The final day of the U.S. Open of Surfing kicked off Sunday, Aug. 11, with a drop in surf size from the previous few days, testing surfers’ patience through the morning as they waited for waves with long lulls between sets.
The women kicked off the action during their quarterfinal heats. Spain’s Nadia Erostarbe took out Brazil’s Luana Silva by less than a point difference, followed by Australians Sally Fitzgibbons and Bronte Macaulay earning spots in the semifinals.
It was a Southern California showdown when San Clemente’s Bella Kenworthy matched up against Encinitas surfer Alyssa Spencer.
Kenworthy took an early lead by posting up a 7.67 and backed up with a 6-point ride, putting Spencer on the defensive as she hunted for waves near the Huntington Beach Pier.
Kenworthy kept busy taking wave after wave, Spencer not earning a score until 10 minutes passed in the heat. When a wave did finally show for her, it was a 4.83, not enough to come close to matching her opponent.
Spencer tried for another with just a minute on the clock, kicking out and knowing it wouldn’t be the wave she needed to advance.
Two San Clemente surfers were still in the running heading into the men’s quarterfinals, with last year’s runner up and World Tour surfer Crosby Colapinto facing Mexico’s Alan Cleland.
The ocean went flat, no waves showing up and forcing a restart after the five-minute mark. The clock ticked down again with another restart looming, but with just seconds left before the decision, Cleland found a wave to put a score on the board and get the heat started.
Cleland stayed busy, posting several scores, while Colapinto waited patiently for the right wave. There was only about 10 minutes left when he found a rideable wave, punting to the sky and throwing his fins in the sky, landing it and making his way to the inside for a turn that would earn him a score of 7.67.
But Cleland answered back with his own big air, flexing his arms as he landed, earning a 7.57, Colapinto left waiting for waves to back up his score.
With the ocean turning off, Colapinto was eliminated – the difference between the final two-wave score less than a point, with Cleland earning a 13.97 and Colapinto with a 13.
The two surfers hugged in the water, high fiving as the heat came to an end.
Cleland called it a crazy heat, where he compared it to playing a game of chess.
“You had to think of what move you would have to make,” he said, calling Colapinto a “gnarly” competitor.
“I knew I had to play smart and kind of relax, and go with the flow,” he said. “It’s finals day, you have to be on your game. I wanted to kind of better my situation, better every wave I got and take every opportunity that comes. I’m just trying to go with the flow and take the opportunities that come and go all out.”
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