Todd third in U.S. Open heat
Mike Sciacca
Mike Todd carried the banner for Laguna Beach Monday at the Honda
U.S. Open of Surfing presented by O’Neill Men’s competition, and came
up with a third-place finish in his heat at the Huntington Beach
Pier.
Todd, 24, finished third in heat No. 8 during the round of 192
competition.
Seeded 132nd in the event, he placed third behind winner Bobby
Morris of Santa Barbara and second-place Raymond Reichle of Hawaii.
Todd finished with an overall score of 6.03, his highest wave
score being a 3.2.
Morris won the heat with an overall score of 9.6, while Reichle
grabbed second-place with a total score of 6.5.
Each riders’ top two waves are totaled for their final scoring
average.
Other key heat winners were Jano Belo of Brazil, who recorded the
top heat score of the day with a 16.34 out of a possible 20 points in
the 22nd heat of the day, Patrick Gudauskas of San Clemente and Eric
Geiselman of Florida.
Dane Reynolds of Ventura, who competed in heat No. 7 and finished
second to Guadauskas, scored the day’s highest single wave, an 8.50
on a 10-point scale.
Several Japanese (Tanaka Hideyoshi, Teppei Tajima and Izuki
Tanaka), Australian (Yadin Nicol, Leigh Sedley, Nic Muscroft, Jay
Thompson, Samba Mann, Ben Dunn, Anthony Walsh, Corey Ziems, Josh
Kerr, Josh Fuller, Zahn Foxton, Yerin Brown, Michael Spencer and Jock
Barnes) and Brazilian (Beto Fernandes, Dunga Neto and Heitor Pereira)
surfers fared well and advanced to Tuesday’s round of 144.
American surfers also were in the mix as Tyler Fox (Aptos,
Calif.), Austin Ware (Encinitas, Calif.), Dane Gudauskas (San
Clemente), Alek Parker (Melbourne Beach, Fla.), Nathan Yeomans (San
Clemente) and Eric Taylor (Vero Beach, Fla.) all advanced.
Monday marked a first for the U.S. Open of Surfing as Frederico
Pilurzo of Italy competed for the first time, and he won his heat
with 11.87 points.
On Tuesday, the seasoned veterans shined at the pier.
Men’s 2001 U.S. Open champion Rob Machado advanced out of his heat
with a score of 11.27, but it was Geilseman who won the heat with a
score of 15.00.
Also winning heats Tuesday were Kieren Perrow (Australia), Dean
Randazzo (New Jersey) and Shea Lopez (Florida).
The day’s best wave score Tuesday went to Corey Ziems of
Australia, who scored a 9.00, and Royden Bryson of South Africa
compiled the best two-wave heat total with a combined score of 16.50.
More than 500 world-class athletes from dozens of countries are
competing in five divisions over a 10-day period, culminating with
the Men’s division final on Sunday.
The event carries a $185,000 prize purse.
The surfing continues today with Men’s competition in heats six
through 12 in the round of 48, and Women’s action in heats one
through six in the round of 24.
The U.S. Open of Surfing anchors the Bank of the West Beach Games.
More than 600 athletes from around the globe will compete in surfing,
skateboarding, BMX and volleyball.
Founded in 1959, the U.S. Open is North America’s highest-rated
qualifying event, the world’s largest and most heavily attended
professional surfing competition, and is its original action sports
event.
Last year’s Bank of the West Games drew a record 300,000
spectators, and 350,000 are expected to come out this year.
The $50,000 Philips Key Ring Soul Bowl, featuring several of the
world’s best skateboarders, BMX and FMX riders, will run today
through Sunday.
Today, the world’s largest surfboard will make a splash as surfers
attempt to establish a Guinness Book of World Records mark.
In March, 47 surfers successfully boarded the 40-foot by 10-foot
board on Australia’s Gold Coast.
The board was built by Aussie Nev Hyman.
Also on tap this weekend at the Bank of the West Beach Games is
the first Karch Kiraly Invitational volleyball tournament, which
begins Saturday.
Current volleyball stars will join living legends at the
invitational. Some of the men scheduled to compete are Mike Dodd, Tim
Hovland, Steve Timmons, Matt Furbringer, Mike Whitmarsh, Adam “AJ”
Johnson, Canyon Ceman, Jose Loiola, Jim Menges and Steve Obradovich
of Laguna Beach.
Angie Akers, Carrie Busch, Linda Hanley, Tracy Lindquist, Leanne
McSorley and Jen Pavley are the women scheduled to compete.
Six teams, consisting of three men and one woman, represent a
specific beach location -- Huntington Beach, San Diego, San Clemente,
Santa Monica, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach -- along the California
coast.
“This tournament is a loose rules version of beach volleyball with
a four-player format,” Kiraly said. “We have some great, great
players coming out for this, and there will be a lot of talking. It’s
going to be a lot of fun.”
The action begins Saturday with two pools each consisting of three
teams. Each team will play one another within their respective pool,
and play six total matches.
The top two teams in each pool advance to Sunday’s semifinals,
with the two winners in the final four, advancing to the final later
that day.
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