Skip to content

Pro News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) INTERNATIONAL

Rip Curl Girls Festival Spain
Stop No. 4 of 7 on the 2007 ASP Women’s World Tour
Santander, Liencres, Spain
September 4-9, 2007

SOFIA MULANOVICH CROWNED RIP CURL GIRLS FESTIVAL CHAMPION

mulanovichspain.jpg

LIENCRES, Spain (Friday, Sept. 7, 2007) – 2004 ASP World Champion Sofia Mulanovich (PER) stepped up to the poduim’s highest block at the Rip Curl Girls Festival in Liencres today, when she defeated Silvana Lima (BRA )to win Stop No. 4 of 7 on surfing’s elite ASP Women’s World Tour.

An absolute standout in the left breaking waves of Liencres, Mulanovich positioned herself as the event’s top scorer, posting the only pair of 9-piont rides (out of a possible 10.00 points) in the earlier rounds, as well as a an excellent 8.50 against Lima in the final.

“I am so happy, I haven’t won a contest for a while so this feels amazing,” Mulanovich said. “I needed a pretty good score in that heat and I just thought to myself ‘I can do this, these waves are perfect for my surfing and there is no way she is going to get this one off me, this is my wave’!”

In what proved to be a clash of fierce South American surfing, it was Lima who took an early lead in the 40-minute Final, her pair of seven-point rides leaving Mulanovich no choice but to reveal the depth of her surfing talent. The former ASP World Champion answered back with an 8.50 and 7.05.

“Silvana is an amazing surfer,” Mulanovich said. “I knew it was going to be a tough Final but everything has worked out perfectly for me this week and now I am pumped and ready to go for the world title!”

The victory was Mulanovich’s first of 2007 and has bumped her up from World No. 6 to World No. 3 on the ASP Ratings. Her best result of 2007 going into this event was a second place finish to Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) at the Rip Curl Women’s Pro at Bells Beach in April.

Lima’s runner-up finish marks her second consecutive second place result this year and sees her move up into the World No. 2 spot.

“It’s amazing!” Lima said. “It’s my second Final which is awesome and now I am second on the ASP ratings which is really important for me.”limaspain.jpg

Leaving Spain, semifinalist Samantha Cornish (AUS) now holds the World No. 1 spot for the first time in her professional surfing career. Cornish finished equal third when she was ousted by Mulanovich in Semifinal 1.

“It’s amazing!” Cornish glowed. “This was my plan for the whole year, it’s really tight with five world title contenders and it’s not going to be an easy road. Hopefully I can keep it together and you never know what could happen.”

Cornish was awarded the ASP injury wildcard at the end of 2006 after nearly falling off the tour and has stamped her dominance on top tier surfing this year, with another outstanding performance at this event.

“It was a little disappointing to lose to Sofia in the Semis, but at the same time it’s another great result,” Cornish said. “Unfortunately the waves let me down today, Sofia just happened to have priority when the best ones came through and I did all that I could on what was given to me.”

Inspired by her traveling buddy Samantha Cornish’s recent success in Brazil, Amee Donohoe (AUS) secured her best result in her first year back on the ASP Women’s World Tour, finishing equal third when she was defeated by Lima in Semifinal 2.

“I can’t complain, it would have been nice to make the Final but this will improve my spot on the ratings and I just really want to stay on tour,” Donohoe said.

Opening up with a 7.00 off her first wave, Donohoe was unable to find a back up score, allowing Lima a ticket into the Final with an 8.50 and a 5.50.

“I think we both got one good wave and she must have just done a bit more on it,” Donohoe explained. “Silvana is a lot smaller than me and gets more drive out of her turns. She’s got a few up on me now so I just hope I can give it back to her sometime.”

Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), who was rated World No. 1 going into this event has lost her ratings lead, dropping to World No. 4 after a disappointing equal 9th place finish on Thursday.

“It’s pretty disappointing to drop to fourth,” Gilmore said. “The waves were definitely a factor at this event but you can’t change that. I am just looking forward to going to Manly now and I guess this takes a bit of the pressure off. The points are still really close so it’s going to be an interesting one.”

The Rip Curl Girls Festival saw three back-to-back days of action packed surfing from the World’s Top 17 Women who competed in Spain for the first time in ASP Women’s World Tour history.

The Rip Curl Girls Festival will be broadcast around the world via live webcast transmission online at www.ripcurl.com/girlsfestival.

RIP CURL FINAL RESULT:
Heat: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 15.55 def Silvana Lima (BRA)14.00

RIP CURL FESTIVAL SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
Heat 1: Sofia Mulanvich (PER)16.25 def Samantha Cornish (AUS)11.75
Heat 2: Silvana Lima (BRA) 13.75 def Amee Donohoe (AUS)10.00

RIP CURL GIRLS FESTIVAL QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
Heat 1: Samantha Cornish (AUS) 12.00 def Melanie Redman Carr (AUS)9.25
Heat 2: Sofia Mulanovich (PER)14.00 def Alana Blanchard (HAW)5.50
Heat 3: Amee Donohoe (AUS) 12.25 def Layne Beachley (AUS)5.00
Heat 4: Silvana Lima (BRA)11.10 def Roseanne Hodge (ZAF)9.25

RIP CURL GIRLS FESTIVAL ROUND THREE RESULTS:
Heat 1: Samantha Cornish (AUS) 10.75 def. Melanie Bartels (HAW)10.00
Heat 2: Melanie Redman Carr (AUS)12.00 def. Claire Bevilacqua (AUS)8.00
Heat 3: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 17.25 def Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS)10.75
Heat 4: Alana Blanchard (HAW)9.65 def Chelsea Hedges (AUS)9.40
Heat 5: Layne Beachley (AUS) 13.50 def Rochelle Ballard (HAW)5.35
Heat 6: Amee Donohoe (AUS) 12.50 def. Rebecca Woods (AUS) 7.50
Heat 7: Silvana Lima (BRA) 9.90 def Megan Abubo (HAW)9.50
Heat 8: Roseanne Hodge (ZAF)9.65 def Stephanie Gilmore (AUS)8.35

Additional information is available online at www.aspworldtour.com

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) MEDIA

==============================================================================

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) INTERNATIONAL

Billabong Girls Pro Itacaré Brazil
Stop No 3. of 7 on the 2007 ASP Women’s World Tour
Praia da Tiririca, Itacaré, Bahia, Brazil
August 20-27, 2007

CORNISH CAPTURES FIRST ASP WORLD TOUR CROWN IN FOUR YEARS

cornishbrazil.jpg

PRAIA DA TIRIRICA, Brazil (Saturday, Aug. 25, 2007) – Rising out of a four-year shadow, 26-year-old Samantha Cornish (AUS) won her first ASP Women’s World Tour title since 2003, at the Billabong Girls Pro Itacaré, this morning.

Cornish defeated Brazilian sensation Silvana Lima (BRA) with 12.00 points (out of a possible 20.00) to Lima’s 8.10, winning US$ 12,000 and simultaneously shooting to World No. 2 on the ASP Women’s World Tour ratings.

“I feel pretty amazing,” Cornish said. “It’s awesome to finally break the ice and come back with a win after four years. To be up there in the world title race with the likes of Stephanie Gilmore and Chelsea Hedges, is an honor and a privilege and I am going to go for it too!”

winnersbrazil.jpg

After failing to requalify for the ASP Women’s World Tour at the end of 2006, Cornish was granted an injury wildcard back onto the tour in 2007, returning to competition visibly fit and focused as her result today proved.

“Sometimes you don’t realize what you have until you’ve almost lost it,” Cornish said. “I have ASP to thank for giving me the opportunity to be back here this year. It is my goal and my dream to win a world title and this victory is just one step closer.”

Entering the event as equal World No. 4, Cornish seized the world’s attention by breaking the ASP ratings lead deadlock between Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) and Chelsea Hedges (AUS), eliminating Hedges in the Quarterfinals on Friday and Gilmore in the Semifinals this morning.

“The media always hypes up on the big guns like Chelsea and Steph and I’m sort of the quiet achiever. Silent but deadly,” Cornish said. “I know I can surf even better than I did today and I’m looking forward to bringing that out in my surfing in the next couple of events.”

Runner-up Silvana Lima (BRA) did her nation proud by reaching her first ASP Women’s World Tour final today, earning US$ 7000 and maintaining her World No. 4 spot.

“The waves didn’t come to me in the final but I did a good job,” Lima said. “It’s my first final on the ASP Women’s World Tour and it feel’s awesome. I am so happy because I always make the Semifinals but never the finals.”

The inspirational Brazilian talent defeated defending Billabong Girls Pro champion and 7X ASP World Champion Layne Beachley (AUS) in the Quarterfinals on Friday, capturing a narrow victory over Rebecca Woods (AUS) in the Semifinals this morning.

Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) and Rebecca Woods (AUS) finished in equal 3rd overall, earning US$ 5000 each.

Gilmore has maintained her World No. 1 spot which she now holds alone, for the first time in her rookie career.

“It’s definitely going to be a close one for the rest of the year,” Gilmore said. “Even though I am in first place, they are all right behind me. After my heat this morning Chels had the biggest smile on her face and she just said, the race is on.”

Woods was visibly disappointed after missing out on yet another Final and has slipped down one place to World No. 5.

“I’m very upset but happy that Silvana made the final. Both of us haven’t made a final, so I am happy for her. I know that to beat someone in their home country you’ve got to beat them convincingly and that was my mistake. The elusive final is still out there and I’ll have to take it to the next event.”

Despite losing the ASP ratings lead and slipping down to World No. 3 after finishing equal 5th on Friday, Hedges (AUS) walked away with US$ 2000 for winning both the Kustom Best Wave and Nixon Best Trick awards, for her spectacular surfing throughout the event.

The final three heats of the Billabong Girls Pro Itacaré were held in tricky 1-metre beach break waves.

The ASP Women’s World Tour now moves to Spain for Stop No. 4 of 7, the Rip Curl Girls Festival in Santander.

Additional information is available online at www.aspworldtour.com

Billabong Pro Girls Itacare Final Results
Heat 1: Samantha Cornish (AUS) 12.00 def Silvana Lima (BRA) 8.10

Billabong Pro Girls Itacare Quarterfinal Semifinal Results
Heat 1: Samantha Cornish (AUS) 14.75 def. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS)9.00
Heat 2: Silvana Lima (BRA)8.25 def Rebecca Woods (AUS)7.75

Billabong Pro Girls Itacare Quarterfinal Results
Heat 1: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 8.50 def. Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 8.00
Heat 2: Samantha Cornish (AUS) 12.00 def. Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 11.40
Heat 3: Silvana Lima (BRA) 17.00 def. Layne Beachley (AUS) 14.25
Heat 4: Rebecca Woods (AUS) 10.25 def. Melanie Bartels (HAW) 8.30

==========================================================================

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) INTERNATIONAL

Rip Curl Women’s Pro
Stop No 2. of 7 on the 2007 ASP Women’s World Tour
Bells Beach, Australia
Gilmore Rings the Bell and Moves to Equal First on ASP Ratings

gilmorebells.jpg

(Friday, Apr. 6, 2007) – ASP Women’s World Tour Rookie Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) is on top of the world after winning the Rip Curl Women’s Pro and her first victory as an elite tour surfer at Bells Beach today.

Gilmore’s trouncing of defending Rip Curl Pro and 2004 World Champion Sofia Mulanovich (PER) in the Final has catapulted her to equal World No. 1 for the first time in her career. She shares the rating with 2005 World Champion Chelsea Hedges (AUS).

“I’m just over the moon, this is unbelievable,” Gilmore said. “To compete against Sofia, a defending champ, in the final and manage to win means I’m back on track. To be World No. 1 next to Chels is amazing and exactly where I want to be.”

Gilmore, who won two ASP Women’s World Tour events as a wildcard before qualifying for the 2007 elite tour, has been vocal about her aspirations to earn a world title her first year on tour. She was disappointed to start that campaign with an equal 5th finish after being eliminated by Hedges in the Quarterfinals on the Gold Coast of Australia last month. Her Quarterfinal win over Hedges today puts the surfers at two wins apiece in elite tour competition.

“I was feeling pretty confident that once I had knocked off Chelsea I thought I could probably take it to the top,” Gilmore said. “She’s in great form, as are all the girls, but Chelsea was the biggest hurdle and I knew that if I could get over that then I could take this through to the final.”

Gilmore trailed Mulanovich for the first half of the Final, but left the Peruvian needing a perfect 10.00 after posting the highest wave score of the entire event, a 9.33, with six minutes to go.

“It is always great to build up momentum going into the final, Gilmore said. “It’s kind of hard because you want to go hard every heat, but in cold conditions you want to leave some energy and give 100 percent in the final. That was my game plan and it all worked.”

Mulanovich, who ’rang the Bell’ when the women’s event was last held at Bells Beach in 2005, moved from equal 17th to World No. 3 with the Rip Curl Pro runner-up finish.

“Steph is such a great surfer and before my heat I was super nervous,” Mulanovich said. “She’s so amazing, just to watch her surf and see her score. I’m just stoked to make it to the final with her.”

Mulanovich’s final berth today was her first since 2005 when she won an ASP Women’s World Tour event in England. She was not a factor in last year’s world title race but is looking to be back in the mix in 2007.

“I was just happy making it heat by heat because I came dead last on the Gold Coast so to make the final was a great improvement,” Mulanovich said. “My Gold Coast result was a throw away but I can still be in the running for the title. I just have to work on a few things and my nervousness. I’m a nervous wreck. I just need to work on that and have fun.”

Mulanovich beat reigning world champion and three-time Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach winner Layne Beachley (AUS) in the semifinals.

“I’m disappointed because I let a wave go and Sofia got a 5.90 under my priority with 18 minutes to go,” Beachley said. “I thought I could afford to wait and it just didn’t pay off – I played too much of the patience game. I started strong, I just wasn’t able to capitalize from the start.”

Beachley won her seventh world title last year and has cited upcoming talent such as Gilmore as a major motivation for staying on tour.

“It’s not a bad result,” Beachley said. “I was hoping to at least make the final. I really wanted to pay back Steph for beating me at my own event. I would love to get her at her sponsor’s event. Even still, it’s great that Rip Curl has brought us back here and hopefully I will be on tour long enough to win another Bell.”

Samantha Cornish (AUS) also made a semifinal showing today but was easily eliminated by Gilmore in their wave-starved heat.

“Yeah it was definitely slow out there,” Cornish said. “I was finding it hard to catch a wave for the first 15 minutes. Stephanie only had a 6.0 which was unfortunate because I could have had a chance – I just made several mistakes out there. You live and learn. It’s a loss but it’s a good result for me and I’m happy with that.”

The women will not surf another ASP Women’s World Tour event until August when they will head to Brazil.

Rip Curl Women’s Pro Final Results:
HEAT 1: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 16.50 def. Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 11.93

Rip Curl Women’s Pro Semifinal Results: 1st advances to Final, 2nd finishes equal 3rd
HEAT 1: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 15.17 def. Samantha Cornish (AUS) 5.94
HEAT 2: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 11.50 def. Layne Beachley (AUS) 8.56

Rip Curl Women’s Pro Quarterfinal Results: 1st advances to Semifinal, 2nd finishes equal 5th
HEAT 1: Samantha Cornish (AUS) 12.00 def. Jacqueline Silva (BRA) 7.16
HEAT 2: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 14.50 def. Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 12.17
HEAT 3: Layne Beachley (AUS) 13.00 def. Amee Donohoe (AUS) 12.67
HEAT 4: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 12.50 def. Melanie Redman-Carr (AUS) 9.00

ASP Women’s World Tour Ratings – after the Rip Curl Women’s Pro, Stop 2 of 7 on the ASP Women’s World Tour
1. Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 1752 points
1. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 1752 points
3. Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 1152 points
4. Layne Beachley (AUS) 1116 points
4. Rebecca Woods (AUS) 1116 points
4. Silvana Lima (BRA) 1116 points
4. Samantha Cornish (AUS) 1116 points
8. Melanie Redman-Carr (AUS) 1104 points
8. Amee Donohoe (AUS) 1104 points
10. Megan Abubo (HAW) 912 points
10. Jacqueline Silva (BRA) 912 points
12. Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS) 720 points
12. Claire Bevilacqua (AUS) 720 points
12. Melanie Bartels (HAW) 720 points
12. Caroline Sarran (FRA) 720 points
17. Rosanne Hodge (ZAF) 360 points

===============================================

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) INTERNATIONAL

Roxy Pro Gold Coast
Event No 1. on the 2007 ASP Women’s World Tour
Snapper Rocks, Coolangatta, Australia
February 27 – March 11, 2007

HEDGES HOLDS OFF TEEN PHENOM TO WIN ROXY PRO AND TAKE RATINGS LEAD


Chesea Hedges and her hubby Jason

COOLANGATTA, Australia (Monday, Mar. 5, 2007) – Chelsea Hedges, 23, has won the first event on the 2007 ASP Women’s World Tour, the Roxy Pro Gold Coast presented by Samsung, at what amounts to her home break of Snapper Rocks in Coolangatta, Australia today.

Hedges (formerly Georgeson) moved to Coolangatta from Avoca Beach in Sydney two years ago and has moved to ASP World No. 1 with her win today.

The 2005 ASP Women’s World Champion defeated prodigious Roxy Pro Wildcard Carissa Moore (HAW), 14, the youngest finalist in ASP elite-tour history, in three foot (one metre) waves this afternoon.

“It’s a pretty amazing feeling,” Hedges said. “I really wanted to win here because I’ve never won at Snapper before and my family was on the beach too so I’m pretty amped. After watching Carissa surf earlier, I was waiting for her to grab a bomb (set wave) and score a 9.0 or something but luckily for me she didn’t.”

Hedges has moved to World No. 1 with the win.

“Even though I wasn’t really thinking about the ratings, with Carissa coming in 2nd (NB: Carissa is not an ASP World Tour rated surfer) it puts me a great position for the start of the year and now I’m looking forward to heading down to Bells Beach the next event.”

Hedges had to overcome the world’s brightest up-and-coming talent to make the event final today. She defeated uber-rookie Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) in the Quarterfinals and second-year surfer Silvana Lima (BRA) in the Semifinal before meeting Moore.

“It’s always difficult when you draw a dark horse or any of the younger girls because they surf so crazy these days, they have so much drive,” Hedges said. “Steph has beaten me out here before and today I got her back so it was really good for my confidence because I have a lot of respect for her. Silvana has been on fire for the whole contest but luckily in my heat she couldn’t pull it off. Carissa is a great surfer and the next few years are going to be unbelievable for her.”

Moore, who after winning the Roxy Pro Trials was surfing in her first-ever ASP Women’s World Tour event, posted 9.33 single wave scores in her Round 3, Quarterfinal and Semifinal heats but only managed a 6.70 two-wave total in the final against Hedges.

“I was just excited to be out there,” Moore said. “I was a little nervous, but just excited. I’m totally stoked with the turn out and I’m just really happy for Chelsea (Hedges) – she did awesome. Just being able to surf out at Snapper with some of the best girls in the world, it was just really nice.”

Honing her competitive edge in various trials and junior events, Moore took out seven-time ASP World Champion Layne Beachley (AUS), veteran competitor and former World No. 2 Megan Abubo (HAW) and 2005 ASP Rookie of the Year Rebecca Woods (AUS) en route to the final.

Woods will leave Snapper Rocks sitting equal 2nd on the ASP Women’s World Tour ratings.

“A semifinal finish is a good way to start the year, but it is one step short of a final and that’s definitely somewhere I would like to be,” Woods said. “I think this was my fourth semi so I’ve really got to work on that. Tricky conditions – I just wanted to get a couple of scores, but it wasn’t really going my way, bit of a shame.”

Tying Woods with an equal Roxy Pr 5th was Brazil’s Silvana Lima. Lima eliminated reigning Roxy Pro Gold Coast Champion, Melanie Redman-Carr (AUS), when she posted the highest single wave score (a 9.80 out of 10.00) and heat total (18.80 out of 20.00) of the event in the Quarters, but she was unable recreate that magic in her Semifinal against the eventual Roxy Pro winner.

“I was so ready to surf the final,” Lima said. “I was surfing a good heat and then my leash broke and I couldn’t get the score I needed, so bad luck. A semifinal finish is good, but I was ready for the final. I’m still happy though.”

The next stop on the ASP Women’s World Tour is Bells Beach, Australia for the Rip Curl Pro. After a one-year hiatus from the elite-tour calendar, the historical venue will be back from Apr. 3-8, 2007.

“After last seeing Mel Redman-Carr win three events in a row last year, anything is possible,” Hedges said. “After this I’m going to take some time out and refocus. It will be great to get back down to Bells again. I love surfing on my backhand and I love surfing Bells so it will interesting to see what happens down there.”

Visit the press room on www.aspworldtour.com for heat by heat updates, transcribed athlete interviews, audio files and complimentary high-res images.

Roxy Pro Final Results
Final: Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 11.33 def. Carissa Moore (HAW) 6.60

Roxy Pro Semifinal Results: 1st advances to Final, 2nd is eliminated.
Semifinal 1: Carissa Moore (HAW) 15.43 def. Rebecca Woods (AUS) 10.50
Semifinal 2: Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 13.33 def. Silvana Lima (BRA) 12.50

Roxy Pro Quarterfinal Results: 1st advances to Semifinals, 2nd is eliminated.
Quarterfinal 1: Rebecca Woods (AUS) 16.16 def. Amee Donohoe (AUS) 13.83
Quarterfinal 2: Carissa Moore (HAW) 16.50 def. Megan Abubo (HAW) 7.64
Quarterfinal 3: Silvana Lima (BRA) 18.80 def. Melanie Redman-Carr (AUS) 5.43
Quarterfinal 4: Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 14.33 def. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 9.16

ASP Women’s World Tour Ratings after the Roxy Pro, Stop No. 1 on the ASP Women’s World Tour
1. Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 1200 points
2. Silvana Lima (BRA) 756 points
2. Rebecca Woods (AUS) 756 points
4. Melanie Redman-Carr (AUS) 552 points
4. Megan Abubo (HAW) 552 points
4. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 552 points
4. Amee Donohoe (AUS) 552 points
8. Layne Beachley (AUS) 360 points
8. Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS) 360 points
8. Claire Bevilacqua (AUS) 360 points
8. Samantha Cornish (AUS) 360 points
8. Jacqueline Silva (BRA) 360 points
8. Melanie Bartels (HAW) 360 points
8. Rosanne Hodge (ZAF) 360 points
8. Caroline Sarran (FRA) 360 points
16. Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 180 points
16. Rochelle Ballard (HAW) 180 points

Comment Feed

No Responses (yet)



Some HTML is OK

or, reply to this post via trackback.