By Press Release:

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) NORTH AMERICA

NEWPORT BEACH PRO PRES. BY JEEP
56TH St., Newport Beach, CA
Saturday, September 23, 2006

NATHAN YEOMANS DOMINATES QUARTERFINALS AT NEWPORT BEACH PRO DAY FIVE

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (Saturday, September 23, 2006) – Conditions once again cleaned up for day five of the Newport Beach Pro presented by Jeep. The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Qualifying Series (WQS) two-star event was greeted with offshore 2’-3’ peaks this morning as quarterfinal action commenced for both the men’s division and the ASP grade-two Oakley Pro Junior.

Nathan Yeomans (San Clemente, CA) was on a terror in quarterfinal two racking in a 9.00 and 8.75 for the event-high total heat score of a 17.75 out of a possible 20. The powerful goofyfooter lit up the loping lefthanders with critical floaters and progressive tail slides on his forehand.

“I’m feeling really good. I have a really good board and I just got into a rhythm today,” Yeomans said. “These waves really suit my surfing and I’m looking forward to a good result here.”

Yeomans, who placed second at the WQS two-star Vans Pro in Huntington Beach earlier this season, has had a good run in the ASP North America events in the past and hopes the Newport Beach Pro will further establish his rating on the international tour.

“I always seem to do well in the events close to home,” Yeomans said. “I had a good result at Pantin (Portugal), but I really need to start making a push at the bigger events. Events like the Newport Beach Pro are good for staying sharp but don’t offer much in the way of ratings points.”

Nathaniel Curran (Oxnard, CA), defending Newport Beach Pro champion, continued his 2006 campaign today as he blazed his way into the semifinals with solid surfing on his backhand.

“There’s still plenty of swell in the water and it’s totally rippable,” Curran said. “Everything’s been feeling really good for me throughout this event so hopefully I can get through a few more (heats) and have a repeat of last year.”

Dustin Cuizon (Ewa Beach, HI) kept his Macy’s California Trifecta Surf Series (an ASP specialty series) campaign on track today as he dispatched of Australians Jarrah Tutton (Gold Coast, AUS) and Josh Fuller (AUS) to move into the semifinals. Should Cuizon take a win at the Newport Beach Pro and at October’s O’Neill Cold Water Classic, the young Hawaiian will be awarded $33,333 for winning all Trifecta events.

“Of course I am thinking about it (the money) but I have to focus on one heat at a time,” Cuizon said. “The money is great but my main focus is qualifying for the ASP World Tour. The money is just the icing on the cake.”

The ASP grade-two Oakley Pro Junior experienced some major upsets today as current No. 4 on the ASP North America Pro Junior series Sterling Spencer (Pensacola, FL) was eliminated from competition at the hands of Kilian Garland (Orcutt, CA) and Dane Ward (San Clemente, CA).

With the top-four rated surfers on the ASP North America Pro Junior series being sent to the ASP Billabong World Junior Championships in Narrabeen next January, Spencer’s elimination could cause a potential ratings shift as the juniors head into the season-ender Oakley Pro Junior in Santa Cruz in October.

Wavewatch forecasters have called for a slight increase in swell up to 3’-4’ for tomorrow’s semifinals and finals.

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

For images, contact Larry Beard at larry@larrybeard.com.

Results Day Two:

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

Quarterfinals – 16 surfers remain (1st and 2nd advance)
Quarterfinal 1: Mike Todd (USA) 13.10, Raymond Reichle (HAW) 11.75, Casey Brown (HAW) 9.00, Austin Ware (USA) 8.85
Quarterfinal 2: Nathan Yeomans (USA) 17.25, Dane Reynolds (USA) 13.00, Adam Virs (USA) 8.25, Dustin Barca (HAW) 2.50
Quarterfinal 3: Dustin Cuizon (HAW) 14.50, Nathaniel Curran (USA) 10.55, Jarrah Tutton (AUS) 9.15, Josh Fuller (AUS) 7.10
Quarterfinal 4: Jeremy Johnston (USA) 12.25, Magnum Martinez (VEN) 10.00, Anthony Petruso (USA) 9.80, Eric Geiselman (USA) 9.80

Oakley Pro Junior – ASP Grade-Two

Quarterfinals – 16 surfers remain (1st and 2nd advance)
Quarterfinals 1: Adam Wickwire (USA) 11.00, Brandon Ragenovich (USA) 8.45, Chris Broman (USA) 7.15, Jesse Heilman (USA) 4.90
Quarterfinals 2: Nick Rozsa (USA) 14.50, Casey Brown (HAW) 13.50, Andrew Doheny (USA) 10.65, Dusty Payne (HAW) 7.50
Quarterfinals 3: Kilian Garland (USA) 15.25, Dane Ward (USA) 9.60, Sterling Spencer (USA) 7.65, Torrey Meister (HAW) 7.53
Quarterfinals 4: Brandon Roberts (ZAF) 14.50, Granger Larsen (HAW) 13.75, Ian Ekberg (USA) 7.50, Alex Gray (USA) 6.35

Schedule for Sunday, September 24th, 2006
9:30 am – 10:10 am: Oakley Pro Junior Semifinals (Heats 1-2)
10:10 am – 10:50 am: Newport Beach Pro Semifinals (Heats 1-2)
1:40 pm – 2:05 pm: Oakley Pro Junior Final
2:05 pm – 2:30 pm: Newport Beach Pro Final

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