Kaua'i woman takes home Tahiti pro surf contest

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

Waves at Teahupoo, Tahiti, are notorious for their relentless power.

Keala Kennelly survived treacherous 8-footers and won. Advertiser library photo

In treacherous waves of 4 to 8 feet, Kennelly won the women's division of the Billabong Pro Teahupoo yesterday.

"I think every girl got their butt kicked out there today, including me," Kennelly said in a telephone interview moments after the victory. "It was just really challenging conditions. But everybody who knows me pretty much knows that I don't like to back down from a challenge."

Kennelly, who is from Hanalei, Kaua'i, won four heats yesterday, including a victory over four-time defending world champion Layne Beachley of Australia in the one-on-one final.

Waves were breaking dangerously fast, so Kennelly countered by surfing dangerously fast.

"The barrels weren't really opening," she said. "But I kept trying to pull in. It might not have been the smartest thing to do, but I really wanted to get one."

Early in the final heat, her persistence paid off. She pulled into a barreling 6-foot wave and rode through it successfully. For bonus points, she completed a roundhouse turn at the end of the wave. The resulting score of 9.8 (out of 10) was the highest single-wave score of the entire contest.

"It was probably the only wave that stayed open all day," said Kennelly, 23. "And I was in the right place at the right time."

On the strength of that ride, Kennelly built a commanding 17.75-0 lead over Beachley in the first 10 minutes of the 35-minute final.

It never got too much closer. Kennelly's final score was 22.9, which nearly doubled Beachley's total of 11.6.

"Layne had one of those frustrating heats," Kennelly said. "It seemed like she was always in the wrong spot and I was in the right spot."

Kennelly earned $10,000 for the second World Championship Tour victory of her career. Her inaugural victory came two years ago at Teahupoo.

"I think it solidifies my reputation as a girl who charges hard," she said. "But everybody was giving it a go this year. I think the whole level of women's surfing went up a notch."

Kennelly said she received several scrapes on her legs and arms after wipeouts on the Teahupoo reef.

"It was worth it, though," she said. "You have to be committed to surf that wave, and I was."

In the semifinals, Kennelly defeated Australian Melanie Redman-Carr, who is currently ranked No. 1 on the women's tour.

Kennelly climbed nine spots to No. 5. Yesterday's contest was the third of six stops on the 2002 women's tour.

"I really needed this win," Kennelly said. "I had some bad results in the first two contests, and I would have been in big trouble if I had another one."

Rochelle Ballard, who is also from Kaua'i, was eliminated in the third round.

The men's division did not run yesterday. Five Hawai'i surfers remain in the third round: Shane Dorian, Sunny Garcia, Conan Hayes, Andy Irons and Kalani Robb.