Into the Quarters

The quarterfinalists were decided today for the Roxy Pro Gold Coast presented by BOQ in pumping 3-4' waves at Snapper Rocks. The day saw the completion of Rounds 2, 3 and 4 with Australia’s Stephanie Gilmore, Sally Fitzgibbons and Tyler Wright advancing into the Quarterfinals alongside Carissa Moore (HAW), Buitendag and America’s Courtney Conlogue and Lakey Peterson, while the losers will have to refocus on the upcoming event in Western Australia.

Five-time ASP Women’s World Champion, Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) earned her place in the Quarterfinals of the first of 10 stops on the Samsung Galaxy ASP World Championship Tour after getting the best of her opponents in both heats. Gilmore squared off against rookie Nikki Van Dijk in Round 2, threading barrels and blending rail turns with progressive hits to collect an impressive 15.23 (out of a possible 20) and the win. Gilmore faced an on-fire Courtney Conlogue (USA) and Paige Hareb (NZL) in Round 3. Gilmore mixed power turns and barrels, as the Californian applied her own brand of dynamic surfing, to take the win and advance to the Quarterfinals.

"This is my favorite event of the year," Gilmore said. "We get to be the only ones out there and the waves are insane. I get nervous and want to catch every single wave that comes through. Courtney (Conlogue) is dangerous so I knew I just had to put everything I had into it. I put 200 percent into every single turn and every single wave”.

Carissa Moore (HAW), reigning two-time ASP Women's World Champion, was unstoppable, dropping near perfect scores seemingly with ease as she unloaded a barrage of beautifully destructive turns and carves. Moore won the Roxy Pro Gold Coast in 2011 and after posting a monster 9.90 (out of a possible 10), she finished with 19.50 out of a possible 20 in her Round 3 bout and she's on track for another strong showing this year. Moore will take on fellow Hawaiian Malia Manuel in the Quarterfinals when competition resumes.

"I'm so stoked they ran the women's event today, there are some fantastic waves out there," said Moore. "I was a little nervous going out this Round because I broke my favorite board this morning. I was a little rattled but this board is feeling good. I had so much fun out there!"

Snapper Rocks continued to deliver this afternoon as defending event champion Tyler Wright (AUS) collected a solid barrel ride and capitalized with more waves in the dying moments of the heat, securing her place in the Quarterfinals.

"The waves were pumping out there. These are fantastic conditions for everyone to be surfing in right now," Wright said. "You just get pumped on women's surfing and where the level is going. It's exciting for me to be a part of it."

Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) faced a tough match-up in Trials' Winner and wildcard Keely Andrew in the elimination Round 2, but came out on top. She put on another exciting show in the final heat of Round 3, snatching the win from Lakey Peterson (USA) who posted the heat's highest score. Rookie Alessa Quizon (HAW) went to town on her backhand, but it was Fitzgibbons' consistency and impressive rail game that landed her the heat win and a ticket straight to the Quarterfinals where she will match-up against Peterson again.

"That was a really good matchup," Fitzgibbons said. "Whenever the three of us (Peterson and Quizon) are out there together we try to really raise the level. We all want to win so I was fighting for it and just wanted to get my wave count up. I feel like I'm slowly improving and it feels really nice to skip through to the Quarterfinals. It's the first event of the year and it’s definitely a jewel on the schedule. You know amazing surfing has to be put forward to take it."

Courtney Conlogue (USA) was impressive in all three of her heats at the Roxy Pro Gold Coast today. In Round 2 this morning she scored the barrel ride of the event netting a solid 9.50 (out of a possible 10), and backed that up with a 9.00. In Round 3, she came close to securing first place, holding onto the highest single-wave score of the Heat, but was let down by her back-up score finishing in second place behind Gilmore. In Round 4 she dispatched Pauline Ado (FRA) to secure a spot in the Quarterfinals where she will once again square off against Gilmore.

"I'm really happy with my performance today," said Conologue. "I had a lot of heats and came up against a lot of great competitors. I just had a really put on show and take full advantage of the waves that we have on tap. I did a lot of preparation and training in the off season getting everything fined tuned to improve on last year. I'm feeling really good and can't wait till the Quarterfinals."

Bianca Buitendag (ZAF) had been quietly progressing through the Rounds at the Roxy Pro Gold Coast, until she matched up against fellow goofy-footer (right foot forward) and 2014 ASP Women's WCT rookie Alessa Quizon (HAW) in Round 4. Both backside surfers suffered slow starts, but mid-way through the Heat Buitendag switched on and nailed back-to-back 8-point-rides for a series of vertical, critical snaps. Buitendag now moves into the Quarterfinals where she will face off against Tyler Wright (AUS).

"The first couple of Rounds I didn't really feel like I had rhythm, I think I was just mis-reading the waves under the pressure," Buitendag said. "To get good scores you have to do three or four maneuvers on the wave, so I was just positioning myself to do as much as possible. I think I'm going to have to pull something out of the bag next round against Tyler (Wright), I will try and stay on the best waves and do the best that I can."

Roxy Pro Gold Coast Quarterfinal Match-Ups

Quarterfinal 1: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) vs. Courtney Conlogue (USA)
Quarterfinal 2: Carissa Moore (HAW) vs. Malia Manuel (HAW)
Quarterfinal 3: Tyler Wright (AUS) vs. Bianca Buitendag (ZAF)
Quarterfinal 4: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) vs. Lakey Peterson (USA)

Roxy Pro Gold Coast Round 4 Results

Heat 1: Courtney Conlogue (USA) 12.83 def. Pauline Ado (AUS) 10.73
Heat 2: Malia Manuel (HAW) 10.83 def. Paige Hareb (NZL) 8.60
Heat 3: Bianca Buitendag (ZAF) 16.77 def. Alessa Quizon (HAW) 12.93
Heat 4: Lakey Peterson (USA) 15.37 def. Dimity Stoyle (AUS) 6.64

Roxy Pro Gold Coast Round 3 Results

Heat 1: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 16.34, Courtney Conlogue (USA) 14.84, Paige Hareb (NZL) 5.83
Heat 2: Carissa Moore (HAW) 19.50, Malia Manuel (HAW) 14.34, Pauline Ado (FRA) 10.64
Heat 3: Tyler Wright (AUS) 14.14, Bianca Buitendag (ZAF) 9.20, Dimity Stoyle (AUS) 8.43
Heat 4: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 14.43, Lakey Peterson (USA) 13.20, Alessa Quizon (HAW) 12.30

Roxy Pro Gold Coast Round 2 Results

Heat 1: Lakey Peterson (USA) 13.43 def. Alana Blanchard (HAW) 11.04
Heat 2: Malia Manuel (HAW) 14.33 def. Coco Ho (HAW) 13.00
Heat 3: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 12.24 def. Keely Andrew (AUS) 7.30
Heat 4: Courtney Conlogue (USA) 18.50 def. Johanne Defay (FRA) 9.83
Heat 5: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 15.23 def. Nikki Van Dijk (AUS) 12.64
Heat 6: Bianca Buitendag (ZAF) 10.66 def. Laura Enever (AUS) 9.33