[ SURFING ]
PIERRE TOSTEE / TOSTEE@ASPWORLDTOUR.COM
Hawaiian Pancho Sullivan somersaults off the back of a wave during the Xbox Pipeline Masters on the North Shore in Hawaii yesterday. Sullivan lost out to Australian Joel Parkinson and Brasilian Peterson Rosa in round one and will surf the losers heats in round two.
Beachley still queen
of the waves
To count the number of world championships she has won, Layne Beachley now has to use both hands.
The 31-year-old native of Sydney, Australia, wrapped up her sixth consecutive world title yesterday by placing second at the final event of the women's season, the Billabong Pro Maui at Honolua Bay.
With her most recent title, Beachley extends her own women's record for most career championships, and also matches the six owned by Kelly Slater of Florida, the record holder on the men's tour.
More dominant than even Slater, however, Beachley's six have all come in a row.
"It's overwhelming. It brought tears to my eyes," she said. "There was a lot of emotional turmoil this year, starting out high (with her only event win of the season), then going down, and then coming back up again."
"To match Kelly's record was my goal," she added, "and now that I've done it, I guess I have to come back next year and try to get seven."
In waves with 8- to 12-foot faces, fellow Aussie Samantha Cornish, 23, beat Beachley in a tight, back-and-forth final yesterday and clinched her first World Championship Tour victory.
Key to her win, Cornish nabbed a 9.50-point (out of a 10 maximum) score for a double-overhead barrel ride about two-thirds through the 35-minute final.
Beachley actually retook the lead later, but Cornish's final wave scored 5.80 to give her a 15.30-point total for her top two waves to Beachley's 15.00.
"I think God sent me that (barreling) wave," Cornish said. "It feels so good to win, especially because I beat the six-time world champ."
Completely on top of her game and comfortable in the spoiler role, Cornish yesterday also took out the other two top contenders in the world title race heading into the event -- Hawaii's Keala Kennelly and Australia's Chelsea Georgeson. She defeated Kennelly in the semifinals, and Georgeson in the quarters.
With only a 36-point advantage over Beachley entering the Billabong Pro, Kennelly had been the ratings leader, but finished a career-best second in the final standings. South Africa's Heather Clark also made the semis yesterday, and by doing so leapfrogged one spot to finish just ahead of Georgeson for the final No. 3 ranking.
"I got all the world title contenders -- three of them, anyway," Cornish said. "I was so in synch. It kind of sucks for Keala, but that's what competition is about. I wanted to win just as bad as she did."
Still, some good news remained for Kennelly as she was named the women's Vans Triple Crown of Surfing champion with yesterday's result. A series of three events in Hawaii that began last month, Kennelly was the Triple Crown's top overall performer (she won the second stop, the Turtle Bay Resort Pro, two weeks ago).
The Hanalei, Kauai, native is the first Hawaii woman surfer to win the title in six years of the prestigious series. Tied in Triple Crown points with Kennelly but finishing second on a tiebreaker (highest result in last event) was the winner of the series opener, Peru's Sofia Mulanovich. She was followed by Cornish, and then Hawaii's Megan Abubo.
"It's about time a Hawaiian won the 'Hawaiian' Triple Crown," Kennelly, 25, said. The world title this year "just wasn't meant to be. But I'm only looking forward, never back. I'm only moving up, and there's only one place to go after second."
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Hawaii puts 9 surfers in main event
at Gerry Lopez Pipeline Masters
The final event of the men's season, the Xbox Gerry Lopez Pipeline Masters, began yesterday, including a trials portion as well as seven of 16 first-round heats of the main event.
Clean waves in the 12- to 16-foot face range consistently rolled through the Banzai Pipeline, with the break offering many of its trademark hollow barrel rides.
The nine trials surfers who won slots into the 48-man main event were all from Hawaii: Bruce Irons, Pancho Sullivan, Jamie O'Brien, Derek Ho, Brian Pacheco, Jonah Morgan, Kalani Chapman, Fred Patacchia Jr. and Marcus Hickman.
At 39, Ho was by far the senior member of the group. But he is also a former world champion (1993) and two-time winner of the event ('86, '93).
"This is good for me," Ho said. "The kids are so good these days ... but it just keeps me on my toes. I'm a competitor."
Irons was the only other former Pipeline Masters winner among the trials surfers who advanced, his victory coming just two years ago. Irons notched the highest overall heat score -- 17.60 points -- and best single wave -- a 9.75 for a double-barrel ride -- of the final trials round.
"I love this place -- it's one of my favorite waves in the world," Irons, 24, said. "I just lucked out on that (9.75) wave. The first section broke, and then it kept going through the sandbar and I kept going through (the barrel)."
Surfers who win their three-man first-round heats move straight into the third round, while second- and third-place finishers must compete in the second round.
Later yesterday, Ho won his first-round heat, as did O'Brien and Hickman. Other winners among the seven first-round heats were Tim Curran (U.S.), Victor Ribas (Brazil), Michael Lowe (Australia) and Joel Parkinson (Australia).
Conditions permitting, the second day of the four-day contest will be held today. New world and Triple Crown champions will be determined at the event's conclusion.
Irons' older brother, Andy, currently holds both championships after winning them for the first time last year -- and he is very much in contention for both again this year. Andy Irons is also the defending Pipeline Masters champ.
Only Andy Irons, at No. 2 in the world, and No. 1 Kelly Slater, who leads by 96 points, remain in contention for the men's world championship. Neither surfed yesterday, but Irons is in the first heat scheduled to hit the water when the contest resumes.
