Coco Ho of Sunset Beach tied for third place in the junior women's division of the Billabong Junior World Championships yesterday.

The fourth day of the contest was completed in 3- to 4-foot waves at North Narrabeen, Australia.

Ho, who is the daughter of famous Hawai'i surfer Michael Ho, was eliminated in the semifinals. Australia's Nicola Atherton defeated Ho, 10.67 to 9.67.

Ho needed a score of 6.5 to overtake Atherton late in the heat, but she received a 5.5 on her final wave in the closing seconds.

Atherton went on to defeat Peru's Anali Gomez in the final.

Earlier in the day, Ho defeated Kaua'i's Leila Hurst in the quarterfinals, 9.43 to 9.0. Ho and Hurst were the only Hawai'i surfers in the junior women's division.

The contest is considered the world championship for surfers 21 and younger.

The junior men's division completed its third and fourth rounds yesterday, and three Hawai'i surfers advanced to the quarterfinals.

Maui's Hank Gaskell was one of the top performers of the day, receiving a two-wave score of 16.83, including a near-perfect 9.5 (out of 10) for his best wave in his fourth-round win.

North Shore surfers Torrey Meister and Mason Ho also won their fourth-round heats. Mason Ho is Coco's older brother.

Four Hawai'i surfers were eliminated — T.J. Barron and Dusty Payne lost in the fourth round, and Casey Brown and Gavin Gillette lost in the third round.