Quarterfinalists Decided After Exciting Opening Day Of Maxum Women's Pro Junior
The 2013/2014 ASP Australasia Pro Junior Series got off to a flying start as the ASP 1-Star rated Maxum Women's Pro Junior in one-to-two foot (1 meter) waves at North Cronulla, as part of the two-day Dominelli Group Women’s Surf Classic. The 32 women field was culled to eight surfers by day's end with surfers eager to earn themselves valuable ASP Australasia Pro Junior Series rankings points and a piece of the $2000 prize purse.
Bronte Macaulay (Margaret River, WA/AUS) locked in the highest two-wave heat-total of the morning - 16.94 (out of a possible 20), which consequently left the rest of the field chasing a two-wave combination to steal her lead. The powerful goofy-footer threw down a chain of technical and powerful backhand snaps to easily advance through her two heats at the Maxum Women's Pro Junior, and into the Quarterfinals today.
"There were a few good waves out there," said Macaulay. "My plan was to simply go out there and work with what I had. There's really nothing else you can do. I was lucky to pick off a few pretty good waves and move through to the next round. I'm usually nervous no matter who is in my heat, the overall level of this event has been really high from what I've seen so far."
Sarah Mason (NZL) put on one of the most exciting performances of the day locking in the highest single wave score of the event so far, an 8.83 (out of a possible 10). The New Zealand surfer threw down a healthy series of fin wafts and power-carves to nab the score and book her spot in tomorrow’s Quarterfinals.
"The waves were really fun and if you got the right one you could get a decent wall to work with and some good opportunities to put scores on the board," said Mason. "This year I'm just going to see how I go in this event and then decide what my plan is for the rest of the year. I'm still a little unsure on what I'll do. Having lived on the Gold Coast for the last nine years or so, it's just nice to come down to Sydney and get some fun waves."
Hot off a recent win at the 2013 Australian Titles, Audrey Styman-Lane (Bilambil Heights, NSW/AUS) continued her impressive form in the round of 16. The talented goofy-footer caused one of the biggest upsets of the event, eliminating top-seed and 2012/2013 ASP Australasian Pro Junior Series runner-up Stephanie Single (Lennox Head, NSW/AUS) from the event. Styman-Lane locked in a heat total of 11.33 to earn her spot in tomorrow’s Quarterfinals.
"It's definitely a nice feeling to get a good run going into the Pro Junior Series," said Styman-Lane. "Winning the Australian Titles definitely gave me a boost coming into this event. It's always good to work off a win and build from there. I was nervous going into my second round heat, so I planned to just get a good score quickly. I’m stoked it paid off."
Stephanie Single (Lennox Head, NSW/Aus) believes - despite the less than stellar result in the Maxum ASP Women’s Pro Junior - her focus remains in tact for the Open division of the Dominelli Women's Surf Classic.
"It's definitely not the start to the ASP Australasia Pro Junior Series I was hoping for," said Single. "The waves weren't too good and I just couldn't find anything in the lineup, so I'm definitely not too happy. I'm still in the Open shortboard division, so I'm trying to focus on that now and remain positive moving into that."
Cali McDonagh (Lennox Head, NSW/AUS) got her 2013/2014 Australasia Pro Junior Series campaign off to a flying start taking a solid win in her round of 16 heat. The talented natural-footer successfully nabbed a handful of long righthanders and fought a tight battle Holly-Sue Coffey (Coolangatta, Qld/AUS) in the relatively low-scoring affair. Both surfers booked their spots into tomorrow’s Quarterfinals.
"I'm so happy to have made it into tomorrow's Quarters,” said McDonagh. "I was simply trying to not put too much pressure on myself. The lineup was a bit of a lucky dip throughout that heat and I know all the other girls found it pretty tough as well. I was pretty relaxed overall and I had a good beat in my head, so I think that helped with everything and allowed me to move through.”
Tomorrow’s event is expected to kick off with the Quarterfinals at approximately 7.30 am at North Cronulla.
