Oceanside CA— Opening day of the 10th Anniversary Paul Mitchell Neon Supergirl Pro — the largest women’s surf contest in the world — saw a field of 120 narrowed down to 72 on Friday, grinding through three rounds and six heats. The Supergirl Pro is the sole women’s WSL qualifying event scheduled in the U.S. for the 2017 season and plays a critical role for surfers looking to solidify their position on the 2018 WSL Women’s World Championship Tour (WCT).
Thousands of beachgoers witnessed truly high-powered surfing to open the contest as new-comers and young rising surfers delivered some high scores with consistent two-to-three foot, occasional plus, swell on the south-side of the Oceanside Pier.
The event resumes tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. PST with the remaining Round Three heats and the start of Round Four, which will see many WCT powerhouses hit the water to battle for a coveted spot into
Sunday’s final rounds.
Samantha Sibley (USA) put together a show-stopping performance in her Round One heat, delivering the day’s highest heat total of 17.00 (out of a possible 20) and earning a 9.00 (out of a possible 10) and 8.00 in her score line. This marks the 14-year-old’s second season on the QS ranks and she’s continuing to find her way through heats after winning her Round Two bout to back it up. But, the task at hand for Sibley is far from done with a big weekend ahead.
“That was so fun, I thought it was going to be small and the swell came early so it ended up kind of firing,” Sibley said. “I just went out in my first heat feeling no pressure and wanting to have fun, while also keeping busy. This gives me a lot of momentum and I just want to carry that through my next heats, and hopefully get a good result.”
Huntington Beach, California native Meah Collins (USA) came into this event in need of a big result, and is on her way to doing just that. The 2016 North America QS Champion charged through all three rounds with victories in each heat displaying a powerful forehand that went unmatched in Round Three. This already marks her best showing in 2017 after a slow start after a slow start and has her looking to continue her brilliant form.
“I feel really great after fighting all day and the waves were pretty good, you just had to find it out there,” Collins said. “It was a really bad start to the year and I think with finishing high school, and being so focused on that, I was just out of rhythm and out of shape. I’ve been training so hard the last few weeks and I’ve never felt so physically prepared for a contest. It’s proved to me that’s what it takes to win heats and I’ll keep working hard, and hopefully carry this momentum through the rest of my heats.”
Local favorite, Tia Blanco (USA) emerged victorious from the final heat of opening day over fellow San Diego county surfer Tiare Thompson (USA), who had earlier posted the day’s highest single-scoring wave of a 9.17. The 20-year-old took control of the heat with vicious forehand attacks in front of her hometown crowd. Blanco still searches for her breakthrough result of 2017 and poses a threat
“I just knew I had to surf my best and wanted to perform well with my family and friends all here to support me,” Blanco said. “It feels good to start with a heat win and hopefully I can build up that momentum since it’s still early on in the event. Now it gets even harder and I’m so excited to compete against some of the best women in the world. We’re super fortunate to get this swell and it’s awesome to be in a familiar environment surfing a wave that I train at all the time.”
Tomorrow, Sibley, Collins and Blanco will find themselves competing against a field of 48 that includes many WCT top seeds— defending Supergirl Pro champ, Coco Ho (HAW), 25; Courtney Conlogue (USA), 24; Carissa Moore (HAW), 25; Lakey Peterson (USA), 22; Sage Erickson (USA), 26; Silvana Lima (BRA), 32; Johanne Defay (FRA), 22; and Laura Enever (AUS), 25.
The free event runs through the weekend and is packed with entertainment, including live music as part of the Supergirl Concert Series featuring Bea Miller, Drake Bell, Aaron Carter, Chord Overstreet, and more.
Tomorrow marks the launch of Supergirl Gamer Pro, the only female-driven multi-title esports tournament in the U.S., with the final rounds of the popular esports title, League of Legends. The top teams to make it out of the qualifiers will compete live on-stage beginning at noon tomorrow. Matches from the final three rounds of tournament play will all be live-streamed on Twitch.tv.
Plus, fans can explore the Festival Village with complimentary hair styling at the onsite Paul Mitchell Neon style salon, meet-and-greets with the pros, vendors and more. Entrance to the contests, concert, and Festival Village are free and open to the public.
For more detailed information on the Paul Mitchell Supergirl Pro, please visit www.supergirlpro.com
Remaining Paul Mitchell Neon Supergirl Pro QS6,000 Round Three Matchups
:
Heat 7: Kobie Enright (AUS), Mikaela Greene (AUS), Zahli Kelly (AUS), Kirra Pinkerton (USA)
Heat 8: Dominic Barona (ECU), Chelsea Roett (BRB), Shino Matsuda (JPN), Nagisa Tashiro (JPN)
Heat 9: Caroline Marks (USA), Camilla Kemp (PRT), Alyssa Spencer (USA), Ainara Aymat (EUK)
Heat 10: Minori Kawai (JPN), Summer Macedo (HAW), Samantha Sibley (USA), Anali Gomez (PER)
Heat 11: Tessa Thyssen (BLM), Alyssa Lock (AUS), Vahine Fierro (PYF), Sophia Bernard (AUS)
Heat 12: Holly Wawn (AUS), Sophie McCulloch (AUS), Frankie Harrer (DEU), Josefina Ane (ARG)
Paul Mitchell Neon Supergirl Pro QS6,000 Round Three Results
:
Heat 1: Carol Henrique (PRT) 13.66, Ren Hashimoto (JPN) 12.50, Autumn Hays (USA) 8.26, Teresa Bonvalot (PRT) 7.17
Heat 2: Meah Collins (USA) 13.43, Georgia Fish (AUS) 12.37, Mahina Maeda (HAW) 12.27, Malia Osterkamp (USA) 9.60
Heat 3: Ella Williams (NZL) 14.34, Maud Le Car (FRA) 11.83, Sophia Fulton (AUS) 9.53, Ellie Brooks (AUS) 6.46
Heat 4: Melanie Giunta (PER) 11.00, Zoe McDougall (HAW) 11.00, Denver Young (AUS) 10.93, Ariane Ochoa (EUK) 6.24
Heat 5: Brisa Hennessy (HAW) 13.00, Emily Nishimoto (JPN) 9.36, Felicity Palmateer (AUS) 8.16, Gabriela Bryan (HAW) 8.13
Heat 6: Tia Blanco (USA) 11.07, Bailey Nagy (HAW) 10.57, Marissa Shaw (USA) 9.47, Tiare Thompson (USA) 7.74
Paul Mitchell Neon Supergirl Pro QS6,000 Round Two Results
:
Heat 1: Autumn Hays (USA) 12.33, Malia Osterkamp (USA) 10.17, Reika Noro (JPN) 7.46, Holly-Sue Coffey (AUS) 1.93
Heat 2: Meah Collins (USA) 13.60, Teresa Bonvalot (PRT) 11.00, Codie Klein (AUS) 9.34, Kayla Coscino (USA) 5.90
Heat 3: Ella Williams (NZL) 13.76, Denver Young (AUS) 10.24, Savanna Stone (HAW) 7.17, Eliza Greene (AUS) 5.90
Heat 4: Ariane Ochoa (EUK) 11.30, Sophia Fulton (AUS) 9.30, Teal Hogg (ZAF) 9.10, Molly Kirk (USA)
Heat 5: Gabriela Bryan (HAW) 10.93, Marissa Shaw (USA) 9.10, Ellie Francis (AUS) 7.23, Emily Gussoni (CRI) 6.54
Heat 6: Tiare Thompson (USA) 14.20, Emily Nishimoto (JPN) 12.57, Brianna Cope (HAW) 12.43, Rachel Presti (USA) 9.77
Heat 7: Zahli Kelly (AUS) 12.43, Nagisa Tashiro (JPN) 7.60, Freya Prumm (AUS) 7.60, Alexa Muss (USA) 4.90
Heat 8: Shido Matsuda (JPN) 13.73, Kirra Pinkerton (USA) 12.50, Rina Kitazawa (JPN) 7.23, Lucia artino (ESP)
Heat 9: Alyssa Spencer (USA) 12.63, Anali Gomez (PER) 10.93, Shelby Detmers (USA) 8.46, Cassidy McClain (USA) 6.57
Heat 10: Samantha Sibley (USA) 12.43, Ainara Aymat (EUK) 11.73, Tanika Hoffman (ZAF) 10.00, Avery Aydelotte (USA) 4.63
Heat 11: Vahine Ferro (PYF) 10.00, Josefina Ane (ARG) 9.60, Leila Riccobuano (HAW) 8.50, Nao Omura (JPN) 7.50
Heat 12: Frankie Harrer (DEU) 11.43, Sophia Bernard (AUS) 10.36, Bethany Zelasko (USA) 9.67, Amuro Tsuzuki (JPN) 8.60
Paul Mitchell Neon Supergirl Pro QS6,000 Round One Results
:
Heat 1: Malia Osterkamp (USA) 8.04, Kayla Coscino (USA) 7.24, Brittany Penaroza (USA) 7.03, Lucy Campbell (GBR)
Heat 2: Meah Collins (USA) 12.66, Autumn Hays (USA) 9.63, Kahanu Delovio (HAW) 8.90, Alysse Cooper (AUS) 6.90
Heat 3: Denver Young (AUS) 12.17, Molly Kirk (USA) 7.77, Malia Ward (USA) 6.76, Kloee Openshaw (USA) 2.30
Heat 4: Ariane Ochoa (EUK) 12.30, Savanna Stone (HAW) 11.24, Zoe Clarke (AUS) 9.63, Coral Schuster (USA) 3.44
Heat 5: Gabriela Bryan (HAW) 14.87, Tiare Thompson (USA) 11.90, Brooke Daigneault (USA) 7.66, Abigail Dixon (USA) 2.53
Heat 6: Rachel Presti (USA) 11.60, Emily Gussoni (CRI) 9.50, Keala Tomoda-Bennert (HAW) 8.67, Summer Ivy (HAW) 7.26
Heat 7: Zahli Kelly (AUS) 13.94, Shino Matsuda (JPN) 13.30, Karol Ribeiro (BRA) 7.70, Alexxa Elseewi (USA) 7.70
Heat 8: Rina Kitazawa (JPN) 8.27, Alexa Muss (USA) 6.50, Kelto O’Rourke (HAW) 5.00, Maile Davis (USA) 5.00
Heat 9: Shelby Detmers (USA) 8.40, Avery Aydelotte (USA) 7.00, Lorena Fica (CHL) 5.86, Elle Sampiere (USA) 4.90
Heat 10: Samantha Sibley (USA) 17.00, Cassidy McClain (USA) 10.50, Julia Camargo (BRA) 8.64, Hannah Blevins (USA) 7.17
Heat 11: Josefina Ane (ARG) 13.23, Sophia Bernard (AUS) 9.26, Kayla Durden (USA) 7.90, Sara Taylor (USA) 6.87
Heat 12: Amuro Tsuzuki (JPN) 12.27, Leila Riccobuano (HAW) 12.07, Sophie Falzone (USA) 10.97, Nicole Fulford (USA) 8.34