forehand.

“There’re still a lot of waves out there and you’ve just got to put them together and pick the best ones,” Todd said. “I’ve been doing comps all year and I know the format. I’m just trying to work on my turns and hopefully the judges like it.”

Todd, who currently sits 36th on the ASP WQS ratings, has had a busy year competing internationally and appreciates an event that is close to home.

“I live just in Laguna down the road and it’s nice to have a little event to stay sharp – to keep your head in the game,” Todd said. “It’s fun to come up and surf with your friends and the extra prize money doesn’t hurt of course.”

The Oakley Pro Junior, a grade-two ASP event, hit the water this afternoon for rounds one and two. Despite the onshore conditions, North America’s top juniors still managed to muscle out some big scores.

Current top-five surfers on the ASP North American Pro Junior series Sterling Spencer (Pensacola, FL) and Nick Rozsa (Oxnard, CA) advanced through to the quarterfinals of the Oakley Pro Junior today, but the big upset was the shock elimination of current ASP North America Pro Junior series ratings-leader Eric Geiselman (New Smyrna Beach, FL) at the hand of South African import Brandon Roberts (Sun Valley, ZAF).

The Oakley Pro Junior here in Newport the second-to-last event on the ASP North America Pro Junior series with the qualifiers for the ASP Billabong World Junior Championships to be determined at the season-closer Oakley Pro Junior in Santa Cruz in October.

Wavewatch forecasters have called for the swell to remain in the 2’-3’ range with a possible shift in the wind from onshore to offshore for the weekend.

The quarterfinals of both the Newport Beach Pro presented by Wavewatch and the Oakley Pro Junior will run tomorrow from 9:30 am to 12:10 pm, semifinals and finals to run on Sunday.

Live webcast will recommence tomorrow morning and is available at www.aspnorthamerica.org or http://surfermag.com/events/nbpro06.

Results Day Two:

Newport Beach Pro pres. by Jeep – ASP WQS Two-Star

Round 5 – 32 surfers remain (1st and 2nd advance)
Heat 1: Casey Brown (HAW) 11.40, Adam Virs (USA) 11.00, Matt Shadbolt (USA) 8.25, Flynn Novak (HAW) 7.85
Heat 2: Mike Todd (USA) 12.40, Nathan Yeomans (USA) 12.15, Blake Howard (USA) 8.00, Nick Rozsa (USA) 2.95
Heat 3: Dane Reynolds (USA) 13.25, Raymond Reichle (HAW) 10.25, Brad Ettinger (USA) 7.45, Nick Kovack (USA) 7.45
Heat 4: Dustin Barca (HAW) 13.25, Austin Ware (USA) 9.60, Sean Hayes (USA) 7.75, Michel Flores (BRA) 7.25
Heat 5: Dustin Cuizon (HAW) 11.50, Magnum Martinez (VEN) 9.95, Chaz Chidester (HAW) 8.55, Sean Marceron (USA) 7.05
Heat 6: Nathaniel Curran (USA) 12.55, Anthony Petruso (USA) 10.00, Bron Heussenstam (USA) 9.85, Alex Gray (USA) 8.50
Heat 7: Eric Geiselman (USA) 14.00, Jarrah Tutton (AUS) 11.25, Dane Gudauskas (USA) 7.70, Travis Beckman (USA) 7.50
Heat 8: Jeremy Johnston (USA) 10.65, Josh Fuller (AUS) 9.85, Dillon Perillo (USA) 8.95, Chad Compton (USA) 8.75

Oakley Pro Junior – ASP Grade-Two

Round 1 –
Heat 1: Mason Ho (HAW) 12.75, Jason Harris (USA) 12.00, Logan Strook (USA) 7.50, Colin Schildhauer (USA) 5.25
Heat 2: Dusty Payne (HAW) 16.00, Andrew Doheny (USA) 9.75, Chris Waring (USA) 8.75, Patrick Cahill (USA) 7.00
Heat 3: Riley Metcalf (USA) 8.50, Drew Ventura (USA) 7.55, JC Toro (USA) 6.65, Kyle Kennelly (USA) 6.30
Heat 4: Casey Brown (HAW) 12.25, Brent Reilly (USA) 7.55, Jamie Parkhurst (USA) 6.85, Nick Blunda (USA) 3.95
Heat 5: Kilian Garland (USA) 12.00, Ian Ekberg (USA) 8.80, Kevin Kapsky (USA) 6.60, Dewey Cunnison (USA) 4.65
Heat 6: Torrey Meister (HAW) 16.00, Casey Landvogt (USA) 10.25, Matt Myers (USA) 9.90, Gustavo Salazar (USA) 7.80
Heat 7: Granger Larsen (HAW) 14.25, Dane Ward (USA) 12.50, Ricky Whitlock (USA) 9.75, TJ Mikus (USA) 7.10
Heat 8: Brandon Roberts (ZAF) 14.25, Chris Ropero (USA) 9.20, Brady McKenzie (USA) 7.10, Eddie Lester (USA) 6.30

Round 2 –
Heat 1: Chris Broman (USA) 11.50, Andrew Doheny (USA) 8.65, Mason Ho (HAW) 6.25, Eddie Guilbeau (USA) 6.10
Heat 2: Brandon Ragenovich (USA) 12.50, Dusty Payne (HAW) 10.80, Tanner Gudauskas (USA) 9.25, Jason Harris (USA) 7.60
Heat 3: Nick Rozsa (USA) 11.00, Jesse Heilman (USA) 9.85, Brent Reilly (USA) 6.90, Riley Metcalf (USA) 6.05
Heat 4: Casey Brown (HAW) 15.25, Adam Wickwire (USA) 13.25, Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 8.25, Drew Ventura (USA) 7.45
Heat 5: Kilian Garland (USA) 13.75, Alex Gray (USA) 13.25, Casey Landvogt (USA) 5.55, Travis Beckmann (USA) 2.45
Heat 6: Torrey Meister (HAW) 14.50, Ian Ekberg (USA) 9.50, Alejandro Moreda (PRI) 9.00, Jeremy Johnston (USA) 8.25
Heat 7: Granger Larsen (HAW) 14.15, Sterling Spencer (USA) 11.25, Chris Ropero (USA) 10.25, Matt Mohagen (USA) 7.70
Heat 8:

Schedule for Saturday, September 23rd, 2006
9:30 am – 10:50 am: Newport Pro pres. by Jeep Quarterfinals (Heats 1-8)
10:50 am – 12:10 pm: Oakley Pro Junior Quarterfinals (Heats 1-8)

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