GSS Round 1, Round 3 WWT and DKWT Round 3 of 2011 Encanto Pro Puerto Rico complete
posted by Sacha Specker on 5th November 2011
2011 Encanto World Series Puerto Rico Pro
Event 7 of 8, Mens Grand Slam Series
Middles, Isabella, Puerto Rico
November 2-13, 2011
ibaworldtour.com
Round 1 of the GSS, Round 3 of both the WWT and DKWT of the Encanto Pro Puerto Rico were completed in wedging 4-6 foot glassy waves at Middles Beach.
The rampy and windless conditions today, provided the worlds best riders with incredibly high performance waves, pushing the standard of competitive Bodyboarding to the limit. Stand-outs of the day included heat winners, Jared Houston (Cape Town / ZAF), Jeff Hubbard (Honolulu / HAW), Mitch Rawlins (AUS) and Dave Winchester (Mullumbimby / AUS).
Jared Houston (Cape Town / ZAF) opened his Round 1 heat strong, posting a 6.1, 5.5 and 6.2 out of 10 respectively on his first three waves, but still found himself in 3rd position.
"I had a bit of a shocker in the beginning of the heat," he explained. " I was surfing OK, but only managed to get low scores.
With one minute remaining, Houston managed to find his rhythm, launching a high risk backflip off the end section of one of the bigger sets of the heat, executing it flawlessly and was rewarded with a 7.85 to rocket him into first position.
"I was sitting in third and thought to myself that I cant start my campaign like this, so I just went for it and got the score with that backflip off the closeout," Houston added.
Number 1 seed and World Title contender, Jeff Hubbard (Honolulu / HAW) seemed to have almost lost his momentum in his Round 1 heat. True to his fierce competitive spirit, Hubbard managed to clinch a win by launching a big Air-Roll-Spin without priority in the dying seconds of the heat, earning him a 7.75 out of a possible 10 points.
"I am really stoked with my Round 1 win. I came from behind in the heat and was really blessed to get that last wave," elated Hubbard.
Mitch Rawlins (AUS) has been in form throughout the trials and showed now lack of momentum in his Round 1 heat today. Rawlins posted a perfect 10 point ride, executing a smooth and effortless Air-Reverse out of the bowl.
Rawlins explained: "There are huge opportunities out there. This is probably the best high performance wave we have had on the tour so far," he added, "I think we are going to see a lot bigger moves than that (10 point ride). It could potentially be a throw away after this event."
Rawlins posted the highest GSS heat score of the day with 17.85 points out of 20.
Dave Winchester (Mullumbimby / AUS) also had stellar performance, launching a lofty Invert out of a set wave bowl on his opening ride and managed to back it up with a clean Reverse-Air. The judges rewarded him with a near excellent 9.25 and 6.26 respectively.
Commenting on his first wave, Winchester said: "That was the first prone wave I caught since I have arrived in Puerto Rico. It just looked so good. When I saw how hard it was bowling, I knew I was on. I landed pretty hard. It actually gave me little head ache, but got me stoked."
Other GSS Round 1 heat winners were:
* Ryan Hardy (Margaret River / AUS)
* Roberto Bruno (BRA)
* Amaury Lavernhe (St Gilles / REU)
* Eder Luciano (Itapema / BRA)
The WWT ran directly after the GSS Round 1.
The ladies top performance of Round 3 was put on by Champion Neymara Carvalho (Vila Velha / BRA), who showed huge commitment, buy boosting an invert on a heavy set wave, showing that she deserves her five World Titles and is a strong contender for the 2011 crown.
1999 World Champion Carla Costa Taylor (Rio/BRA) also looked unstoppable, launching one of the biggest Rolls of the day, earning her 9 out of a possible 10 points.
Other stand-outs included Maira Viana (BRA), Lilly Pollard (AUS), Minami Hatekeyama (JPN) and Chiaki Okuyama (JPN).
The final 4 heats of the day featured Round 3 of the DKWT.
Local rider Javier Cruzado (PUR) showed his local knowledge, dominating his heat with a combination of clean barrels and airs, leaving his fellow competitors in combination situations.
Other standouts included GSS World title contender Ryan Hardy (Margaret River / AUS), Aden Kleve (ZAF) and local ripper Kiko Galdos (PUR).
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