Quarterfinalists Decided at Cascais Women’s Pro

Caption: Tyler Wright (AUS) powers her way into the quarters.
Image: ASP / Masurel

BAFUREIRA, Cascais, Portugal (Saturday, October 4, 2014): The Cascais Women’s Pro, stop No. 9 of 10 on the 2014 Samsung Galaxy ASP Women’s World Championship Tour, ran through the remaining two heats of Round 4 in fun three foot (1 metre) surf at the back-up site of Bafureira. The Quarterfinalists are set and the four top seeds are still in contention for the World Title. 

Pauline Ado (FRA) 23, acted first to net two average scores early on and put pressure on Tyler Wright (AUS) 20. The two surfers then engaged in a series of exchanges on the long peeling righthanders, but it was Wright who capitalized the most with an excellent 8.90 to claim back the lead. Wright’s radical on-the-rail powerturns gave her the edge in a rather slow heat and Wright moves on to the Quarterfinals where she will face Johanne Defay (FRA) in a rematch of Round 3.

“It was pretty slow out there, but there are still scorable waves and excellent rights coming through,” said Wright. “This is a brand new wave for me as I didn’t have time to free surf here yet. It’s very deceiving out there, it looks like the waves are going to close out, then it hits that gutter and holds right up. I let a few of the early ones go, but then I got that 8.90 ride so I was pretty stoked with that.” 

In the second and final heat of the day, wave selection was crucial and positioning in the lineup was a key factor in determining the winner. On the rising tide Lakey Peterson (USA) 20, got the best of a first exchange on a smaller inside set with precision cutbacks and a closeout snap. Nikki Van Dijk (AUS) 19, tried to answer on a rare left on the opposite side of the reef to net a 5.60 and briefly steal the lead. Peterson wasted no time to answer back with a 6.17 to seal the deal and take her place in the Quarterfinals where she will face World Title hopeful, Stephanie Gilmore (AUS).

“I’m stoked they gave us 35 minutes instead of 30, we definitely needed it,” said Peterson. “The waves are actually pretty fun, but it is slow out there and the swell is dying pretty quickly. I was just trying to stay patient and hope for a set.” 

Event organizers will reconvene at 7:30 a.m. at Bafureira to assess conditions and make the next call.

Highlights from the event are available at ASPWorldTour.com.

Cascais Women’s Pro Round 4 Results (1st Advances to Quarterfinals, 2nd Finished Equal 9th):
Heat 1: Malia Manuel (HAW) 8.20 def. Laura Enever (AUS) 7.70
Heat 2: Courtney Conlogue (USA) 11.83 def. Paige Hareb (NZL) 6.83
Heat 3: Tyler Wright (AUS) 15.40 def. Pauline Ado (FRA) 13.10
Heat 4: Lakey Peterson (USA) 13.17 def. Nikki Van Dijk (AUS) 10.60

Cascais Women’s Pro Quarterfinal Match-Ups (1st Advances to Semifinals, 2nd Finished Equal 5th):
Heat 1: Carissa Moore (HAW) vs. Malia Manuel (HAW)
Heat 2: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) vs. Courtney Conlogue (USA)
Heat 3: Johanne Defay (FRA) vs. Tyler Wright (AUS)
Heat 4: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) vs. Lakey Peterson (USA)

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