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| APSPR Stop #1 Dogfight at Middles |
Event # 1 at Playa Middles, Isabela,
Puerto Rico, concluded with the
crowning of Corona Champions,
Dylan Graves and Anastasia Ashley. All of the action can be seen on our
innovative “Heats on Demand” available at www.apspr.net. The day
began with two-time Corona Extra Champ,
Brian Toth going down in a shocker in the first heat, a victim of wave
selection and a timely air-reverse by Tommy Bursian who squeaked by
behind heat winner David Santiago. It was anybody’s game from then on,
and the competitors dug in for absolute war. William Sue Quan utilized
his wave magnet to attract the best waves for his heat win, while
Travis Beckman’s heat win was an exercise in patience. Having not
ridden a wave in the first fifteen minutes, Travis unloaded with a 7.93
on a walled up set wave and consolidated the victory with a last minute
thriller. In the final heat of Round 3, brothers Josie and Dylan
Graves made it a family affair, advancing to face each other in the man-
on-man Quarterfinals.
The Women’s Round 2 was next, where defending Corona Extra Champ
Connie
Arias went down to a very in-form Anastasia Ashley and a smooth and
stylish Tara Geiger. Lindsey Baldwin made a serious statement in the
2nd Heat, going vertical three times in succession on her backhand for
a 7.33. Amy Nicholl looked quite comfortable in the conditions, and
Crista Alves finished off the round with a nail biting win.
From there we moved into the Quarterfinals of the Men’s and the man-on-
man format. Tommy Bursian got up early in the heat with a long wave on
his backhand, racking up several slashes for an 8.17. David Santiago
searched for an answer, but when Tommy regained priority, he put the
nail in the coffin with a second high scoring ride. Gabriel Escudero
wowed the crowd with an impressive 15.83 heat total against William Sue
Quan, the highest score up to that point. Carlos Cabrero seemed to get
stronger as the day went on. When he needed it most, Carlos dug deep
and pulled an 8.17 out of his hat to end the fairy tale run of Travis
Beckman. Brotherly love was pushed aside as Josie and Dylan Graves
took to the water for the last heat of the Quarters. With inclement
weather moving in, Dylan had Josie in a combo situation until the heat
was postponed until the weather blew over. 45 minutes later, the waves
had glassed off, giving the competitors better conditions, and the
brothers took to the water to conclude their heat. Josie was able to
rack up an impressive ride, but couldn’t secure a second score as time
ran out.
In the Women’s Quarterfinal, Lindsey Baldwin, Amy Nicholl and Anastasia
Ashley once again showed superior form and Lilac Alvarado used some
last minute heroics to earn her spot in the woman-on-woman Semifinals.
The women were right back out for the Semis, with one of the most
interesting heats going down in the Lindsey Baldwin vs. Anastasia
Ashley match-up. Both surfers were in exceptional form, accounting for
9 out of the top 10 waves for the event. Anastasia took the early lead
with a solid right-hander, milking it all the way to the shorebreak,
where her last maneuver landed her on the rocks and creased her
board. Lindsey countered with a rare left, coming off the top strong
for a 6.5, putting the pressure back on Anastasia. In the dying
minutes, Anastasia was able to find the answer she needed, sending her
on to the Finals. Amy Nicholl took the drama out of the second Semi,
where she dominated the heat with a powerful and mature style, setting
the stage for an all rookie Corona Final.
The Men’s Semi # 1 featured two radical goofy footers, Tommy Bursian
and Gabriel Escudero. Gabby grabbed the early lead with a flashy
backhand that streaked across the line up. Tommy struggled to find the
waves he needed, and when he fell on a desperate ariel attempt in the
dying minutes, Gabby found his way to his first ever Corona Final.
Semi # 2 pitted Carlos Cabrero against Dylan Graves, and saw some of
the most exciting action of the event. Dylan took the early lead with
an 8.0 in the opening exchange, but Carlos can never be counted out.
He worked his way back into the lead, until Dylan unleashed a series of
forehand gouges, top turns and lip smashes that earned the first 9
point ride of the event. There’s no quit in Carlos, and once again he
came back, this time with a solid left punctuated by a smooth reverse
to finish. But as time ran down, Dylan snagged a set wave and went
ballistic, unleashing an entire bag of tricks on one wave and earning
the highest score of the event with a 9.37, that left Carlos in a combo
situation.
Amy Nicholl and Anastasia Ashley took to the water to see who would
take home top honors. The heat went back and forth, with the lead
being exchanged several times. It all came down to the last minute,
where Anastasia found a nice right wall and went to work on her
forehand, doing one of the most critical cutbacks of the event as she
worked it all the way through. The judges rewarded her for her
efforts, and Anastasia’s 10.17 heat total narrowly eclipsed the 10.0
that Amy posted, giving Anastasia the Corona Crown.
The Men’s Final came down to the best surfers of the event. Between
them, Gabriel Escudero and Dylan Graves posted the 6 highest heat
totals of the event, and the two looked evenly matched. It was a tight
heat, with the lead going back and forth throughout. Gabby held the
upper hand as time ran down inside five minutes, with Dylan holding
priority but needing a strong 6 point ride to take the lead. Dylan sat
patiently, waiting for his chance, and when a wedgey right came through
with a minute to go, he let loose like he doesn’t know the meaning of
pressure. Dylan completed a huge tail sliding off the top and worked it to
the inside to take the lead, then nervously counted the seconds as time
ran out on Gabby before he could find an answer, giving Dylan another
Corona Crown.
It was a day that the surfing took center stage, and the best surfers
were rewarded for their efforts. In the end, Dylan Graves rode the
three highest scoring waves, and 5 of the top 10. Anastasia Ashley
also scored the highest single ride in the Women’s, and had 4 of the top
10 rides. Coppertone Sport awarded a bonus $ 500 for the highest heat
totals for both the Men and Women, and Dylan and Anastasia added
the bonus to their prize money by posting impressive heat totals of
18.37 and 14.34 respectively.
Puerto Rico, concluded with the
crowning of Corona Champions,
Dylan Graves and Anastasia Ashley. All of the action can be seen on our
innovative “Heats on Demand” available at www.apspr.net. The day
began with two-time Corona Extra Champ,
Brian Toth going down in a shocker in the first heat, a victim of wave
selection and a timely air-reverse by Tommy Bursian who squeaked by
behind heat winner David Santiago. It was anybody’s game from then on,
and the competitors dug in for absolute war. William Sue Quan utilized
his wave magnet to attract the best waves for his heat win, while
Travis Beckman’s heat win was an exercise in patience. Having not
ridden a wave in the first fifteen minutes, Travis unloaded with a 7.93
on a walled up set wave and consolidated the victory with a last minute
thriller. In the final heat of Round 3, brothers Josie and Dylan
Graves made it a family affair, advancing to face each other in the man-
on-man Quarterfinals.
The Women’s Round 2 was next, where defending Corona Extra Champ
Connie
Arias went down to a very in-form Anastasia Ashley and a smooth and
stylish Tara Geiger. Lindsey Baldwin made a serious statement in the
2nd Heat, going vertical three times in succession on her backhand for
a 7.33. Amy Nicholl looked quite comfortable in the conditions, and
Crista Alves finished off the round with a nail biting win.
From there we moved into the Quarterfinals of the Men’s and the man-on-
man format. Tommy Bursian got up early in the heat with a long wave on
his backhand, racking up several slashes for an 8.17. David Santiago
searched for an answer, but when Tommy regained priority, he put the
nail in the coffin with a second high scoring ride. Gabriel Escudero
wowed the crowd with an impressive 15.83 heat total against William Sue
Quan, the highest score up to that point. Carlos Cabrero seemed to get
stronger as the day went on. When he needed it most, Carlos dug deep
and pulled an 8.17 out of his hat to end the fairy tale run of Travis
Beckman. Brotherly love was pushed aside as Josie and Dylan Graves
took to the water for the last heat of the Quarters. With inclement
weather moving in, Dylan had Josie in a combo situation until the heat
was postponed until the weather blew over. 45 minutes later, the waves
had glassed off, giving the competitors better conditions, and the
brothers took to the water to conclude their heat. Josie was able to
rack up an impressive ride, but couldn’t secure a second score as time
ran out.
In the Women’s Quarterfinal, Lindsey Baldwin, Amy Nicholl and Anastasia
Ashley once again showed superior form and Lilac Alvarado used some
last minute heroics to earn her spot in the woman-on-woman Semifinals.
The women were right back out for the Semis, with one of the most
interesting heats going down in the Lindsey Baldwin vs. Anastasia
Ashley match-up. Both surfers were in exceptional form, accounting for
9 out of the top 10 waves for the event. Anastasia took the early lead
with a solid right-hander, milking it all the way to the shorebreak,
where her last maneuver landed her on the rocks and creased her
board. Lindsey countered with a rare left, coming off the top strong
for a 6.5, putting the pressure back on Anastasia. In the dying
minutes, Anastasia was able to find the answer she needed, sending her
on to the Finals. Amy Nicholl took the drama out of the second Semi,
where she dominated the heat with a powerful and mature style, setting
the stage for an all rookie Corona Final.
The Men’s Semi # 1 featured two radical goofy footers, Tommy Bursian
and Gabriel Escudero. Gabby grabbed the early lead with a flashy
backhand that streaked across the line up. Tommy struggled to find the
waves he needed, and when he fell on a desperate ariel attempt in the
dying minutes, Gabby found his way to his first ever Corona Final.
Semi # 2 pitted Carlos Cabrero against Dylan Graves, and saw some of
the most exciting action of the event. Dylan took the early lead with
an 8.0 in the opening exchange, but Carlos can never be counted out.
He worked his way back into the lead, until Dylan unleashed a series of
forehand gouges, top turns and lip smashes that earned the first 9
point ride of the event. There’s no quit in Carlos, and once again he
came back, this time with a solid left punctuated by a smooth reverse
to finish. But as time ran down, Dylan snagged a set wave and went
ballistic, unleashing an entire bag of tricks on one wave and earning
the highest score of the event with a 9.37, that left Carlos in a combo
situation.
Amy Nicholl and Anastasia Ashley took to the water to see who would
take home top honors. The heat went back and forth, with the lead
being exchanged several times. It all came down to the last minute,
where Anastasia found a nice right wall and went to work on her
forehand, doing one of the most critical cutbacks of the event as she
worked it all the way through. The judges rewarded her for her
efforts, and Anastasia’s 10.17 heat total narrowly eclipsed the 10.0
that Amy posted, giving Anastasia the Corona Crown.
The Men’s Final came down to the best surfers of the event. Between
them, Gabriel Escudero and Dylan Graves posted the 6 highest heat
totals of the event, and the two looked evenly matched. It was a tight
heat, with the lead going back and forth throughout. Gabby held the
upper hand as time ran down inside five minutes, with Dylan holding
priority but needing a strong 6 point ride to take the lead. Dylan sat
patiently, waiting for his chance, and when a wedgey right came through
with a minute to go, he let loose like he doesn’t know the meaning of
pressure. Dylan completed a huge tail sliding off the top and worked it to
the inside to take the lead, then nervously counted the seconds as time
ran out on Gabby before he could find an answer, giving Dylan another
Corona Crown.
It was a day that the surfing took center stage, and the best surfers
were rewarded for their efforts. In the end, Dylan Graves rode the
three highest scoring waves, and 5 of the top 10. Anastasia Ashley
also scored the highest single ride in the Women’s, and had 4 of the top
10 rides. Coppertone Sport awarded a bonus $ 500 for the highest heat
totals for both the Men and Women, and Dylan and Anastasia added
the bonus to their prize money by posting impressive heat totals of
18.37 and 14.34 respectively.
