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In what might turn out to be the best surf of the contest, the 2010 US Open of Surfing got underway in Huntington this weekend. Greeted by a lively waist- to head-high southern pulse, things got right down to business. The men fired through the bulky trials Rounds of 156 and 140, and even shaved off a couple heats in the Round of 132. No major upsets to speak of.
California boys Ricky Whitlock, Kyle Knox, Luke Davis, and Mike Loseness all surfed smart heats, breezing ahead on the draw. "I did one major event last year, but didn't do well, so hopefully I can do well out here," Davis said post heat. "Getting into this event is definitely good for me. I want to start doing more events to help my World Ranking, especially next year."
Also worthy of note was Centaur fan and oil spill survivor Sterling Spencer, who advanced out of the trials, as did Maui's Ola Eleogram. Eleogram's so overdue for a good result it's not even funny, and as the boys on tour like to say, "He's starting to build house." He crushed both his trials and Round of 132 heats, making him the man to beat in these early days of the Open.
"I'm stoked to be in the main event," said Eleogram in his post heat interview. "I had a bad start to the year and only did a couple of events. I fell short of making it into the main event, but I'm stoked that I got into the trials and had the chance to make it through."
And as for the junior ranks. In a battle you should expect to see for years to come, Kolohe Andino and Evan Geiselman put on quite a show in the shadow of the pier.
"I saw that I had Evan in my heat and I was kind of worried because he's been ripping and he's been beating me lately too," Andino said. "People say that we're rivals, but we're actually best friends too. I just wanted to get a really quick start because I was really nervous. I got one and started getting it going so that was nice."
Other's worth mentioning on the day were Maui's Granger Larsen, Santa Cruz goofy-footer Nat Young, local Newport artisan Andrew "Droid" Doheny, and again, Luke Davis was ripping. And on the junior women's side of the draw, Malia Manuel's back to her old tricks. Two years after her breakout win and the kid's still go it.
A lot of surfing and weirdness left, but that's the story of how things got going down at the 2010 US Open.
US Open of Surfing Trials Round of 132 Results:
Heat 1: Ola Eleogram (HAW) 9.63, Luke Davis (USA) 7.43, Richard Christie (NZL) 4.60, Jason Shibata (HAW) 3.10
Heat 2: Tomas Hermes (BRA) 15.84, Mike Losness (USA) 10.93, Ricky Whitlock (USA) 10.47, Kyle Knox (USA) 4.50
US Open of Surfing Trials Round of 140 Results:
Heat 1: Olamana Eleogram (HAW) 12.50, Richard Christie (NZL) 11.66, Sterling Spencer (USA) 6.00, Matt Pagan (USA) 5.73
Heat 2: Luke Davis (USA) 12.36, Jason Shibata (HAW) 8.90, Makuakai Rothman (HAW) 7.20, Clay Marzo (HAW) 1.56
Heat 3: Kyle Knox (USA) 16.33, Mike Losness (USA) 14.10, Hank Gaskell (HAW) 10.07, Anthony Petruso (USA) 10.04
Heat 4: Tomas Hermes (BRA) 11.40, Ricky Whitlock (USA) 10.66, Jano Belo (BRA) 9.56, Dylan Southworth (MEX) 6.90
US Open of Surfing Trials Round of 156:
Heat 1: Sterling Spencer (USA) 11.17, Clay Marzo (HAW) 9.43, Gustavo Fernandez (BRA) 7.43, Jay Davies (AUS) 7.24
Heat 2: Olamana Eleogram (HAW) 13.87, Luke Davis (USA) 11.73, Ben Bourgeois (USA) 11.66, Ryah Arthur (USA) 9.17
Heat 3: Jason Shbata (HAW) 10.50, Matt Pagan (USA) 8.86, Kevin Sullivan (HAW) 8.27, Chad Compton (USA) 6.80
Heat 4: Makuakai Rothman (HAW) 11.10, Richard Christie (NZL) 9.64, Jesse Heilman (USA) 8.47, Angelo Lozano (MEX) 7.60
Heat 5: Kyle Knox (USA) 12.16, Jano Balo (BRA) 11.06, Jason Harris (USA) 10.66, Gavin Gillette (HAW) 4.27
Heat 6: Mike Losness (USA) 12.83, Dylan Southworth (MEX) 10.74, Casey Brown (HAW) 9.56, Bruno Rodrigues (BRA) 5.94
Heat 7: Ricky Whitlock (USA) 11.26, Anthony Petruso (USA) 10.20, Teppei Tajima (JPN) 9.27, Andrew Doheny (USA) 8.84
Heat 8: Tomas Hermes (BRA) 12.00, Hank Gaskell (HAW) 11.67, Brent Reilly (USA) 6.77, Darrell Goodrum (USA) 6.73
US Open Junior Pro Round of 32 Results:
Heat 1: Nat Young (USA) 12.37, Cooper Chapman (AUS) 10.67, Tanner Hendrickson (HAW) 10.43, Alex Smith (HAW) 8.20
Heat 2: Kolohe Andino (USA) 13.83, Evan Geiselman (USA) 9.93, Kealamakia Naihe (HAW) 5.87, Taylor Clark (USA) 2.50
Heat 3: Kiron Jabour (HAW) 11.50, John John Florence (HAW) 7.84, Brent Reilly (USA) 7.60, Klye McGeary (USA) 5.13
Heat 4: Andrew Doheny (USA) 12.33, Ian Crane (USA) 9.40, Colton Larson (USA) 9.07, Dege O'Connell (HAW) 8.83
Heat 5: Granger Larsen (HAW) 14.76, Alejo Muniz (BRA) 14.33, Quinn McCrystal (USA) 13.76, Keanu Asing (HAW) 4.00
Heat 6: Miguel Pupo (BRA) 13.34, Fisher Heverly (USA) 11.13, Michael Dunphy (USA) 7.93, Conner Coffin (USA) 7.10
Heat 7: Jacob Halstead (USA) 11.76, Evan Thompson (USA) 10.50, Albee Layer (HAW) 8.87, Kaimana Jaquias (HAW) 5.00
Heat 8: Luke Davis (USA) 14.34, Chase Wilson (USA) 13.40, Victor Done (USA) 8.43, Taylor Brothers (USA) 5.90
US Open Junior Pro Women's Semifinals Results:
Heat 1: Malia Manuel (HAW) 13.00, Sage Erickson (USA) 10.43, Alana Blanchard (HAW) 10.43, Sarah Baum (ZAF) 3.44
Heat 2: Coco Ho (HAW) 15.10, Laura Enever (AUS) 14.70, Courtney Conlogue (USA) 13.73, Carissa Moore (HAW) 11.10