Tanner Hendrickson (HAW), 20, winner of the Quiksilver Surf Open Acapulco.
PLAYA REVOLCADERO, Acapulco/Mex. (Sunday, July 22, 2012) ? Tanner Hendrickson (Haiku, HI), 20, has won the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 4-Star Quiksilver Surf Open Acapulco in challenging six foot (2 metre) waves at Playa Revolcadero over Leigh Sedley (Queensland,AUS), 28, by a score of 12.03 to 5.04 to secure his first major ASP victory.
Hendrickson relied on his fitness on the last day of competition to battle the trying close-out conditions on his way to the final. The Maui standout topped fellow Hawaiian Gavin Gillette (Kauai, HI), 26, and North Carolina?s Michael Powell (Wrightsville Beach, NC), 24, in close heats and went on to win the final in dominant fashion.
?This is the best feeling in the world right now, I can?t even believe this,? Hendrickson said. ?That was exhausting. It?s one thing to keep duck diving, but when the weather gets this hot you get so warn down and tired. It?s pretty crazy and I?m so happy right now I don?t know what to say.?
Sedley quietly advanced through the opening rounds of competition with ideal wave selection and earned the highest single-wave score on the final day of an 8-point ride, but the Australian was unable to find an open faced wave in the Final and finished runner up overall.
?In the end I?m just glad it?s over right now because I?m so tired,? Sedley said. ?In the final it kind of pulsed a little bit and we got caught in a rip in the first half and Tanner was just lucky to be Johnny on the spot, but congrats to him on the win. He surfed well the whole event. I wish I had a better chance, but I?m happy. I haven?t been completing much lately, so I didn?t expect to make the final.?
Michael Powell (Wrightsville Beach, NC), 24, had a breakthrough performance at the Quiksilver Surf Open Acapulco, far surpassing any of his previous results on the way to his equal 3rd place finish. Powell battled hard in his Semifinal heat against Hendrickson, but fell just short of the score needed to surpass the Hawaiian for a spot in the final.
?I?m happy,? Powell said. ?This is by far the furthest I?ve made it in an ASP event and it?s a little disappointing to make it this far and get cut, but I?m happy. I?m definitely doing the Virginia Beach contest and hopefully I can carry some momentum over to there.?
Carlos Munoz (CRI), 19, was a standout throughout the entire event, displaying an array of progressive airs and turns while advancing to the final day of the Quiksilver Surf Open Acapulco. Munoz surpassed East Coast talent Michael Dunphy (Virginia Beach, VA), 22, in their Quarterfinals bout, but was unable to top Sedley in their Semifinals result to finish equal 3rd overall.
?The waves were really inconsistent and it?s really hard out there, but I tried my best,? Munoz said. ?I was waiting patiently and I couldn?t find a good one, but I?m happy to be here doing events in Latin America.?
Munoz, who is currently competing in his first year in men?s ASP events, was happy to capitalize on the crucial points available in the recent Latin American events and has his sights set on the ASP Prime events in the future.
?I?m trying to qualify for the Prime events and the points are going to help,? Munoz said. ?It?s been great to have these events in Latin America and hopefully we?ll have more in the future.?
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QUIKSILVER SURF OPEN ACAPULCO FINAL RESULT
1 ? Tanner Hendrickson (HAW) 12.33
2 ? Leigh Sedley (AUS) 5.54
QUIKSILVER SURF OPEN ACAPULCO SEMIFINALS RESULTS:
SF 1: Tanner Hendrickson (HAW) 8.80 def. Michael Powell (USA) 8.77
SF 2: Leigh Sedley (AUS) 12.10 def. Carlos Munoz (CRI) 7.00
QUIKSILVER SURF OPEN ACAPULCO QUARTERFINALS RESULTS:
QF 1: Tanner Hendrickson (HAW) 9.07 def. Gavin Gillette (HAW) 8.15
QF 2: Michael Powell (USA) 7.46 def. Colin Moran (USA) 3.87
QF 3: Carlos Munoz (CRI) 12.10 def. Michael Dunphy (USA) 10.23
QF 4: Leigh Sedley (AUS) 13.33 def. Miguel Tudela (PER) 11.14
