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Shoulder to shoulder, rail to rail, with two minutes left in the women's final of the U.S. Open, Carissa Moore hawked Sally Fitzgibbons. That sweet, bubbly innocence she usually carries herself with was gone. The tide was high, the conditions inconsistent at best, and after opening up with two four-point rides, she was clinging to first place.
Then, as things seem to go in the dying seconds of the U.S. Open, a set moved into the lineup. Holding priority, Moore opted to hold Fitzgibbons off and took the first wave. She destroyed it, earning a seven for the effort. Fitzgibbons was left alone in the lineup and picked up the second wave of the set. She fell, and like that the 2010 Women's U.S. Open was bound for the record books.
"It's amazing," giggled Moore. "Sally's such a good surfer, and I have so much respect for her surfing. To win here today, it's just an amazing feeling."
Of course, winning a record $50,000 probably helped. For a bit of perspective, consider that the women typically win $15,000 for first on the world tour, and the previous record at a women's event was $20,000. And just to make things even more dramatic, with six minutes left in the final, Nike bumped the second place check up from $7,500 to $15,000.
"The message has been sent. Sign, sealed delivered," matter-of-factly said reigning women's world champion Stephanie Gilmore, referring to the impact that the record prize purse will have on other surf brands and ASP events.
But it wasn't just the ladies with cash on their mind. "I'll be thinking about it a lot more if I win two more heats," joked Kelly Slater when asked how much the $100,000 first place prize for the men factors in. In a fairly close duel, he'd just dispatched Ace Buchan and advanced into the quarterfinals. Hard to tell if he's broken a sweat yet. But he did enter the water with a quad and got out of the water with a thruster, so go figure that one out.
As the men whittled their way into the money rounds this morning the air around the contest definitely had a more energized buzz. The first lines of a new southern hemi swell were starting to file in, bringing a much needed boost to the south side of the Huntington Pier. The surfing was sharper, the turns tighter and crisper. The crowd appeared to be more engaged, and the hordes the media nerds circled the whole chaotic affair like Black Tips on Shark Week.
"This is when things start to count," told Jordy Smith, who breezed past Gabriel Medina in the first heat of the day, and continues to cruise through the event with little fanfare. Call it a sign of maturity, but while World Tour classmate Dane Reynolds has been thrust into the spotlight, Smith's refrained from stomping his big size-12 foot on the gas, easing through heats and seemingly leaving a little in the tank for the thrilling conclusion.
After Smith knocked out their countryman, the Brazilians went on a tear. Miguel Pupo made Bede Durbidge took flat out old and stiff. Pupo surfs with so much vim and vigor it borders on reckless abandon, but somehow always manages to get his board back under his feet. An unknown before the U.S. Open, it's safe to say he's made the surfing world stand up and take notice of how good he really is.
In the following heat Jadson Andre made short work of Nic Muscroft, who like Durbidge, appeared so much slower than his opponent. But then fifth ranked Adriano De Souza fell to young Maui ripper Granger Larsen. Overall, that puts two Brazilians in the quarters.
As for the favorites, as noted above, Slater was a winner today. Mick Fanning is also on into the quarters, and defending champ Brett Simpson fired past Dane Reynolds, who never really found his rhythm. "He finally got passed Dane," told Hurley's Evan Slater. "He's been cursed in his heats against Dane, it's become a mental thing for him, but he finally did it."
We're finishing this beast of a surf contest tomorrow, hit us back for the complete wrap.
US Open of Surfing Women's Final:
1. Carissa Moore (HAW) 12.50
2. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 3.83
US Open of Surfing Women's Semifinals:
Heat 1: Carissa Moore (USA) 13.27 def. Lakey Peterson (USA) 6.27
Heat 2: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 13.33 def. Jacqueline Silva (BRA) 10.70
US Open of Surfing Pro Junior Women's Final:
1. Sage Erickson (USA) 10.20
2. Malia Manuel (HAW) 6.56
3. Coco Ho (HAW) 7.00
4. Laura Enever (AUS) 6.67
US Open of Surfing Men's Round of 16 Results:
Heat 1: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 11.17 def. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 7.24
Heat 2: Miguel Pupo (BRA) 14.33 def. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 13.00
Heat 3: Jadson Andre (BRA) 9.50 def. Nic Muscroft (AUS) 8.00
Heat 4: Mick Fanning (AUS) 14.93 def. Cory Lopez (USA) 13.93
Heat 5: Granger Larsen (HAW) 14.10 def. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 13.00
Heat 6: Kelly Slater (USA) 14.77 def. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 11.44
Heat 7: Nathaniel Curran (USA) 16.27 def. Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 10.73
Heat 8: Brett Simpson (USA) 17.14 def. Dane Reynolds (USA) 7.23
US Open Pro Junior Men's Semifinals Results:
Heat 1: Evan Geiselman (USA) 15.17, Kolohe Andino (USA) 12.49, Ian Crane (USA) 6.66, Cooper Chapman (AUS) 5.07
Heat 2: Alejo Muniz (BRA) 15.73, Miguel Pupo (BRA) 12.83, Granger Larsen (HAW) 11.33, Jacob Halstead (USA) 7.33