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ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) NORTH AMERICA

O’NEILL SI PRO PRESENTED BY RON JON
Sebastian Inlet, Florida
January 5-11, 2007

INTERNATIONAL FIELD SLUGS IT OUT AT DAY ONE OF O’NEILL SI PRO

SEBASTIAN INLET, Florida (Friday, January 5th, 2007) – The 2007 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) North America season got underway this morning in punchy 2’-3’ peaks at Sebastian Inlet for the O’Neill SI Pro presented by Ron Jon.

The opening day for the ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) four-star event saw the 176-surfer field trim down to 128 as it blazed through two rounds of competition.

Dave Reardon-Smith (Sunshine Coast, AUS) secured the highest heat score of the morning with a 13.50 out of a possible 20. The powerful natural-footer muscled through the shifty beachbreak surfing equally well on both lefts and rights to advance into round three.

“It’s pretty difficult out there with the tide right now,” Reardon-Smith said. “There are some flat spots that suck all your speed out and you really just have to get lucky. I’m stoked I got through and hopefully I can go a few more.”

A swath of local surfers was well-represented with Sebastian Inlet stalwarts Blake Jones (Melbourne Beach, FL), Bryan Hewitson (Indiatlantic, FL) who would go on to claim the day’s highest heat total of a 13.67 out of a possible 20, and Adam Wickwire (Satellite Beach, FL) all winning their respective round two heats.

Wickwire, who narrowly missed out on qualifying for the Billabong ASP World Junior Championships taking place in Australia right now, was in searing form as his quickness and finesse was unrivaled in the speedy righthanders.

“I was a bit bummed I didn’t qualify for the ASP World Junior Championships,” Wickwire said. “I’m stoked to be here though. It’s nice to compete close to home, and the waves are familiar to me. I’m not in any rush to go on the tour full on yet. I’m just happy to keep focusing on select junior and WQS events. Everything will come in time.”

Jamie Parkhurst (San Clemente, CA) punctuated the afternoon’s action with a stunning come-from-behind victory. Needing a combination of scores with less than five minutes to go, the progressive goofy-footer relocated south to the jetty and picked off two lengthy lefthanders for a 6.10 and a 6.43.

“Let’s just put it this way, I was scrambling back and forth from peak to peak and couldn’t find anything,” Parkhurst said. “I went and sat by myself over by the jetty and got some of the best lefts of the heat and managed to squeeze in a couple of baby turns.”

In its third season as an ASP WQS four-star event, the O’Neill SI Pro will feature some of the most respected names in surfing in the upcoming days including defending event champion Damien Hobgood (Satellite Beach, FL), inaugural event champion Cory Lopez (Indian Rocks Beach, FL), and fellow Dream Tour members C.J. Hobgood (Melbourne, FL) and Gabe Kling (St. Augustine, FL).

The Surfline swell forecast looks promising for the next few days of the O’Neill SI Pro and event organizers and surfers will be looking to capitalize by running as many heats as possible.

Competition will resume tomorrow morning at 8:00 am with Heat 1 of the Round of 128.

Live scoring will be available at www.aspnorthamerica.org.

For more information, log onto www.aspnorthamerica.org or www.oneillsipro.com.

RESULTS: DAY ONE O’Neill SI Pro presented by Ron Jon – ASP WQS four-star

Round One: 176 surfers remain (1st and 2nd advance)
Heat 1: Brett Barley (USA) 8.90, Jesse Hines (USA) 8.50, Matt Turner (USA) 6.80, Oliver Kurtz (USA) 6.37
Heat 2: Eric Worley (USA) 10.50, Rodrigo Cahu de Lima (USA) 10.17, Chase Newsom (USA) 5.16, Taylor Brothers (USA) 4.44
Heat 3: David Awbrey (USA) 7.60, Sean Poynter (USA) 6.50, Josh Wilson (USA) 5.65, Kris Hopkins (USA) 3.10
Heat 4: Phillip Goold (USA) 13.33, Tommy Bursian (PRI) 11.37, Lyn Meyers (USA) 5.37, Leslie Bursian (PRI) 0.80
Heat 5: Dane Hamilton (USA) 11.67, Wesley Toth (PRI) 7.47, Cody Thompson (USA) 6.80, Devon Ayers (USA) 4.96
Heat 6: Robert Wurlitzer (USA) 10.76, Jensen Callaway (USA) 8.94, Michael Dunphy (USA) 6.90, Ian Block (USA) 4.90
Heat 7: Scott Hammonds (USA) 12.00, Jason Harris (USA) 7.10, Shane Murray (USA) 5.40, Rick Martis (USA) 2.07
Heat 8: Gary Wheeler (USA) 9.17, Harry Sack (USA) 5.86, Matt Johnson (USA) 5.83, Ryan Ragan (USA) 3.94

Round Two: 160 surfers remain (1st and 2nd advance)
Heat 1: Mark Dawson (USA) 9.97, Sean Taylor (USA) 9.60, Willie Safreed (USA) 8.93, Brett Barley (USA) 7.70
Heat 2: Blake Jones (USA) 10.40, Eddie Lester (USA) 9.90, NIls Schweizer (USA) 9.30, Jesse Hines (USA) 7.54
Heat 3: Dave Reardon-Smith (AUS) 13.50, Matt Myers (USA) 9.20, Scott Posner (USA) 7.30, Eric Worley (USA) 5.03
Heat 4: Rodrigo Lima (USA) 11.84, Jordan Gaudet (USA) 9.77, John John Florence (HAW) 7.87, Caleb Johnston (USA) 6.60
Heat 5: David Awbrey (USA) 10.84, Nick Kovak (USA) 7.76, Colin Schildhauer (USA) 6.07, Randy Townsend (USA) 3.10
Heat 6: Justin Jones (USA) 7.14, Layne Harrison (USA) 6.50, Sean Poynter (USA) 5.50, Shey Yates (USA) 4.94
Heat 7: Brandon Guilmette (USA) 11.33, Jorge Spanner (USA) 8.23, Dillon Perillo (USA) 6.90, Phillip Goold (USA) 6.57
Heat 8: Kahana Kalama (USA) 12.50, Tommy Bursian (PRI) 10.13, Jacob Kirschenbaum (USA) 7.63, Ben Graeff (USA) 6.10
Heat 9: Roger Eales (USA) 10.43, Dane Hamilton (USA) 9.33, Bryson Greaves (USA) 11.36, Tom Rezvan (USA) 7.03
Heat 10: Jamie Parkhurst (USA) 12.53, Wesley Toth (PRI) 11.67, Gustavo Schlickmann (BRA) 11.36, Tom Rezvan (USA) 7.03
Heat 11: Matt Shadbolt (USA) 10.83, Jeremy Sherwin (USA) 7.50, Robert Wurlitzer (HAW) 7.00, David Rutherford (MEX) 6.87
Heat 12: Sean Tubbs (USA) 10.67, Austin Smith-Ford (USA) 10.16, Jensen Callaway (USA) 9.33, Josh Nicastro (USA) 7.80
Heat 13: Adam Wickwire (USA) 13.13, Rylan McCart (USA) 12.76, Scott Hammonds (USA) 10.50, Dane Ward (USA) 6.83
Heat 14: Jason Harris (USA) 10.57, Chris Abad (USA) 8.43, Casey Landvogt (USA) 8.10, Danny Hart (USA) 6.37
Heat 15: Ryan Briggs (USA) 10.40, Ian Rotgans (USA) 9.63, Tony Adams (USA) 6.76, Gary Wheeler (USA) 6.73
Heat 16: Bryan Hewitson (USA) 13.67, Marshall Alberga (USA) 10.70, Craig Daniels (USA) 6.20, Harry Sack (USA) 4.84

Event Schedule: O’Neill SI Pro pres. by Ron Jon – ASP WQS four-star event

Day One – Friday, January 5, 2007
8:00 am – 12:00 am: Heats 1 – 8 (Round of 176)
12:00 am – 4:00 pm: Heats 1 – 16 (Round of 160)
Day Two – Saturday, January 6, 2007
8:00 am – 4:00 pm: Round of 128
Day Three – Sunday, January 7, 2007
To be determined
Day Four – Monday, January 8, 2007
To be determined
Day Five – Tuesday, January 9, 2007
To be determined
Day Six – Wednesday January 10, 2007 or Thursday, January 11, 2007
To be determined

NOTE: SCHEDULE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

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