The waves continued to cook out at Montañita on Day 2 of the ISA World Masters Surfing Champs. Just ask Dave Malherbe, seen above dropping into a green wall that’s just asking to be shredded. You don’t have to ask Dave anything twice, and he tore into the fun bowls and through to the next round of the Kahunas division, joining his brother Andre who advanced on Day 1.
Not quite so lucky in the Uruguayan funpark was former ISA Masters Womens division winner Heather Clark. She came up against a rampant Layne Beachley, the former 7-time ASP Womens World Champ – both with massive credentials and both capable of shredding. It was Layne who came out swinging the hardest, though, and notched up the events highest score so far, a 19.87 out of a possible 20.00pts – including a perfect 10. Heather’s combined score unfortunately couldn’t even match Layne’s lowest scoring ride, and she will have to re-group in the repercharge rounds. Heats just go that way sometimes.
After a disappointing heat, Heather gets some support from teammate Wayne Monk.
Also out of luck in the fun rights of Montañita, was Grand Kahuna Chris Knutsen, who fell into the repercharge rounds after failing to advance from his Round 1 heat. Chris is a two-time Gold Medal winner at the ISA World Masters, so don’t count him out until the fat señorita sings.
After impressing in Round 1, Carl Roux also dropped into the repercharge round after a low-scoring Round 2 heat in the Grand Masters. As did Wayne Monk, who came up against an in-form Sunny Garcia, the reigning ISA World Grand Masters Champ. They’ll both surf again in Repercharge Round 2.
It wasn’t all doom a gloom for Team SA, though, as Greg Emslie dominated his Masters heat and is now through to Round 3 of the qualifying stream. The Foot is still clutching on to his ‘get out of jail free’ card, staying above the do-or-die repercharge rounds.
The Foot’s performance was one of the bright sparks in an up-and-down day for Team SA.
So, with Day 2 completed at the ISA World Masters Champs in Ecuador, the South African Masters Surfing team sees Gary Van Wieringen (Masters); Wayne Monk & Carl Roux (Masters); Heather Clark (Womens); and Chris Knutsen (Grand Kahunas) in the repercharge rounds, with only one more shot at reaching the finals. While the Slummies trio of David Malherbe and Andre Malherbe (Kahunas) and Greg Emslie (Masters) are still keeping above the drop zone in the qualifying rounds.
Still, all our surfers have a shot at making the finals, and while the rippable walls continue to roll down the point, anything is possible.
Check out http://www.isawmsc.com for more photos & results from the 2013 ISA World Masters Surfing Champs in Ecuador.
Official press release below:
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SOLID OVERHEAD WAVES CONTINUED FOR DAY 2 OF THE ISA WORLD MASTERS SURFING CHAMPIONSHIP IN ECUADOR
Australia’s Layne Beachley was on fire today with a near a perfect heat, scoring 19.87, the contest’s first perfect 10-point ride. Photo: ISA/ Michael Tweddle
Layne Beachley Exploded With a Perfect 10-Point Ride in the Women’s Opening Round
Amazing conditions continued during Day 2 of the 2013 ISA World Masters Surfing Championship with 4-6 feet waves in beautiful Montañita, Ecuador.
Day 2 featured the opening rounds of the Kahunas (over 45), Grand Kahunas (over 50), Women’s Masters (over 35), and Qualifying 2 of the Masters (over 35) and Grand Masters (over 40).
Australia’s Layne Beachley was on fire today scoring a near perfect heat with a 19.87, including the contest’s first perfect 10-point ride. Beachley’s back up score was a 9.87. The 2011 ISA Women’s Masters Champion and 7x ASP World Tour Champion easily defeated Andrea Lopes (BRA, 11.27), Heather Clark (ZAF, 9.80) and Veronique Hayon (FRA, 4.16).
“The waves were amazing today and the performance level from the world’s best Masters was just as good,” said ISA President Fernando Aguerre. “The camaraderie on the beach between all the National Teams and the local Ecuadorians is putting out a great vibe. Wave conditions are expected to continue in the head-high range tomorrow, so don’t miss a minute of the live webcast.”
Defending ISA Women’s Masters Gold Medalist, Rochelle Ballard (HAW, 14.17) also put on a great performance beating Akiko Kiyonaga (JPN, 8.40), and Lucila Gil (ARG, 4.20).
In the Grand Kahunas, Hawaii’s Shuji Kasuya had the highest heat score in the division with a 15.27, defeating Craig “Tequila” Schieber (CRC, 7.83) and Ernesto Gutierrez (ARG, 2.06).
Team USA’s Ricky Schaffer dominated his opening heat with powerful turns on big waves in the Kahunas (over 45) Division. Photo: ISA Michael Tweddle
Of special note in the Grand Kahunas division was the lone competitor from Dominican Republic, Robert Reid, who advanced to the next round with a second place and a score of 6.94 along with Jose de Tramontana (PER, 7.27) who earned the victory. Reid was not as fortunate in his Kahunas match up, where he placed 3rd and will be surfing in the Repechage, where he will get one last chance to advance.
In the afternoon, the Masters and Grand Masters hit the surf. It was a rematch from last year’s Masters Finals, and Venezuela’s Magnum Martinez took another big win over Sunny Garcia with a score of 14.17 over the Hawaiian’s 13.77. His Venezuelan teammate, Justin Mujica, put on a great performance when he earned the highest heat total of the round with 16.50, squeezing a close victory over former ASP World Tour competitor, Jake Spooner (AUS,15.37).
One of the most action packed heats of the day was the stacked Grand Masters Qualifying 2, heat-3. It featured the defending ISA Grand Masters Champion Sunny Garcia who placed 1st with a 17.10 heat score defeating Santiago Di Pace (ARG, 14.60), Juan Ashton (PRC, 12.60), and Wayne Monk (ZAF, 11.90). For 4x ISA Gold Medalist Ashton, this was a tough defeat, however he gets another chance in the Repechage.
For a full list of today’s results, click here- http://www.isawmsc.com/results/
The ISA World Masters Surfing Championship resumes tomorrow at 7:40am with The Morning Show hosted by Mark Fewell. His guest will be the standout of Day Two, 7x ASP World Tour Champion and 2011 ISA Women’s Masters Gold Medalist, Layne Beachley.
Following that, the competition will feature:
Kahunas (over 45) Qualifying 2
Grand Kahunas (over 50) Qualifying 2
Women’s Masters (over 35) Qualifying 2
Grand Masters (over 40) Repechage 2
Masters (over 35) Repechage 2
The live webcast of the entire championship is available on www.isawmsc.com
Sunday, 7:40am Montañita, Ecuador
Sunday, 5:40am West Coast USA
Sunday, 2:40pm Western Europe
Sunday, 11:40pm Sydney, Australia
