Kereopa Blazes To Victory in Tight Billabong Pro Final
Daniel Kereopa (Rag) managed to pull out all stops where it counted as he surfed to victory in the Billabong Pro at St Clair Beach, Dunedin today (Sunday). After admitting to some indifferent form in the preliminary rounds, Kereopa took a strangle hold on the final when he surfed an early wave to a score of 8.25. From there Kereopa never relinquished his lead as the 1.0m surf appeared to deteriorate with the incoming tide. The Billabong Pro represents the third event on the 2005/06 Lion Red Pro Surfing Tour.
The final quickly became a three horse race with the in-form Bobby Hansen posting two good scores of 7.0 while Luke Cederman (Rag) posted the final-high 8.75 to remain in contention for the title. The fourth finalist, Ben Kennings (WGM) failed to catch any waves of quality and his problems were compounded when he was called for an interference midway through the final.
Kereopa eventually backed up his first wave with a 6.65 to strengthen his lead leaving Luke Cederman requiring a 6.0 on his last wave only to be scored a 5.4. Cederman managed to move into second on his last wave pushing Hansen back to third with Kennings finishing in fourth.
Earlier in the day Kennings and Cederman beat Blair Stewart (Gis) and Danny Carse (Dun) in semi final one while Hansen and Kereopa beat Justin Souter (Mnt) and Chris Millett (Mur) in semi final two.
The win elevates Kereopa to first on the 05/06 Lion Red Pro Surfing Tour after three of the six scheduled events. Should Kereopa continue his run of good form he will be gunning for his fifth Series win (2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005).
Paige Hareb (Tara) took the full 25 minutes of the Open Women’s final before she could claim victory. Hareb opened the final with a good wave but it wasn’t until the dying stages of the final when she surfed her second good scoring ride to win her first Open Women’s title at the age of 15. Jessica Santorik (Rag) finished second ahead of Kara Stephenson (Rag) and Christchurch’s Daisy Thomas with all girls struggling to find many good waves.
Hareb strengthens her lead on the ratings having surfed four events compared with Santoriks’ three. Both girls have now opened up a healthy lead ahead of their fellow competitors.
Dean Amess (WGM) found all the good waves in the Junior Men’s (U18) final to walk away with a relatively easy win. Amess opened up with a long wave that he rode right to the beach to score 7.25. Late in the heat Amess managed to find another good wave completing several big turns out the back before riding it through to the inside section. Richard Christie (Mah), Luke Hughes (Rag) and Keone Campbell (Tara) all struggled to link their waves to the inside section and had to settle for the minor placings finishing second through fourth.
Hughes’ third placing is enough to retain his lead on the ratings while Amess jumps three spots to second after securing 2000 ratings points.
BILLABONG OPEN MEN Semi finals
Heat one
Ben Kennings, Whmata, 1, Luke Cederman, Rag, 2, Blair Stewart, Gis, 3, Danny Carse, Otago, 4
Heat two
Bobby Hansen, Gis, 1, Daniel Kereopa, Rag, 2, Justin Souter, Bop, 3, Chris Millett, Muriwai, 4
BILLABONG OPEN MEN Finals
Daniel Kereopa, Rag, 1, Luke Cederman, Rag, 2, Bobby Hansen, Gis, 3, Ben Kennings, Whmata, 4
BILLABONG JUNIOR (u18) Semi finals
Heat one
Dean Amess, Whmata, 1, Luke Hughes, Rag, 2, Kierin Van Der Helder, Rag, 3, Levi O'Connor, Kaik, 4
Heat two
Richard Christie, Mahia, 1, Keone Campbell, Tara, 2, Ryan Hawker, Piha, 3, Joseph Gethen, Te Awanga, 4
BILLABONG JUNIOR (u18) Finals
Dean Amess, Whmata, 1, Richard Christie, Mahia, 2, Luke Hughes, Rag, 3, Keone Campbell, Tara, 4
BILLABONG OPEN WOMEN Semi finals
Heat one
Paige Hareb, Tara, 1, Kara Stephenson, Rag, 2, Clare Thomson, Gis, 3
Heat two
Jessica Santorik, Rag, 1, Daisy Thomas, Can, 2, Wini Paul, Sandy Bay, 3, Leilani Morgan, Can, 4
BILLABONG OPEN WOMEN Finals
Paige Hareb, Tara, 1, Jessica Santorik, Rag, 2, Kara Stephenson, Rag, 3, Daisy Thomas, Can, 4
Source: Surfing New Zealand
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