Guy eliminates Mr Price Pro womens defending champion
South African girls blitzed their competition on a day that officially marked the rise of South African women�s surfing, before an international audience at the Mr Price Pro.
Stacey Guy (CT, ZAF) cleaned up the last heat in the round of 48 for South Africa, taking out defending Mr Price Pro champion Serena Brook (Aus) in the final minutes of competition, to advance behind Sheridan Shields (AUS).
�Seeing all the other girls get through today really motivated me,� said Guy. �I think we dominated, with only three (girls) not getting through out of 11 who surfed. The South Africans are showing the international girls that we�ve got what it takes to beat them,� elated Guy.
Under 20 South African champion Tammy-Lee Smith (Salt Rock, KZN) fulfilled her goal to prove herself against the internationals on home soil this year, taking victory in her first heat of the main event.
Matched with French surf star Caroline Sarran, Hawaiian junior challenger Leilani Gryde and recent women�s six star World Qualifying Series winner Yvonne Byron (AUS), Smith kept her competitive edge using local knowledge in the onshore conditions.
�I noticed there was a big rip in the middle, just in front of the tower, so I let the girls sit on my inside and I sat a little bit closer in than them,� explained Smith. �They kept missing the waves and I just got the little running ones.�
Referring to her first win of the contest Smith said, �I�m pretty stoked, I was nervous going into the event because I had a couple of big names in my heat, internationals, but I had my whole family supporting me on the beach so I knew I had to do it.�
Four times South African champion Tamarys De Marroussem (Westbrook, ZAF) was the next lethal SA surfer and a standout on her new board, having snapped her favourite �stick� (board) this morning.
De Marroussem snatched victory over Kim Wooldridge (AUS) and fellow country women Penny Robarts (Strand, CT).
Women�s ASP World Championship Tour surfer Heather Clark (Port Shepstone, ZAF) snatched her place in the following round after an edgy heat for her local fans. Clark finished in second place behind Peruvian surfer Anali Gomez who came back after the half way mark with an 8.17 which erased Clark�s comfortable second place position.
�I heard that Anali scored a 7.0 and then another 7.0 which made me drop to third. With only five minutes left I hit a panic because I knew there were a whole lot of South African girls who advanced and I didn�t want to be the one who lost,� said Clarke who went on to post a 6.13 ride when needing a five pointer in the finals seconds.
Other South African�s to advance were Tatum Ambrose (Dbn); Roseanne Hodge (EL) Nikita Robb (EL) and Jessica Mathews (Cape St Francis, ZAF).
World number two on the WQS Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS) demonstrated the type of skilled surfing that she hopes will see her qualify for the WCT this year posting the highest heat score of the women�s event, an unbelievable 9.0 (out of a possible ten).
�This is one of the most important events on the calendar for the girls. We don�t have many five stars so I�m really looking to get a good result here,� said Miley-Dyer.
Friday will see the men�s round of 48 will commence from 08h00- 13h00 followed by the women�s round of 24 (heats 1-6) from 13h00- 15h30.
The Mr Price Pro music concerts continue this Friday and Saturday evenings with over 20 live bands rocking the Durban beach front.
The Mr Price Pro is a six star rated World Qualifying Series event which holds R1 Million rand in prize money. Over 250 of the worlds elite surfing professionals are competing at North Beach, the greatest surfing and beach festival on the African continent.
The Mr Price Pro is the anchor event of the ten day Vodacom Beach Africa Festival, the finals of which will be aired live of SABC 1 on Saturday 9 and Sunday 10, July.
Bruce Irons Age: 26 From: Kauai, Hawaii
Greg Emslie Age: 28 From: East London, South Africa
