Lennox star Stuart Kennedy one of four Aussies through to quarter finals of Quiksilver Pro
LENNOX surfer Stuart Kennedy, who knocked out former world champions Kelly Slater and Gabriel Medina, is one of four Aussies through to the quarter-finals of the Quiky Pro.
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UPDATE: STUART Kennedy has continued his giant-killing run at the Quiksilver Pro, taking down Hawaiian Sebastian Zietz to advance to the quarter-finals.
Kennedy was outstanding, scoring 17.67 out of a possible 20, with his two-wave total including a nine-point ride.
The Lennox Head product, who knocked out former world champions Kelly Slater and Gabriel Medina, is one of four Aussies through to the quarter-finals.
Joel Parkinson will take on defending Quiksilver Pro champion Felipe Toledo, Matt Wilkinson faces Adriano de Souza, Adrian Buchan is up against Kolohe Andino and Kennedy against John John Florence.
Both the Quiksilver Pro and Roxy Pro are expected to finish tomorrow.
EARLIER: TWO restarts have had to be held in the opening Round 5 heat of the Quiksilver Pro as the waves deserted Snapper Rocks.
Joel Parkinson and Caio Ibelli headed to the beach after the second restart but judges forced them to return to the line-up, with Parkinson finally troubling the scorers after 23 minutes.
A restart can be held after 10 minutes if neither surfer has caught a wave and judges deem there are no waves surfable.
Earlier this afternoon, Courtney Conlogue and Johanne Defay won their heats at Snapper Rocks to finalise the Roxy Pro semi-final line-up.
Conlogue, runner-up for the world title last year, said she was keen to “get out of the gates’’ and see how she was travelling.
“I’ve put in a lot of time in the off-season and I’m definitely looking to get to that finish line on top but there’s a big marathon ahead so I’m just focussing on the steps in front of me,’’ she said.
EARLIER: THE last two quarter-finals of the Roxy Pro will be held from 2.30pm after the contest paused after the high tide dropped.
Courtney Comlogue and Sage Erickson will go head-to-head in the opening heat.
Round 5 of the Quiksilver Pro will also be held this afternoon, with the men’s quarter-finalists to be determined.
Spectators were treated to a spectacle during the break with former world champ Wayne “Rabbit” Bartholomew and current titleholder Adriano de Souza free surfing in the line-up.
EARLIER: THE Roxy Pro is on hold, with the next call on competition to be made at 2.15pm.
Officials had hoped to be able to push through the high tide today given the good, clean swell but have decided not to risk holding the remaining two quarter-finals in the conditions.
Carissa Moore won through her quarter-final against Malia Manuel in the final heat before the break to set up a semi-final clash against Tyler Wright.
Wright knocked Tweed product Stephanie Gilmore out of the contest this morning.
Stephanie Gilmore has been knocked out of the Roxy Pro in the quarter-finals, falling to Tyler Wright.
The pair both posted 8.6-point rides early in the contest but Wright backed that up with a 6.5 while Gilmore was left looking for a strong back-up score.
The six-time world champion held priority in the dying stages of the contest but was unable to find a wave good enough to post the 6.51 needed for the win.
With less than a minute remaining in the heat, Gilmore caught a wave but despite a combination of turns, fell short of the score needed and was knocked out of the competition.
Winners are likely to be crowned in both competitions tomorrow.
The Wright-Gilmore showdown could go a long way to determining the Roxy Pro winner — and early world title leader, with both chasing the crown this season.
Gilmore, Malia Manuel, Sage Erickson and Johanne Defay won their way through elimination Round 4 heats this morning to make the quarter-finals.
STEPHANIE Gilmore has won through to the quarter-finals of the Roxy Pro despite rival Nikki Van Dijk scoring a nine-point ride in their heat.
Gilmore suffered a scare though, forced to wait for scores after the buzzer following Van Dijk’s buzzer-beating ride.
The Victorian needed a 6.36 to advance but fell just short, allowing Gilmore to advance.
Making her return to the world tour after missing most of last year with a knee injury, Gilmore has been in outstanding form.
But she found herself in a knockout heat this morning after fellow world title contender Tyler Wright won their non-elimination Round 3 heat to advance directly to the quarter-finals.
CULT hero Stuart Kennedy has just fallen short of continuing his roll at the Quiksilver Pro, going down in his Round 4 heat this morning to John John Florence.
After beating two former world champions in two days, Kennedy was not daunted by Florence, one of the most talented surfers on tour and the man touted as the next big star.
The Lennox Head surfer led for most of the heat, leaving Florence needing a 5.91 to steal the win.
The Hawaiian did that, with an impressive aerial move sealing a 6.37 and passage directly to the quarter-final.
Kennedy’s tournament has not finished though. He will surf against Sebastian Zietz — the man who knocked out Mick Fanning yesterday — in the knockout Round 5 later today.
The last two heats of Round 4 of the Quiksilver Pro were held this morning, with women now in the water for Round 4 of the Roxy Pro.
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