Kennelly wins all-Kaua'i surf final at Teahupoo

Advertiser Staff

Kaua'i's Keala Kennelly continued her reign as the Queen of Teahupoo with another victory in the Billabong Pro Teahupoo yesterday.

Kennelly defeated fellow Kaua'i surfer Rochelle Ballard in the one-on-one final. The final day of competition was completed in clean 4- to 6-foot waves at Teahupoo, Tahiti.

The Teahupoo women's contest was created six years ago. Kennelly has won it four times (1998, 2000, 2002 and 2003).

It is considered one of the most prestigious women's contests in the world because of the treacherous waves at Teahupoo.

"(Ballard) is a really good friend and when she loses I feel bad," said Kennelly, 24. "But this is the contest I want to win the most all year long. I'd die trying to win it, you know?"

The all-Kaua'i final proved to be somewhat anti-climactic when the ocean went flat for most of the 35-minute heat.

Kennelly's two best waves in the final received scores of 6.0 and 3.83. Her total of 9.83 was still enough to top Ballard's two-wave score of 7.84.

"It just stopped (breaking) and was a real nail-biter," Kennelly said. "We were waiting for the bombs and the ocean didn't cooperate."

Kennelly proved her worth earlier in the day with dominating victories in the quarterfinals and semifinals.

She had a near-perfect barrel ride that received a score of 9.6 in her semifinal victory over South Africa's Heather Clark. In the quarterfinals, Kennelly had another barrel ride that received a score of 9.5.

"She's an amazing surfer and has so much potential and a big heart," Ballard said of Kennelly. "Every time she's out there, she's practically getting 10s."

Ballard advanced to the final despite wiping out and cutting her back on the reef during the quarterfinals.

"If there was anyone to beat me, it was Keala," said Ballard, 32.

Kennelly received $10,000 for the victory and solidified her No. 1 ranking on the women's world tour.

Through three of six events on the tour, Kennelly has 2,760 points. Five-time defending women's world champ Layne Beachley of Australia is No. 2 with 2,112.

Kennelly has won two of the three women's contests so far this year.

Ballard, who received $6,000, is ranked No. 7 on the tour with 1,692 points.

The men's division of the Billabong Pro Teahupoo did not run heats yesterday.