DEE WHY, New South Wales/Australia (Wednesday, May 4, 2011) -- The two youngest competitors in this year's ASP Commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic Tyler Wright (AUS), 17, and Nikki Van Dijk (AUS), 16, led the charge for the remaining four spots into the quarterfinals at Dee Why Beach in Sydney, today.
A drop in swell to clean, one-meter conditions saw competitors split their round 4 campaigns between the Dee Why point and beach break on Sydney's Northern Beaches.
Current World No. 3 Wright had her work cut out for her against 2005 ASP Women's World Champion Chelsea Hedges (AUS). Choosing to sit on the beach break while Hedges took the point, the pair exchanged stellar performances, Wright topping Hedges by 15.50 to 13.56 (out of 20.00)
Netting 8.50 and a 7.00 rides for her exciting combination of round-house cut backs and critical lip-line floaters, Wright showed just why she is a title contender in her rookie year, advancing into the quarterfinals where she will meet four times ASP Women's World and three time defending event champion Stephanie Gilmore (AUS).
Event wildcard Nikki Van Dijk (Phillip Island, Vic) wrecked havoc with World No. 7 Courtney Conlogue's (USA) Sydney campaign, netting a superb 8.50 ride (out of ten) to win the heat with 14.50 to 12.90 (out of 20.00). Van Dijk's win today marks the best result of her young career earning her spot in the quarterfinals.
Looking supremely in-tune with the conditions at Dee Why, Van Dijk was able to showcase some of her best surfing today. Driving plenty of power through her on the rail carves, the talented 16-year-old is looking to be a formidable opponent when she meets current ratings leader Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) for the second time at this event, in the quarterfinals.
Melanie Bartels (HAW) kept the lid on her stressful round 4 clash against Paige Hareb (NZ). The pair of surfers sat neck-and-neck until the final minutes when Bartels's move to the beach break earned her two of her best rides a 5.67 and 6.23 (out of ten), to advance in first place.
The result marks Bartels' s best of the season. She will face fellow Hawaiian World No. 2 Carissa Moore in the quarterfinals.
2004 ASP Women's World Champion Sofia Mulanovich (PER) surfed a smart heat against Coco Ho (HAW) gaining momentum as she went to lock in a 6.17 and a 7.33 (both out of ten) scores. Mulanovich advanced in first place ahead of Ho who was relegated to an equal 9th result.
With a new swell predicted for Friday, organisers are anticipating a lay day tomorrow before competition resumes on either Friday or Saturday. The next call will take place at Dee Why Beach at 7.30 am on Thursday morning.
Vidéo suivante dans 5 secondes
