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Caption: France’s Vincent Duvignac earned the day’s high single-wave score of a 9.13 out of 10 at the Vans US Open of Surfing
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Location: |
Huntington Beach, California, USA |
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Holding period: |
July 26, 2014 |
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Call: |
Men’s Round 1 (Heats 1-18) |
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Conditions: |
Peaky one-to-three foot waves |
HUNTINGTON BEACH, California/USA (Monday, July 28, 2014) – Day three of the 2014 Vans US Open of Surfing hosted Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Prime competition, completing heats 1-18 in peaky one-to-three foot waves at Huntington Beach Pier. Competition saw several standout performances from World Championship Tour (WCT) surfers, while a field of up-and-comers delivered big upsets.
The Vans US Open of Surfing is the third of eight ASP Prime rated Qualification Series (QS) events on the 2014 calendar, offering crucial points towards surfer’s rankings.
Tim Reyes (Huntington Beach, CA), 32, entered the his local event fresh off of a win at the Prime rated Mr Price Pro Ballito in South Africa and commanded his Round 1 heat from start to finish. Reyes, a former ASP WCT campaigner, relied on his contest-winning magic board and hopes to put together another standout performance in front of his hometown crowd.
“I’m feeling good right now and my boards are feeling insane,” Reyes said. “I ordered a bunch of new boards, but went back to the same board that I rode at the Mr Price Pro. Earlier this week the waves were really small, but it’s nice to sleep in my own bed and surf my home spot. I really enjoy surfing here with the good crowd and friends and family here. It’s an awesome thing to be a part of.”
Aritz Aranburu (ESP), 28, current ASP WCT surfer, was one Top 34 member to have a strong start at the Vans US Open of Surfing and the Basque talent’s critical wave selection propelled him to a spot in Round 2. Aranburu, current No. 28 on the WCT, is looking to solidify his position on next year’s Top 34 with a strong standing on the QS.
“I saw Tanner (Gudauskas) surf a smart heat and sometimes the biggest ones are not the best,” Aranburu said. “The medium ones have the best reforms, so I knew which ones were the good ones and I tried to be patient. I think every heat is important to me. I don’t think that the Prime events are easier and I really enjoy competing in both the Primes and the CT. Hopefully I can do well in both.”
Alex Ribeiro (BRA), 24, delivered the upset of the day, eliminating defending event champion Alejo Muniz (BRA), 24. Ribeiro also topped Ventura pair Dane Reynolds, 28, who advanced in second and Conner Coffin, 21, in the process.
“I saw the draw and knew some of the best in the world were in my first heat,” Ribeiro said. “I knew I’d have to get the best waves. Conditions were tough with the low tide, but I just tried to relax and have fun. I’ve been training three times a day, five days a week to prepare for this event and that win felt really good.”
Vincent Duvignac (FRA), 26, who posted a breakthrough performance at the Vans US Open in 2013 with a ninth-place result, continued to display his connection with Huntington Beach while posting the day’s high scores. The Frenchman belted a 9.13 single wave score and a 16.00 heat total.
“It was a tough heat because I know I need a result here to say in the Primes for the rest of the year,” Duvignac said. “I knew it was going to be a hard heat and it’s a relief to get though that one. I’ll go back and watch that heat again to see what mistakes I made. I’m just going to do my best, and a win is the goal for everyone.”
Matt Banting (AUS), 20, current No. 2 on the QS, was electric in Round 1, combining seamless combinations one his forehand and backhand to produce a solid heat victory.
“Last year was a dream come true for me when I made the Semifinals and the ball just kept rolling,” Banting said. “This year I thought I’d have a couple warm up heats in the Pro Juniors and I was stoked to get a couple of sevens in that heat. It’s always good to come back here.”
Kanoa Igarashi (USA), 16, event wildcard, punctuated a day of world-class surfing, taking out a massive heat victory over 2012 event champion Julian Wilson (AUS), 25, Yadin Nicol (AUS), 29, and Dillon Perillo (USA), 24. Igarashi took to his backhand for the win, smashing the day’s high heat total of 17.66 out of 20 in the process.
“This is probably one of the best heat wins I’ve ever had,” Igarashi said. “Julian (Wilson) beat me last year and I lost first round. I was laughing when I had him in my heat again this year and it feels so good to get the win over him.”
The Vans US Open of Surfing runs from July 26 through August 3, 2014 and is webcast LIVE via www.usopenofsurfing.com and www.aspworldtour.com
VANS US OPEN OF SURFING MEN’S ROUND 1 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Josh Kerr (AUS) 14.14, Beyrick De Vries (ZAF) 13.60, Kai Barger (HAW) 12.53, Glenn Hall (IRL) 12.33
Heat 2: Tim Reyes (USA) 15.14, Nathan Yeomans (USA) 14.40, Dion Atkinson (AUS) 13.16, Cooper Chapman (AUS) 11.70
Heat 3: Mitch Crews (AUS) 15.50, Tom Whitaker (AUS) 14.74, Tomas Woods (AUS) 10.60, Marc Lacomare (FRA) 10.57
Heat 4: Miguel Pupo (BRA) 14.26, Thiago Camarao (BRA) 13.46, Wade Carmichael (AUS) 13.17, David Do Carmo (BRA) 10.97
Heat 5: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 15.70, Ezekiel Lau (HAW) 14.06, Jesse Mendes (BRA) 14.00, Hiroto Ohhara (JPN) 12.44
Heat 6: Tanner Gudauskas (USA) 15.10, Joan Duru (FRA) 12.30, Kai Otton (AUS) 12.06, Messias Felix (BRA) 9.86
Heat 7: Aritz Aranburu (ESP) 15.34, Willian Cardoso (BRA) 14.20, Jack Freestone (AUS) 13.90, Evan Geiselman (USA) 12.73
Heat 8: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.76, Krystian Kymerson (BRA) 13.83, Maxime Huscenot (FRA) 14.17, Dylan Graves (PRI) 11.83
Heat 9: Vincent Duvignac (FRA) 16.00, Keanu Asing (HAW) 15.67, Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 13.00, Heitor Alves (BRA) 11.30
Heat 10: Charles Martin (GLP) 10.73, Adam Melling (AUS) 9.90, Ramzi Boukhiam (MAR) 8.40, Marlon Lipke (PRT) 5.50
Heat 11: Perth Standlick (AUS) 14.30, Wiggolly Dantas (BRA) 13.57, Marco Fernandez (BRA) 13.03, Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 10.57
Heat 12: Gavin Gillette (HAW) 12.53, Bino Lopes (BRA) 12.36, Kiron Jabour (HAW) 12.27, Frederico Morais (PRT) 10.93
Heat 13: Cory Arrambide (USA) 14.87, Jonathan Gonzalez (CNY) 14.77, Nat Young (USA) 13.54, Dusty Payne (USA) 12.64
Heat 14: Matt Banting (AUS) 15.33, Michael Dunphy (USA) 12.17, Tomas Hermes (BRA) 11.07, Dale Staples (ZAF) 7.30
Heat 15: Alex Ribeiro (BRA) 13.60, Dane Reynolds (USA) 12.77, Alejo Muniz (BRA) 12.43, Conner Coffin (USA) 9.17
Heat 16: Carlos Munoz (CRI) 14.17, Filipe Toledo (BRA) 12.86, Ricardo Christie (NZL) 8.40, Olamana Eleogram (HAW) 7.57
Heat 17: Kanoa Igarashi (USA) 17.66, Julian Wilson (AUS) 14.94, Dillon Perillo (USA) 12.53, Yadin Nicol (AUS) 11.80
Heat 18: Travis Logie (ZAF) 12.63, Granger Larsen (HAW) 11.37, Jean Da Silva (BRA) 10.33, Davey Cathels (AUS) 10.24
