Rip Curl Women's Pro: Round 1 - 3

SURF: : 3’ and shrinking like the polar ice caps
EVENTS HELD: : Rounds 1-3 Ladies
NATURE’S CALL: : “Now you see me, now you don’t”
PREDICTIONS: You will never surf as good as Steph Gilmore

They call her “Happy” Gilmore. Not because she can drive a golf ball 300 yards, or she tends to emulate the eccentric character portrayed by the ever-charismatic Adam Sandler in the late 90’s flick. But because Steph Gilmore is good..real good. And she doesn’t just combo you; she does it smiling.

Stephanie Gilmore

Steph Gilmore continued her smiling assassination amidst a hit-or-miss day two of the Rip Curl Pro Surfing and Music Festival at the famed Bells Beach. This time Claire Bevilacqua took the hit, compliments of a 9.0 & 8.0 from Steph.

However, as fast as Steph proved that she is the favorite to win the Rip Curl Pro, the stacked swell that served up overhead waves for the men yesterday disappeared. At the day’s end, like a meat pie during lunch time, the swell was gone.

And what does this mean for the rest of the event? “We’ll see what it does tomorrow, but it’s looking a bit dodgy,” admits Rip Curl Pro competition director and 2x World Champ, Damien “Dooma” Hardman.

However, the shrinking swell wasn’t the only thing nabbing the spectators at the Rip Curl Pro. South American imports, Sofia Mulanovich and Silvana Lima, both crushed their way to high heat totals. For Sofia, she has the bragging rights of the last lady to shake that coveted Bells trophy. And Silvana showed that she is equally as deadly in the lined up slopes of Bells.

The biggest disappointment of the day went to Hawaiian Melanie Bartels, whose talent is undeniably world-class. Bartels, only needing a small score in the dying minutes against Melanie Redman-Carr, shifted into cruise control on her last wave. Her body language waved the white flag despite the wave having moderate scoring opportunity.

With the swell expected to decrease, look for “Happy” Gilmore to aim for the pin. I have a feeling we will be seeing that grill of hers on the podium.

ROUND THREE RESULTS

Heat 1: Jacqueline Silva def Rebecca Woods
Heat 2: Samantha Cornish def Silvana Lima
Heat 3: Steph Gilmore def Claire Bevilacqua
Heat 4: Chelsea Hedges def Rosanne Hodge
Heat 5: Layne Beachley def Caroline Sarran
Heat 6: Megan Abubo vs Amee Donohoe (Postponed)
Heat 7: Sofia Mulanovich def Jessi Miley-Dyer
Heat 8: Melanie Redman-Carr def Melanie Bartels

 

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