Rapidly improving conditions on offer this morning at Snapper Rocks as five-time ASP Women’s World Champion Stephanie Gilmore faced off against an on-fire Courtney Conlogue.
Both surfers lit up the morning Snapper Rocks walls, blending dynamic top-turns with forehand arcs.
Despite Conlogue’s significantly improved game on the elite level, it was Gilmore who came away with the morning win.
Quarterfinal 2: Carissa Moore (HAW) 10.33 def. Malia Manuel (HAW) 7.00
While the morning’s first Quarterfinal was filled with a flurry of waves ridden, the second Quarterfinal would see a slow affair from reigning Women’s World Champ Carissa Moore and fellow Hawaiian Malia Manuel.
With both competitors logging average scores throughout the 30 minute affair, the door was left wide open for either surfer to take the victory. While Moore’s scoreline consisted of a 5.50 and a 4.83, it would earn her a Quarterfinals berth at the Roxy Pro.
Moore will face off against Stephanie Gilmore in Semifinal No. 1.
South African goofy-footer Bianca Buitendag was on point this point this morning as she leveraged her impressive physique out at Snapper Rocks to score an upset victory over defending event winner Tyler Wright.
Buitendag succeeded in finding the best waves on offer and decimating the sections on her backhand. Wright, on the other hand, struggled to find waves that would allow her opportunity to perform.
Californian Lakey Peterson would take on 2013 Roxy Pro runner-up Sally Fitzgibbons in a budding rivalry, with both the American and Australian delivering a flurry of excellent rides throughout the 30 minute affair.
The Quarterfinals match up would see a series of exchanges for the lead, but Peterson would fight back in the final minutes of the heat, locking in an excellent 8-point ride, devastating Fitzgibbons’ chances of a repeat final appearance.
Peterson will face off against South African Bianca Buitendag in the Semifinals.
