Three Hawai'i surfers advanced and one was eliminated from the Billabong Pro Tahiti yesterday.

The third round and six heats of the fourth round were completed in 4- to 6-foot barreling waves at Teahupoo, Tahiti.

Bruce Irons and Fred Patacchia Jr. advanced to the quarterfinals, Danny Fuller advanced to the fourth round, and former world champion Andy Irons was eliminated.

Patacchia was the standout of the day, scoring the best single wave and best heat total. He received a 9.9 (out of 10) for a long barrel ride, and had a two-wave total score of 19.6 in his fourth-round victory over Florida's Damien Hobgood.

"I pushed myself as deep as possible down the peak," Patacchia said of his 9.9 wave. "I tried to take off as late as possible so I could get as deep in the barrel as I could."

Bruce Irons also had a strong heat, receiving two 8.67 scores in his fourth-round win. He is scheduled to face world champion Kelly Slater of Florida in the quarterfinals.

Andy Irons won his third-round heat, but lost in the fourth round to Australian Dean Morrison. Irons received a 9.5 in the closing seconds, but it was not quite enough as Morrison won the heat, 16.77-16.5.

Fuller upset world No. 2-ranked Taj Burrow of Australia in the third round, and has yet to complete his fourth-round heat.

Fuller does not compete on the world tour, so he qualified for the contest through a trials event.

HAWAI'I JUNIORS STILL LEADING IN BRAZIL

Hawai'i remained in a tie for first place after the fifth day of competition in the Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championships yesterday.

Eleven of the 12 surfers for Hawai'i remained in contention after yesterday's heats, which were held in 2- to 3-foot waves at Maresias Beach, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Hawai'i, Australia, South Africa and France each has 11 surfers still in the contest with three days remaining.

Two Hawai'i surfers stayed in the winner's bracket with victories yesterday — Casey Brown in the Boys under 18 division, and Alex Smith in the Boys under 16 division.

Also in the Boys under 18 division, Nathan Rex won his consolation bracket heat. Torrey Meister and Kyle Ramey lost in the winner's bracket to drop into the consolation bracket (each division follows a double-elimination format).

In the Boys under 16 division, Granger Larsen lost his winner's bracket heat to drop into the consolation bracket. Tyler Newton won his consolation bracket heat. Dylan Melamed was eliminated from the consolation bracket.

In the Girls under 18 division, all four Hawai'i surfers are in the consolation bracket: Monica Byrne-Wickey, Bethany Hamilton, Lani Hunter and Lipoa Kahaleuahi.