Changing of the Guard

It was the biggest wins for the two, with Defay taking out her first elite CT victory and Ohhara claiming his biggest win, propelling him 68 places up the rankings to 13th place in the WSL Qualifying Series and within reach of qualification of the Top 34 in 2016.

The win by two surfers from outside the USA-Hawai-Brazilian-Australian axis could also spell a changing of the guard in surfing.

Defay, who dispatched her good friend Buitendag in the semis by a whisker, took out Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) in a tense Final at Huntington Beach Pier. The win sees her earn 10,000 points and move up five places to sixth on the Jeep Leaderboard.

The Reunion Island surfer took an early opportunity in the Final and earned a heat-high 7.67 for a series of backhand snaps to take the lead and put the pressure on Fitzgibbons, who was left looking for a 5.52. Fitzgibbons found a comeback wave with five minutes remaining, showcasing a reverse followed by two more turns. She was rewarded with a 7.00 and the lead but Defay answered with two big turns for 5.87 and reclaimed the top spot to take the win.

In a rematch of the Fiji Pro, Defay and Buitendag stayed neck-and-neck throughout the semi-final heat, with Defay scraping through by a fraction of a fraction to earn her first CT Final appearance.

“It’s pretty amazing, I could never imagine that I could win here or that I could win an event,” said Defay. “I just took it heat by heat and it’s so crazy. This is definitely my biggest win. Ending up last year at eighth on the rankings I thought maybe I could do top five so we’ll see what happens this year.”

Fitzgibbons, the 2011 event winner, earned herself a runner-up finish and remains at third place on the Jeep Leaderboard. Searching for her 10th CT win, the Australian previously dispatched the new Jeep ratings leader Courtney Conlogue (USA) in the Semifinals. Fitzgibbons posted four scores before Conlogue could find her first wave and kept the advantage throughout the match-up. A no-grab reverse from Fitzgibbons earned her a 6.33 to increase the lead with 5 minutes remaining. Both surfers took a wave in the final seconds but Conlogue’s fell short of the 6.60 required and she takes home a third-place finish.

Ohhara defeated Tanner Hendrickson (HAW) in a hard-fought Final. The pair traded waves throughout the exciting bout with the young surfer from Japan holding the lead through the opening half. A strong backside vertical snap from Hendrickson earned a 7.00 and a back-up 5.90 saw him take the lead. Three big turns on the outside from Ohhara followed by a final maneuver on the inside with just over three minutes remaining earned him an excellent 9.17 and a lead change. Hendrickson was left looking for a 7.51 but his final attempts fell short and Ohhara took the historic win.

Ohhara became the first Japanese surfer to make the Final at the Vans US Open of Surfing after defeating local favorite Kanoa Igarashi (USA) in the opening Semifinal. Taking eight waves to Igarashi’s three, Ohhara edged the win and sent the Huntington Beach local home in third place.

Runner-up Hendrickson moves up to 14th place on the QS rankings and caused the ultimate upset in the Semifinal, ousting defending event winner and CT standout Filipe Toledo (BRA). A heat high 7.17 from Hendrickson for wrapping cutback followed by a frontside air put him back in contention after Toledo took an early lead. The unsponsored underdog was left chasing a 5.03 to eclipse the Brazilian phenom. With eight minutes remaining Hendrickson delivered a series of powerful snaps, netting a 6.07 to force a lead change and leave Toledo in need of a 7.08. The clocked ticked down with the Brazilian hunting the lineup. With just under two minutes left Toledo took a wave but fell on his final maneuver and didn’t get the score, leaving the competition in third place.

Women’s CT Final Results:
1: Johanne Defay (FRA) 13.54
2: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 11.83

Women’s CT Semifinal Results:
SF 1: Johanne Defay (FRA) 12.17 def. Bianca Buitendag (ZAF) 12.16
SF 2: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 11.83 def. Courtney Conlogue (USA) 7.50

Men’s QS 10,000 Final Results:
1: Hiroto Ohhara (JPN) 14.50
2: Tanner Hendrickson (HAW) 12.90

Men’s QS 10,000 Semifinal Results:
SF 1: Hiroto Ohhara (JPN) 13.50 def. Kanoa Igarashi (USA) 13.16
SF 2: Tanner Hendrickson (HAW) 13.24 def. Filipe Toledo (BRA) 13.07

Men’s QS 10,000 Quarterfinal Results:
QF 1: Kanoa Igarashi (USA) 14.00 def. Nathan Yeomans (USA) 11.40
QF 2: Hiroto Ohhara (JPN) 14.67 def. Ryan Callinan (AUS) 14.54
QF 3: Filipe Toledo (BRA) 14.93 def. Alex Ribeiro (BRA) 14.30
QF 4: Tanner Hendrickson (HAW) 13.26 def. Kolohe Andino (USA) 7.93