Fine Form in Fiji

Buitendag scored 9.43 out of 10 to win her Round 1 heat in the Fiji Women’s Pro, the fifth stop of the 2015 Samsung Galaxy WSL Championship Tour (CT). Round 1 began in solid conditions at the iconic break near Tavarua Island.

With the swell steadily increasing through a day of big scores, barrels and upsets, Buitendag prevailed over Malia Manuel (HAW) and Nikki Van Dijk (AUS) after an exciting tussle in the final heat of the day. The South Africa took an early lead before Manuel took over, only for Buitendag to answer back with her 9.43, the joint highest scoring ride of Round 1, and then hold on for the win.

“This is my third time here and last year I came straight after Brazil so I spent more than two weeks here before the contest started,” said Buitendag. “It’s every goofy-footers dream so it’s more of a holiday than preparation and it seems to be paying off.”

Jeep rankings leader Carissa Moore (HAW) posted the best score of Heat 3 with ten minutes remaining, finding a barrel for an 8.50 and, with a back-up 6.10, securing her place in Round 3. Dimity Stoyle (AUS) and wildcard Mahina Maeda (HAW) will have to battle again in Round 2 when competition continues.

“I’m stoked that I got to come here early and experience some bigger surf,” Moore said. “It’s definitely really tough and I know that there’s girls like Sally (Fitzgibbons) and Courtney (Conlogue) who have a lot of experience here, so I’m trying to catch up.”

No. 2 on the Jeep Leaderboard, Courtney Conlogue (USA), continued her excellent run of form today with a Round 1 win over European threat Johanne Defay (FRA) and replacement surfer Keely Andrew (AUS) thanks to an 11.50 heat total.

“I had so much anticipation to get out here,” said Conlogue, who missed last year’s event due to injury. “I’ve been here for a week now. Last year I was frothing to come surf Fiji, it was one of my dream spots. To not be able to surf it made it that much sweeter to get the jersey on this year and get out in the lineup. I’m so excited about the prospect of some bigger waves to come.”

The upset of the day came in Heat 2 where defending event champion Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), Laura Enever (AUS) and Coco Ho (HAW) went head-to-head. Fitzgibbons opened strongly, posting an excellent 8.00 on her first ride, backing it up with a 6.83 to leave her opponents in a combination situation.Enever came back with a near-perfect 9.43 for three powerful turns on a set wave but Fitzgibbons answered with a 9-point ride of her own to solidify her lead. An 8.37 from Enever in the final moments saw her snatch the lead from the current world no. 6, sending her to elimination Round 2 for the first time this year.

“It’s a big relief to skip Round 2,” Enever said. “I’m so stoked. It really started pulsing for our heat and we were going wave for wave. I feel really comfortable out there. It’s been awesome, all the girls are ripping and I hope we get some more waves.”

The Fiji Women’s Pro will be webcast LIVE on WorldSurfLeague.com. The world's best surfing will also be broadcast LIVE on Fox Sports in Australia, MCS Extreme in France, EDGE Sports in China, South Korea, Malaysia and other territories and on Globo TV in Brazil.

Fiji Women's Pro Round 1 Results:
Heat 1: Lakey Peterson (USA) 12.00, Tatiana Weston-Webb (HAW) 11.00, Alessa Quizon (HAW) 6.83
Heat 2: Laura Enever (AUS) 17.80, Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 17.67, Coco Ho (HAW) 11.17
Heat 3: Carissa Moore (HAW) 14.60, Dimity Stoyle (AUS) 12.83, Mahina Maeda (HAW) 7.66
Heat 4: Courtney Conlogue (USA) 11.50, Johanne Defay (FRA) 7.83, Keely Andrew (AUS) 5.50
Heat 5: Tyler Wright (AUS) 11.93, Sage Erickson (USA) 11.13, Silvana Lima (BRA) 10.23
Heat 6: Bianca Buitendag (ZAF) 17.06, Nikki Van Dijk (AUS) 15.57, Malia Manuel (HAW) 14.40

Fiji Women's Pro Round 2 Match-Ups:
Heat 1: Silvana Lima (BRA) vs. Nikki Van Dijk (AUS)
Heat 2: Coco Ho (HAW) vs. Alessa Quizon (HAW)
Heat 3: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) vs. Mahina Maeda (HAW)
Heat 4: Malia Manuel (HAW) vs. Keely Andrew (AUS)
Heat 5: Tatiana Weston-Webb (HAW) vs. Sage Erickson (USA)
Heat 6: Johanne Defay (FRA) vs. Dimity Stoyle (AUS)