We were back at Bells Beach today kicking off at 10:30 AM AEDT after a few delays due to tides. The women’s round of 16 was competed in 3–4-foot onshore conditions, with waves improving throughout the day. Even the sun came out, a rare sight in Victoria.
Pressure is high as no competitor wants to have a poor result at Bells before the top 10 cut- off. A loss today is an exit in competition and plenty of unwanted nail-biting energy before heading to Margaret River.
WSL commentator Laura Enever described the two realties of competing at Bells as a “walk of fame or a walk of shame”, this plus the additional cut-off scenarios made for some exciting viewing.
There was no men’s competition today, swell is set to increase tomorrow with predictions of 4-7 feet with South-West offshore winds.
If you couldn’t kick back and watch it all , we did- Here’s a few highlights from today.
There are four Aussies moving to the quarters, Stephanie Gilmore, Sally Fitzgibbons, and today’s big performers Bronte Macaulay and Tyler Wright.
BIG PERFORMERS:
Tyler Wright
Tyler Wright looked fired up in her heat. The 28-year-old grabbed the highest heat score total of the event so far with a 17.24. The former world champ threw some wild laybacks and committed to each tricky section on her best ride scoring a 9.07. Wright is the leading Aussie on the tour ranked at seven and is starting to make her charge as a title contender at event no. 4..
Bronte Macaulay
Going in as an underdog Bronte Macaulay had plenty of work to do against in-form Tatiana Weston-Webb. Macaulay’s opponent looked dangerous out at Winki yesterday, I’m sure the aussie took notice of this before her heat today. However, she controlled her nerves and made the right decisions, schooling Tatiana with some elite backhand surfing.
The West-Aus local, will once again have a tough match-up in the Quarters, when she takes on fellow big-performer Tyler Wright. It is a shame if you are a fan of both, but expect fireworks with both surfers taking a lot of confidence out of their performances today.
NOTABLE PERFORMERS:
Courtney Conlogue and Sally Fitzgibbons both needed to win today to keep their spots on tour. Both surfers are ranked far behind the cut-off line, having average starts to the year. Conlogue and Fitzgibbons are multiple champs out at Bells and they showed why today despite the pressure.
Conlogue matched up against rival and world no.3 Lakey Peterson in the first heat of the day. The two surfers have competed against each other ten times in their careers with five wins a piece going into this match-up. Conlogue’s wave choice and rail-game got her the nod and a lead in their head-to-head history.
Sally Fitzgibbon was in heat no. 2 against in-form Malia Manuel. It looked to be Manuel’s heat as she stylishly picked up some solid scores at the start. However Fitzgibbons stay composed and put together some well-ridden waves in the Bowl.
UNDER ACHIEVER:
Tatiana Weston-Webb
The Brazilian, was in excellent form coming into Bells with a win in Portugal. Tatiana was a highlight yesterday, looking hungry for that yellow jersey. However, this round she made some errors early on some bumpy Bells wave. Her opponent and fellow goofy-footer Macaulay made the most of the waves she was given and took the win. Tatiana will be disappointed knowing that a good result at Bells could have got her that no.1 spot.
HEAT OF THE DAY:
Stephanie Gilmore (14.90) v India Robinson (13.23)
This was the heat the Tracks team wanted to see in our Bells preview. Having had high expectations for tour rookie India Robinson to do well at Bells due to her local knowledge and high-level power-surfing. A great match-up to see if Robinson is the real deal and if Steph is still the master at Bells, surprisingly Robinson is in a better position on the tour leader board at 8th, with Gilmore at 14th and needing a big result at Bells.
The heat did not disappoint , Steph, took a different approach instead of being her usual mellow self, waiting for the good waves, she got busy wanting to get to a good start., Robinson competed well and did not look out of her comfort zone, with the lead changing a few times. Gilmore, put the nail in the coffin with her best ride in the final five minutes. From start to end, Gilmore hit each section perfectly with her signature flow, carving her way to an 8.07. It’s a shame that these two Aussie talents met so early in the event, Robinson should not be discouraged as she gave the seven-time world champ a battle.
Check out Tracks’ editor Luke Kennedys take on todays action here.
- Round of 16 results
- Heat 1
- Courtney Conlogue – 13.84
- Lakey Peterson- 9.00
- Heat 2
- Sally Fitzgibbons- 12.93
- Malia Manuel – 12.60
- Heat 3
- Bronte Macaulay – 15.66
- Tatiana Weston-Webb – 10.90
- Heat 4
- Tyler Wright – 17.24
- Gabriela Bryan- 13.37
- Heat 5
- Carissa Moore – 14.60
- Alyssa Spencer – 12.07
- Heat 6
- Stephanie Gilmore – 14.90
- India Robinson – 13.23
- Heat 7
- Brisa Hennessy – 13.57
- Luana Silva – 12.26
- Heat 8
- Johanne Defay – 13.00
- Isabella Nichols – 11.26
