Usual Suspects Blow Up In Round 1 Of Honda U.S. Open

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• July 23 2007
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HUNTINGTON BEACH, California (Monday, July 23, 2007) — Round 1 of the Honda U.S. Open of Surfing presented by O’Neill kicked off this morning with improved two to three foot (1 metre) waves on offer at Huntington Beach Pier.

As the biggest Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Qualifying Series (WQS) event in North America, the 6-Star U.S. Open boasts one of the most competitive draws in the region, and Day 1’s action saw regular standouts performing at levels above the fold.

Micah Byrne (Huntington Beach, CA), who won the last ASP WQS event in Huntington Beach last March, continued to prove why he is the man to beat at the venue, racking up an impressive 17.43 out of a possible 20 for the highest heat total of the day.

“I think the local advantage and little bit of luck went a long way out there today, Byrne said. “The rest of the guys in the heat were sitting on the inside and I took my chances on the outside and just got lucky to get a good set wave. That put me in a good cycle of getting waves and I just went from there.

Mike Losness (San Clemente, CA), who finished 3rd at last year’s U.S. Open, picked up right where he left off, posting a convincing win in his Round 1 heat. The progressive goofy-footer took to the increased swell, punting sizeable airs and blending exciting turns with aplomb.

“I was stoked to see there were more waves today than there were over the weekend, Losness said. “It seems like that South swell is filling in so hopefully it increases as the week moves on. I just went out there trying to have fun and it paid off. There was a little bit of pressure on me as I wanted to finish well again after last year’s performance. Now that I’m through the first heat, the pressure is off a little bit. I’m looking forward to the rest of the event.

Peter Devries (Tofino, CAN), one of the eight trialists who received entry into the main event, remained consistent today with a win in his Round 1 heat. The powerful natural-footer surfed with speed unmatched as he unloaded an impressive arsenal of maneuvers in the punchy beachbreak.

“It definitely feels good to get through that first heat, Devries said. “I want to try to keep the ball rolling. I think it’s good to surf the trials and get that momentum up. I certainly feel more comfortable out there.

Devries was joined by fellow trialists Greg Cordeiro (Santa Catarina, BRA), Sean Marceron (Encinitas, CA), Josh Fuller (Gold Coast, AUS ? North Shore, HAW) and Granger Larsen (Lahaina, HI) in advancing through to Round 2 of the Honda U.S. Open, a result that he hopes will pay dividends in the future.

“I’m going to be focusing on the bigger North American WQS events this year, Devries said. “It would be great to get a good result here at the U.S. Open as it would really help my seed in the years to come.

Tomorrow will see Round 2 of the Honda U.S. Open of Surfing presented by O’Neill hit the water at 7:30am. The round will see today’s advancing surfers face off against such marquee surfers as Adrian Buchan (Avoca Beach, AUS), Mike Todd (Laguna Beach, CA), Joel Centeio (Barber’s Point, HI), Kekoa Bacalso (Mililani, HI), Alex Gray (South Bay, CA), Sunny Garcia (Waianae, HI), among others.

Daily updates will be available at www.aspnorthamerica.org, www.aspworldtour.com and www.usopenofsurfing.com.

The Honda U.S. Open of Surfing presented by O’Neill will begin webcasting this Thursday, July 26, 2007. Live scoring will be available through www.aspnorthamerica.org.

RESULTS

Monday, July 23, 2007

Honda U.S. Open of Surfing presented by O’Neill — ASP WQS 6-Star
Round 1: 192 surfers remaining (1st and 2nd advance)
Heat 1: Jason Shibata (HAW) 12.50, Greg Cordeiro (BRA) 12.26, Billy Kemper (USA) 10.10, Tim Boal (FRA) 9.83
Heat 2: Hugo Savalli (REU) 14.60, Jarrah Tutton (AUS) 11.44, Gavin Gillette (HAW) 9.33, Che Stang (USA) 6.83
Heat 3: Junior Farria (BRA) 9.27, Diego Rosa (BRA) 9.10, Anthony Walsh (AUS) 8.54, Tonino Benson (HAW) 7.23
Heat 4: Shaun Burrell (USA) 11.50, Renato Galvao (BRA) 9.17, Alejo Muniz (BRA) 9.16, Evan Valiere (HAW) 8.14
Heat 5: Peter Devries (USA) 11.27, Casey Brown (HAW) 10.10, Daniel Jones (HAW) 7.43, Mark Matthews (AUS) 6.63
Heat 6: Dean Randazzo (USA) 13.10, Bud Freitas (USA) 12.67, Federico Pilurzu (CRI) 12.16, Wade Goodall (AUS) 7.70
Heat 7: Nick Rozsa (USA) 13.37, Adam Melling (AUS) 12.67, Sebatsian Estienne (FRA) 11.90, Justin McBride (USA) 6.67
Heat 8: Nathan Yeomans (USA) 13.67, Austin Ware (USA) 11.70, Cory Arrambide (USA) 11.40, Makua Rothman (HAW) 11.10
Heat 9: Dusty Payne (HAW) 13.00, Bruno Rodrigues (BRA) 10.34, Gilmar Silva (BRA) 8.50, Gony Zubizareta (ESP) 8.50
Heat 10: Dylan Graves (PRI) 15.67, Matt King (USA) 12.00, Diego Naranjo (CRI) 9.34, Devon Tresher (USA) 8.30
Heat 11: Micah Byrne (USA) 17.43, Michael Spencer (AUS) 13.40, Sterling Spencer (USA) 10.00, Frederic Robin (REU) 7.03
Heat 12: T.J. Barron (HAW) 8.84, Dane Johnson (USA) 6.60, Felipe Ximenes (BRA) 4.70, Chris Waring (USA) 3.00
Heat 13: Chris Davidson (AUS) 14.20, Luke Cheadle (AUS) 11.77, Ryan Campbell (AUS) 7.43, Justin Jones (USA) 6.47
Heat 14: Mikey Bruneau (HAW) 14.16, Blake Howard (USA) 11.06, Jay Quinn (NZL) 7.47, Jorge Spanner (BRA) 6.33
Heat 15: Teppei Tajima (JPN) 15.74, Noi Kaulukukui (USA) 9.84, Cheyne Cottrell (USA) 6.90, Daniel Redman (ZAF) 2.04
Heat 16: Danilo Costa (BRA) 12.33, Abdel El Harim (MAR) 10.80, Izuki Tanaka (JPN) 5.90, Cory Whitlock (USA) 4.44
Heat 17: Sean Marceron (USA) 12.83, Ricky Whitlock (USA) 9.77, Sean Moody (HAW) 9.66, Wesley de Souza (USA) 5.40
Heat 18: Mike Losness (USA) 17.00, Adam Virs (USA) 12.40, Jack Perry (AUS) 11.86, Josh Montgomery (USA) 10.90
Heat 19: Kyle Garson (USA) 15.47, Gavin Beschen (HAW) 12.34, Eric Geiselman (USA) 9.40, Yadin Nichol (AUS) 8.83
Heat 20: Pablo Gutierrez (ESP) 15.10, Josh Fuller (AUS) 10.97, Romain Laulhe (FRA) 7.23, Darryll Goodrum (USA) 7.17
Heat 21: Darren Turner (AUS) 12.17, Heitor Pereira (BRA) 11.52, Hideyoshi Tanaka (JPN) 8.84, Derek Ho (HAW) 5.67
Heat 22: Robson Santos (BRA) 12.27, Julian Cuello (CNY) 8.00, Dane Gudauskas (USA) 6.00, Myles Padaca (HAW) 0.53
Heat 23: Brian Toth (PRI), Tyler Anderson (USA) 7.66, Anthony Petruso (USA) 6.43, Mark Gabriel (USA) 1.86
Heat 24: Damien Fahrenfort (ZAF) 10.00, Granger Larsen (HAW) 9.90, Flynn Novak (HAW) 9.23, Brad Ettinger (USA) 9.10