California's Christian wins Turtle Bay Women's Pro
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
Julia Christian earned a place among surfing's elite with an elite performance in the Turtle Bay Resort Women's Pro yesterday.
Bernie Baker • Special to The Advertiser
Christian topped a field that included the world's best female surfers to become the first California woman to win a surfing contest on O'ahu's North Shore since 1996 (Alisa Cairns also won at Turtle Bay six years ago).
Julia Christian caught just three waves in the final of the Turtle Bay Resort Women's Pro, but still managed to become the first California woman to win a contest on O'ahu's North Shore since 1996.
The final day of the contest was completed in wave faces of 4 to 8 feet at Turtle Bay.
Christian, who is from Carlsbad, Calif., earned $3,500 for the victory. She also secured a spot on the 2003 World Championship Tour because of her performance yesterday (only 16 women are allowed to compete each year on the elite WCT).
"All of this is pretty overwhelming right now," said Christian, 20. "This is my fourth year surfing in Hawai'i and I've never made it past the quarterfinals. I was just hoping to do a little better, but I wasn't planning on winning."
Her victory was a lesson in perseverance.
Waves were on the rise throughout the day, and strong currents made it difficult for the surfers to stay in position to catch the swells. Christian and the other finalists had to compete in four heats yesterday.
"It was a difficult day," Christian said. "There was a lot of water moving around; a lot of paddling and a lot of surfing."
In the final, she caught only three waves, but her two best rides received scores of 6.67 and 5.93 for a total of 12.6.
"I was just trying to find the ones that had a good shape," she said. "I was pretty tired by the time the final went out, so I wasn't going for every (wave)."
Kaua'i's Keala Kennelly placed second with a two-wave total of 11.73. She opened the final with a series of precise carving maneuvers for a score of 7.5, but never found a quality wave after that.
"I got stuck (in the current) and couldn't get back out," Kennelly said. "You just have to be lucky out here. That was my strategy — try to be in the right place at the right time."
Sofia Mulanovich of Peru placed third and also qualified for the 2003 world tour. Prue Jeffries of Australia placed fourth.
Many of the top-ranked competitors were upset earlier in the day, including four-time world champion Layne Beachley of Australia, and Hawai'i surfers Megan Abubo and Rochelle Ballard.
Neridah Falconer of Australia was eliminated in the semifinals, but maintained the lead in the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing for women. Yesterday's event was the second in the series. Falconer won the first event.
Kennelly is second in the Triple Crown standings heading into next week's final event, the Billabong Pro at Honolua Bay, Maui.
Yesterday's contest was also the final stop on the 2002 World Qualifying Series. The top performers from the WQS, like Christian and Mulanovich, are elevated to the World Championship Tour.
The men's Xbox Gerry Lopez Pipeline Masters will begin its holding period Sunday.
Turtle Bay Resort Women's Pro
1, Julia Christian (California), $3,500. 2, Keala Kennelly (Hawai'i), $2,200. 3, Sofia Mulanovich (Peru), $1,800. 4, Prue Jeffries (Australia), $1,300. 5 (tie), Claire Bevilacqua (Australia) and Neridah Falconer (Australia), $900. 7 (tie), Rebecca Woods (Australia) and Chelsea Georgeson (Australia) $700.
