Peru's Sofia Mulanovich added another memorable day to her already impressive list of memories at Hale'iwa Ali'i Beach yesterday.

Mulanovich won the Op Pro Hawai'i women's surfing contest there yesterday. The final day of the two-day event was completed in small waves of 1 to 3 feet.

"This is such an amazing place for me," Mulanovich said. "It's special to win any contest, but this one is even more special. Everybody wants to win in Hawai'i, and I have been lucky enough to do it again."

Mulanovich also won at Hale'iwa Ali'i Beach in 2003. In 2004, she clinched the women's world championship during a contest at the same beach.

"I love surfing this wave," said Mulanovich, 23. "It wasn't big, but it was fun."

The contest was the first event in the 2006 Vans Triple Crown of Surfing for women.

Mulanovich had to win four heats yesterday to claim the $4,500 first-place check.

"The waves were small, so you really had to hustle and work for every one," she said. "I think the best waves came in for the final."

Mulanovich led the 35-minute final practically from start to finish. On her first wave of the final, she completed five precise carving maneuvers and received a score of 8.17 (out of 10).

She had a similar ride midway through the final and received a score of 7.67. Her two-wave total of 15.84 beat the other three finalists.

Australian phenom Stephanie Gilmore placed second with a two-wave score of 13.6.

"Sofia got two good ones right off the bat, so I knew I had to pull something special out of the bag," said Gilmore, 18. "But the ocean didn't let me do it."

Gilmore dominated her earlier heats, and her two-wave score of 17.97 in the quarterfinals was the best of the day.

"I'm a little disappointed not to win it," she said. "But I'm happy with the performance."

Brazil's Tais Almeida was a surprise finalist and finished in third place. Yesterday was her first contest in Hawai'i.

Another Brazilian, Jacqueline Silva, placed fourth to round out the finalists.

Another surprising performance came from Kaua'i's Malia Manuel. She made it to the quarterfinals, and wound up tied for ninth place in her first professional contest.

Manuel is 13 and in the eighth grade at Kapa'a Middle School. She is still an amateur, and was the youngest competitor in the event. She was also the top finisher from Hawai'i.

Fellow teenager and amateur surfer Carissa Moore — a freshman at Punahou School — tied for 13th place.

Wai'anae's Melanie Bartels also tied for 13th, and secured a coveted spot on the 2007 World Championship Tour.

The Op Pro Hawai'i was the final stop on the 2006 World Qualifying Series. The top surfers from the WQS rankings get called up to the WCT (Bartels finished the 2006 WQS ranked No. 3).

Only 17 females get to compete on the WCT.

"I'll take it," she said of her spot on the elite WCT. "I was really motivated to make it back this year."

Bartels was on the WCT in 2004 and '05, but was dropped down to the WQS for 2006.

"When I was on the WCT, I was losing all the time, so I was getting irritated," said Bartels, 24. "But once I was off the WCT, I looked at some of the girls who were there, and I knew I could surf with them."

Bartels was hoping to make a statement with her surfing yesterday, but said she got frustrated by the conditions.

"I felt like we were back in the amateur days," she said. "This is Hawai'i. A pro contest should be held in more powerful waves than this."

Contest officials ran the women's final yesterday because there are no significant swells forecasted to hit the North Shore within the next week.

Australia's Jessi Miley-Dyer tied for fifth place yesterday, but finished the year ranked No. 1 on the WQS. Gilmore finished No. 2 on the WQS.

Leilani Gryde of the Big Island was eliminated in the second round, and dropped to No. 10 in the final WQS standings. She entered the contest ranked No. 6.

The men's Op Pro Hawai'i did not run heats yesterday. Contest officials have until Nov. 22 to complete the men's Op Pro at Halei'iwa Ali'i Beach.

For status of the men's event, call 596-7873 or visit www.triplecrownofsurfing.com.

The second Triple Crown event for women is the Roxy Pro, which is scheduled to run Nov. 24 to Dec. 6 at Sunset Beach.

FINAL RESULTS

1, Sofia Mulanovich (Peru), $4,500. 2, Stephanie Gilmore (Australia), $2,500. 3, Tais Almeida (Brazil), $2,200. 4, Jacqueline Silva (Brazil), $2,000. 5 (tie), Jessi Miley-Dyer (Australia) and Melanie Redman-Carr (Australia), $1,500. 7 (tie), Laurina McGrath (Australia) and Layne Beachley (Australia), $1,300. 9 (tie), Chelsea Georgeson (Australia), Rebecca Woods (Australia), Malia Manuel (Hawai'i) and Claire Bevilacqua (Australia), $800. 13 (tie), Rochelle Ballard (Hawai'i), Carissa Moore (Hawai'i), Caroline Sarran (France) and Melanie Bartels (Hawai'i), $700.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.