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Cederman Outlasts Opponents in Marathon Effort to Claim First-Ever Win

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Hometown hero Luke Cederman blasted his way through five rounds of surfing at Raglan today (Sunday 29th April) to win his first ever national event – the Backdoor Oceanbridge Manu Bay Pro.

Cederman was joined by another first-time winner in Aimee Brown (Great Barrier Island) who not only won the Open Women’s Division but also took out the Under 18 Girls Division in a stellar day of surfing from the young 17-year-old.

The day dawned with barely a wave on the point at Manu Bay but by the time competition got underway, the swell began to pulse until it reached a peak in excess of 1.5m in the afternoon with strong offshore winds from the northeast direction.

Cederman won the low scoring final with a 10.67 point heat total which was not representative of his dominant performances throughout the day.

“Five heats, I am bloody exhausted right now” Cederman said.

“I don’t think I have ever had five heats in a day in my life, maybe three at some stage, yeah, I’m pretty tired” he added as he got out of his wetsuit post final.

“It is my first win ever, I have never made a final out here even, I have come close a couple of times so it’s nice to finally win one I guess.”

Cederman took the win like he takes most of his surfing, with an ease and nonchalant approach that seems to have finally worked.

“Yeah well I have never really cared too much for competitive surfing although I have dabbled in it quite a bit, but yeah with no real pressure it is nice to come out here, get a few waves and do a few turns.  Now I am pumped for next weekend, with back-to-back comps it would be nice to get on a roll.”

Cederman defeated Mount Maunganui surfer Matt Hewitt in the final, Hewitt finishing second with a score of 9.80 points.   Hewitt led toward the end of the final before Cederman took the title.  Dune Kennings (Piha) finished third to secure his best result in several years while Billy Stairmand (Rag) finished in fourth place.

Earlier in the day Stairmand and Kennings defeated Alex Dive (Mnt) and Chris Malone (Rag) in the first semifinal.  Cederman and Hewitt defeated Sid West (Grt Barrier) and Callum Chuter (Mnt) in the second semifinal.

Aimee Brown found herself in similar territory to Cederman with her win and was near lost for words after she exited the water.

“So stoked, it is crazy, I have never made an open heat let alone win one, I am so stoked.  I surf Manu Bay a lot and I like it when it is bigger with big open walls, yeah it was so much fun, I don’t really know what else to say” she said.

Brown led the final from start to finish after opening her account with a 6.83 and backing that up with a 5.5 point ride.  The win comes off the back of some great form that has seen her already win one age group event this year.

“Well I was really stoked when I started making more finals earlier in the year and then I won one and now I have just won two in one day, I am so happy with my progression and my improvement throughout the year” she added.

Brown defeated Raiha Ensor (Mnt) who has taken the lead on the New Zealand Surf Series rankings.  Ensor also started the final strongly with a 6.67 on her first wave however she could not find a backup score and finished with a 9.84 point heat total.  Canadian surfer Hannah Scott finished in third place ahead of Claudia Fraser (Piha) in fourth.

Christchurch surfer Conor McLennan romped to the biggest heat total of the event in the Under 18 Boys Division Final – 18.97 out of a possible 20 points.  McLennan led the final from the early stages completing huge backhand turns the length of the point.  His performance was epitomised by his final wave, a 9.8 point ride as the hooter sounded.  McLennan defeated Caleb Cutmore (Ham) who finished second ahead of Saxon Reber (AUS) in third and Jack Lee (Whaka) in fourth.

Aimee Brown took her first win of the day in the Under 18 Girls Division before going on to win the Open Women’s Division.  In the junior final, Brown surfed to a healthy lead which she retained through to the final hooter.  Tegen Bishop (Chch) finished second ahead of dual finalists Georgia Wederell (Mnt) and Brie Bennett (Rag) who finished in third and fourth respectively.

Kora Cooper (Rag) surfed to an emphatic win in the Under 16 Boys Division.  All four finalists were within a point of each other with only a couple of minutes to go but Cooper managed to find a 7.43 point ride to finish with a 15.2 point heat total and take the win.  Double finalist Jack Lee (Whaka) finished second ahead of Tom Robinson (Whngrei) in third and Tom Butland (Tara) in fourth.

Brie Bennett (Rag) performed better in the Under 16 Girls Division winning the final to make it a one-two for the local juniors.  Bennett was able to show some good form on her final wave.  Bennett finished ahead of Gisborne surfer Hannah King in second, Georgia Wederell (Mnt) third and Anna Brock (Mnt) in fourth.

The updated draw is live on the Surfing New Zealand website and can be viewed here.

Please see below for results from the final day of the Backdoor Oceanbridge Manu Bay Pro completed at Manu Bay, Raglan today (Sunday 29th April). 

Open Men’s Round of 48
Heat 1

Saxon Reber (AUS), 12.8, 1, Zac Curle (Waihi Beach), 10.6, 2, Nick Dunne (Tara), 7.83, 3, Jacob Warnes (Mnt), 5.43, 4
Heat 2
Caleb Cutmore (Ham), 10.1, 1, Tom Robinson, 6.8, 2, Geoff Hutchison (Rag), 6.37, 3, Alex Laurenson (Wgtn), 2.17, 4
Heat 3
Axel Rose – Curotta (AUS), 9.83, 1, Thomas Carter (Waihi Bch), 7.3, 2, Jayden Willoughby (Rag), 5.77, 3, Mikey Banks (Rag), 5.5, 4
Heat 4
Luke Hughes (Rag), 13.8, 1, Alex Dive (Mnt), 12.4, 2, Rian Boyd (Auck), 7.47, 3, Tom Norton (Whangarei), 7.17, 4
Heat 5
Shane Kraus (Piha), 9.1, 1, Sid West (GBr), 7.4, 2, Fraser Falconer (Auck), 4.17, 3, Phill Willoughby (Rag), 1.87, 4
Heat 6
Campbell Ivory (Tai), 10.17, 1, Jay Piper – Healion (Whiti), 8.26, 2, Aloysius Lane (Wgtn), 6.27, 3, Cameron Hankins (Waihi Bch), 2.67, 4
Heat 7
Luke Cederman (Rag), 13.8, 1, Paul Moretti (Nrthlnd), 13.3, 2, Larry Fisher (Rag), 10.9, 3, Daniel Tingey (Auck), 6.27, 4
Heat 8
Thurston Salt (Whaka), 7.03, 1, Tanner Hayes (Kati), 6.76, 2, Ayrton Yarrell (Waihi Bch), 5.55, 3, Jack Rosewarne (TA), 4.6, 4

Open Men’s Round of 32
Heat 1

Billy Stairmand (Rag), 14.7, 1, Tom Robinson (Whngrei), 9.67, 2, Saxon Reber (AUS), 8.63, 3, Andrew Archibald (Rag), 0.9, 4
Heat 2
Taylor Hutchison (Rag), 14.9, 1, Caleb Cutmore (Ham), 11.9, 2, Zac Curle (Waihi Beach), 9.46, 3, Nick White (Mnt), 9.2, 4
Heat 3
Chris Malone (Gis), 14.7, 1, Alex Dive (Mnt), 12.16, 2, Ben Kennings (Whmata), 10.4, 3, Axel Rose – Curotta (AUS), 8.07, 4
Heat 4
Dune Kennings (Whmata), 16.7, 1, Luke Hughes (Rag), 13.4, 2, Zen Wallis (Piha), 11.2, 3, Thomas Carter (Waihi Bch), 5.76, 4
Heat 5
Manu Scott Arrieta (Sandy Bay), 11.9, 1, Levi Stewart (Waihi Bch), 10, 2, Jay Piper – Healion (Whiti), 9.64, 3, Shane Kraus (Piha), 8.43, 4
Heat 6
Callum Chuter (Mnt), 12.9, 1, Sid West (GBr), 12.86, 2, Lee Ririnui (Mnt), 9.03, 3, Campbell Ivory (Tai), 6.46, 4
Heat 7
Conor McLennan (Chch), 12.9, 1, Luke Cederman (Rag), 10.5, 2, Jack Lee (Whaka), 8.67, 3, Tanner Hayes (Kati), 4.14, 4
Heat 8
Matt-Lewis Hewitt (Mnt), 14.3, 1, Paul Moretti (Nrthlnd), 13, 2, Jared Gebert (Ohope), 10.1, 3, Thurston Salt (Whaka), 8.37, 4

Open Men’s Quarterfinals
Heat 1

Billy Stairmand (Rag), 17, 1, Alex Dive (Mnt), 13.7, 2, Taylor Hutchison (Rag), 13.1, 3, Luke Hughes (Rag), 12.7, 4
Heat 2
Dune Kennings (Whmata), 15, 1, Chris Malone (Gis), 13.1, 2, Caleb Cutmore (Ham), 11.9, 3, Tom Robinson (Whngrei), 6.93, 4
Heat 3
Luke Cederman (Rag), 16.7, 1, Callum Chuter (Mnt), 11, 2, Paul Moretti (Nrthlnd), 10.3, 3, Manu Scott Arrieta (Sandy Bay), 7.56, 4
Heat 4
Matt-Lewis Hewitt (Mnt), 12.9, 1, Sid West (GBr), 9.9, 2, Levi Stewart (Waihi Bch), 9.03, 3, Conor McLennan (Chch), 8.6, 4

Open Men’s Division Semifinals
Heat 1

Billy Stairmand (Rag), 13.67, 1 , Dune Kennings (Whmata), 13.27, 2, Alex Dive (Mnt), 11.87, 3, Chris Malone (Gis), 11.20, 4
Heat 2
Luke Cederman (Rag), 16.33, 1, Matt-Lewis Hewitt (Mnt), 12.30, 2, Sid West (GBI), 10.70, 3, Callum Chuter (Mnt), 10.43, 4

Open Men’s Division Final
Luke Cederman (Rag), 10.67, 1, Matt Hewitt (Mnt), 9.8, 2, Dune Kennings (WGM), 7.97, 3, Billy Stairmand (Rag), 6.77, 4


Open Women’s Semifinals
Heat 1

Aimee Brown (GB), 12.5, 1, Raiha Ensor (Mnt), 9.2, 2, Tegen Bishop (Chch), 6.9, 3, Bianca Sansom (Auck), 3.74, 4
Heat 2
Claudia Fraser (Piha), 11, 1, Hanna Scott (CAN), 9.6, 2, Georgia Wederell (Chch), 6.3, 3, Indica Ratima (Rag), 4, 4

Open Women’s Division Final
Aimee Brown (GBI), 12.33, 1, Raiha Ensor (Mnt), 9.84, 2, Claudia Fraser (Piha), 9.77, 3, Hannah Scott (CAN), 8.1, 4


Under 18 Boys Division Final
Conor McLennan (Chch), 18.97, 1, Caleb Cutmore (Ham), 15.10, 2, Saxon Reber (AUS)14.44, 3, Jack Lee (Whaka), 12.6, 4

Under 18 Girls Division Final
Aimee Brown (GBI), 12.23, 1, Tegen Bishop (Chch), 10.37, 2, Georgia Wederell (Mnt), 8.17, 3, Brie Bennett (Rag), 6.30

Under 16 Boys Division
Kora Cooper (Rag), 15.20, 1, Jack Lee (Whaka), 11.67, 2, Tom Robinson (Whngrei), 11.66, 3, Tom Butland (Tara), 11.10, 4

Under 16 Girls Division Final
Brie Bennett (Rag), 10.53, 1, Hannah King (Gis), 6.40, 2, Georgia Wederell (Mnt), 4.87, 3, Anna Brock (Mnt), 2.66, 4

The recently upgraded event has attracted 140 entries from surfers throughout the country.  For the past four years, the event has focussed on the youth of New Zealand but with the support of Oceanbridge, the event now includes Open Men’s and Women’s Divisions as well as Under 18 and Under 16 Divisions.

The Backdoor Oceanbridge Manu Bay Pro is the fourth event of the New Zealand Surf Series which caters for New Zealand’s top male and female surfers.

Information
For more information on the Backdoor Oceanbridge Manu Bay Pro please contact Ben Kennings on 021 2278732 or email benkennings@surfingnz.co.nz.  Alternatively contact Backdoor via Geoff Hutchison – hutch@backdoor.co.nz.  

Partners
Generous support from Backdoor Surf Shop and Oceanbridge has made this event possible.

The event is hosted by Raglan’s Point Boardriders.

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Event Hotline
The Surfing New Zealand event hotline is 0211134506. This will be updated daily at with venues, divisions contested and conditions.

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