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Young Surfers Impress at ASP PRIME Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro
Author: ASP World Tour
Kolohe Andino (USA), 17, dropped some of the highest scores of Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro competition in his win over Dusty Payne (HAW) , 22.
SAN CLEMENTE, California/USA (Thursday, May 5, 2011) – The ASP PRIME Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro charged through the Round of 24 with several up-and-comers putting on a show in clean two-to-four foot waves at Lower Trestles in San Onofre State Beach.
Surfers competing in the Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro are surfing for the crucial points on offer towards their ASP World Ranking.
Jadson Andre (BRA), 21, who earned the highest heat total of the entire Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro event yesterday, returned to form again to earn the day’s highest heat-total of 17.87 out of 20 in a combined effort on both the lefts and rights on offer at Lower Trestles.
“Trestles is one of my favorite waves in the world and I just love to come down and compete and surf,” Andre said. “When I come here I just enjoy surfing with a few other guys in the water so I’m pretty stoked to do this well in the contest, but I’m trying not to think about scores or the final and just try to catch the best waves.”
Andre, who took the event’s highest single-wave score in yesterday’s competition on his forehand, looked equally impressive on the rights of Lower Trestles today with a 9.10 score for several blistering backside turns.
“It’s just amazing to show that I’ve improved,” Andre said. “My best wave was on my backside in that heat, a 9.10 and I’ve just been working hard on my backside.”
Andre has been the leader of the impressive Brazilian contingent responsible for several of the event’s top scores and is motivated by the camaraderie of his fellow countrymen.
“Everybody knows the Brazilian guys are always supporting each other and I really love it,” Andre said. “There are still so many Brazilians left in the contest and it’s always great to make your heat and see your friends make theirs.”
Kolohe Andino (San Clemente, CA), 17, put on an amazing performance in front of his home crowd to earn some of the event’s top scores in what many are calling the most exciting heat of the day. The young Lower Trestles local detonated a well-rounded combination of massive airs and carves on several rights to take down ASP Dream Tour talent Dusty Payne (Lahaina, HI), 22, in a high scoring affair of 17.50 to 17.03.
“Before the heat my nerves were running wild,” Andino said. “I had to step aside and focus because I was pretty nervous. Once the heat starts I start to get a little more comfortable, but actually after I got that 7, I was still nervous because I knew Dusty (Payne) could get a bomb and rip it. I just want to give credit to Dusty (Payne) he’s one of my favorite surfers and it’s a bummer we came up against each other and I probably had the best heat of my life.”
Gabriel Medina (BRA), 17, continued to issue his string of upsets by reveling in the clean lefthanders in his morning heat to defeat local standout and ASP Dream Tour competitor Patrick Gudauskas (San Clemente, CA), 25. Medina issued the day’s highest single-wave score of a near perfect 9.50 out of 10 for a massive layback, a powerful carve and completed the ride with a committed air to overtake Gudauskas in their bout for the win.
“I was outside and the wave just came,” Medina said. “I thought ‘oh my God, I have to rip this wave because I need a score.’ I did that layback first and then a good turn and finished with the air. I’m stoked.”
Medina, who got off to a sluggish start in his heat against Gudauskas, maintained composure in his Round of 24 match-up to show experience beyond his years.
“I feel so good,” Medina said. “I was nervous in the start of my heat and I just don’t know, I just got two good waves. At first I was worried because my feet were slipping off of my board. Luckily I had some wax in my wetsuit and fixed it and got two good waves later in the heat.”
C.J. Hobgood (Melbourne, FL), 31, was one veteran campaigner who capitalized on his experience of the Round of 24’s man-on-man format. The Floridian took to his backhand to lock into two of the heat’s best right-handers to post a solid 17.07 heat total to oust Hawaiian powerhouse Joel Centeio (HAW), 28.
“I just focused in on the rights and it’s completely different than those four-man heats,” Hobgood said. “In the four-man heats it’s all about getting your waves and building a house and the two-man are exactly opposite, you want to think clearly and focus on what you’re doing. I was able to do that and it was the difference. I’ve got a lot of experience here so it helps.”
Concluding today’s action was the ASP 5-Star Oakley Pro Junior, which ran the first two heats of the Round of 32.
The Oakley Pro Junior’s ASP 5-Star status will play a crucial role in American surfers’ chances of qualification for the prestigious ASP World Junior Tour.
The 2011 Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro holds a waiting period from May 3 through 7, 2011 and is LIVE via http://www.nike6lowerspro.com/
The Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro will be televised live and in its entirety in Hawaii on Oceanic Time Warner Cable’s Channel 250 and 1250HD. Additionally, the Oceanic Time Warner Cable live feed will be transported to Time Warner Cable’s Los Angeles (Channel 101), San Diego (Channel 411) and Desert Cities (Channel 111) markets from Thursday through Saturday.
For additional ASP information log on to www.aspworldtour.com or www.aspnorthamerica.org Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro Round of 24 Results: Heat 1: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 17.07 def. Joel Centeio (HAW) 11.70 Heat 2: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 17.17 def. Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 14.07 Heat 3: Tanner Gudauskas (USA) 15.33 def. Bobby Martinez (USA) 13.33 Heat 4: Kolohe Andino (USA) 17.50 def. Dusty Payne (HAW) 17.03 Heat 5: Heitor Alves (BRA) 11.83 def. Mason Ho (HAW) 9.17 Heat 6: Jesse Mendes (BRA) 13.74 def. Taylor Knox (USA) 10.67 Heat 7: Willian Cardoso (BRA) 13.74 def. Cory Lopez (USA) 13.74 Heat 8: Willian Cardoso (BRA) 14.77 def. Damien Hobgood (USA) 13.60 Heat 9: Jadson Andre (BRA) 17.87 def. Kai Otton (AUS) 10.93 Heat 10: Miguel Pupo (BRA) 14.77 def. Damien Hobgood (USA) 13.60 Heat 11: Thiago Camareo (BRA) 12.83 def. Adam Melling (AUS) 12.07 Heat 12: Timmy Reyes (USA) 12.60 def. Tonino Benson (HAW) 10.30 Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro Round of 48 Results: Heat 10: Damien Hobgood (USA) 12.03, Kai Otton (AUS) 10.45, Julian Wilson (AUS) 10.16, Lincoln Taylor (AUS) 8.90 Heat 11: Thiago Camareo (BRA) 13.67, Tonino Benson (HAW) 12.40, Heath Joske (AUS) 12.34, Adrian Buchan (AUS) 7.00 Heat 12: Tim Reyes (USA) 13.00, Adam Melling (AUS) 11.30, Nathaniel Curran (USA) 11.00, Nathan Yeomans (USA) 10.50
Oakley Pro Junior Round of 32 Results: Heat 1: Tayler Brothers (USA) 10.96, Jack Freestone (AUS) 10.30, Kiron Jabour (HAW) 9.90, Jack Robinson (AUS) 7.90 Heat 2: Luke Davis (USA) 14.57, Doug Van Mierlo (USA) 11.00, Evan Thompson (USA) 8.98, Taylor Clark (USA) 7.50