Tuesday, December 4, 2001

ASSOCIATED PRESS Layne Beachley ducked under the curtain and sealed her fourth consecutive Association of Surfing Professionals world championship title after all five other contenders were eliminated in the early rounds of the Billabong Pro Maui yesterday.

Beachley surfs to
fourth world title

---

Star-Bulletin staff

Australia's Layne Beachley sealed her fourth consecutive Association of Surfing Professionals world title after all five other contenders were eliminated yesterday in the early rounds of the Billabong Pro Maui.

The last challenger left, Heather Clark, was defeated in the semifinals of the World Championship Tour event by Pauline Menczer, who wound up losing to eventual contest-winner Neridah Falconer in the final.

Beachley, 29, made it as far as the quarterfinals yesterday at Honolua Bay.

Falconer won $10,000 for the Billabong Pro Maui victory. Menczer won $6,000 for second place.

Rip Curl postponed: The Rip Curl Cup was postponed yesterday due to continued small surf at Sunset Beach.

Waves were in the 2-3 foot range and organizers expect a new, larger swell to arrive by tomorrow, enabling the completion of the $250,000 contest in better conditions.