Joel Parkinson of Australia won the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay men's surfing contest yesterday.

The final day of the four-day event was run in 3- to 5-foot waves at Jeffreys Bay, South Africa.

Parkinson entered the contest ranked No. 1 in the world, and backed it up by winning three heats in convincing fashion yesterday.

In the one-on-one final, he defeated Florida's Damien Hobgood, 15.97-11.94. Parkinson scored a near-perfect 9.47 (out of 10) on his first wave of the final and never relinquished the lead.

"The conditions for this event were just unbelievable and the surfing speaks for itself," Parkinson said. "The past two days are a bit of a blur — so many massive scores and barrels for everyone. In terms of the world title, I do my best not to think about it ... it's a long year and a lot can happen."

The five Hawai'i surfers in the contest were eliminated in the early rounds.

Parkinson has won three of the five events so far on the 2009 ASP World Tour, and holds a commanding lead on the overall ratings.

Fred Patacchia Jr. of O'ahu's North Shore is Hawai'i's top-ranked surfer at No. 15.

TENNIS

UH MEN SIGN TWO

Jeremy Tweedt, who played two seasons at Tennessee, and Dmytro Kovalyov, a native of the Ukraine, will join the University of Hawai'i program in the fall.

Tweedt, a native of Paris, will have two years of eligibility after spending his freshman and sophomore seasons at Tennessee. He played the Nos. 4, 5 and 6 positions as a freshman, compiling a 24-12 singles record and winning 18 times in doubles. As a sophomore, he went 8-10 overall for a team that was ranked as high as No. 4 nationally.

Kovalyov attended high school in Germany and the United States. The 2009 graduate of Saint Stephen's Episcopal School in Bradenton, Fla., will have four years of eligibility. Kovalyov trained for a year in Spain at the Barcelona Total Tennis Academy and his junior tennis career has taken him around the world, participating in International Tennis Federation events in Thailand, Portugal, South Africa, Morocco, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Serbia and the Philippines.