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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, November 4, 2005

SURF SPOT
Six represent Hawai'i in national contest

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

Six surfers will represent Hawai'i at the Rip Curl GromSearch National Final tomorrow at Salt Creek, Calif.

The Hawai'i surfers are brothers Geoff and Derek Wong, Torrey Meister, Kapu Ping, Tanner Hendrickson and Marissa Matsusaka. The contest is for surfers age 16 and younger.

"I really want to do well since I'm going to be the only girl from Hawai'i," said Matsusaka, who is a junior at Maryknoll School. "I've been practicing every day for it."

The Hawai'i qualifying event was held during the summer at Kewalo Basin. The top performers from the qualifying event were invited to the national final.

"This is going to be one of the bigger events I go to," said Geoff Wong, a senior at Roosevelt High. "The only thing I'm worried about is that the waves are going to be different and the water might be cold."

Geoff Wong and Meister are entered in the Boys 16 division; Matsusaka is in the Girls 16 division. The winners of those divisions will be invited to the international final at Australia next April.

"I know the competition is going to be tough," Matsusaka said. "But it's already hard to surf against the girls in Hawai'i, so I'm used to it."

Ping and Derek Wong are in the Boys 14 division; Hendrickson is in the Boys 12 division.

"I just feel real proud and honored to surf for Hawai'i," said Derek Wong, a sophomore at Roosevelt. "And hopefully we can all do well over there."

The rest of the field will feature surfers from California, Florida, North Carolina, New Jersey and Puerto Rico.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.