Toledo and Weston-Webb share the spotlight at U.S. Open of Surfing

Filipe Toledo of Brazil has been here before. For Tatiana Weston-Webb of Hawaii, it was a first-time experience.

The two surfers shared the spotlight Sunday at the south side of the Huntington Beach pier after winning the men’s and women’s titles at the Vans U.S. Open of Surfing.

Weston-Webb, 20, won her first U.S. Open women ‘s title by turning back the challenge of fellow Hawaiian and former Open champion Malia Manuel in the final. Toledo, who now resides in San Clemente, won the men’s Open title for the second time in three years by defeating Ethan Ewing of Australia.

The finals were played out in 3- to- 5-foot surf.

U.S. Open Women

Weston-Webb, a one-time rookie of the year on the tour, joined an elite club by winning the World Surf League final, which also was her first Championship Tour title in just her second finals appearance.

As she exited the water Sunday amid a gathering of well-wishers, Weston-Webb let out a loud, gleeful scream that could be heard above the large crowd that had packed the beach on the last day of the nine-day Open.

She still couldn’t contain her excitement nearly an hour after she had held off Manuel by a 12.96-11.34 score.

Both talents hail from the island of Kauai.

The victory gave her a $60,000 paycheck and 10,000 Qualifying Points, and it was well earned.

En route to the title, she knocked out two former Open champions — top-seeded Courtney Conlogue (Santa Ana/Sage Hill School) in a tight, to-the-wire quarterfinal heat, and Lakey Peterson (Santa Barbara) in the semifinals. The two wins preceded her finals win Sunday.

She will forever recall her week in Huntington Beach fondly.

“It’s very special to win this,” Weston-Webb said. “I’m still in complete shock.

“To be honest, it was a tough week for me. I knew I would have to get by No. 1 in the world (Conlogue), and this is Courtney’s home court and she’s amazing here. Defeating Courtney gave me so much confidence and after that I thought, ‘OK, let’s take this all the way.’ ”

Weston-Webb trailed Manuel early but held on in the final 12 minutes. Manuel, who became the youngest women’s winner at age 14 in 2008, caught one last ride, and it was a strong one, with just under 10 seconds let in the 35-minute heat. Needing a 7.79 score to regain the lead and pull off a last-second victory, her final ride score was judged at 6.17.

“It’s always very special when you win this (Open),” Manuel said. “It’s always a nice feeling to make it to the final. One of the major reasons we come back to this venue is the true surf fans here.”

U.S. Open Men

Toledo put on a show Sunday, from the quarterfinals and semifinals all the way through the final horn of the final against Ewing.

A variety of his talents were on display, and his verticals, rotations, front-side snaps and reverse 360s wowed the crowd all day.

“This is the best feeling in the world,” said Toledo, who also won the 2014 men’s Open. “To win two events here, Huntington is such a special place. The crowds are amazing, all my family and friends are here. It’s just special, just an amazing week.”

Toledo had command of his game in the final. He opened the 35-minute heat with a 5.5 ride and maintained the lead until a fast-charging Ewing went in front with just more than 20 minutes remaining. That lead lasted only a few minutes, and Toledo came up with a big ride, which was rewarded with a 6.83 score.

He never trailed from there and went on to hit several more big rides to keep Ewing at bay.

Toledo gained $100,000 and 10,000 QS points with his 14.90-10.46 win.

“All of these guys surfed really well and are really talented,” Toledo said. “Ethan is a great competitor.”

Ewing, 17, was in contention for two Open titles. He reached the Pro Junior semifinals before being eliminated Saturday.

“This is the biggest achievement of my career, so far,” Ewing said. “After I lost in the semis in the Junior, it fired me up to stay more focused on the Open. I never had the feeling, really, to make it to the final. I thought maybe win two or three heats.”

Quarterfinals and semifinals

The men’s quarterfinals opened Sunday’s competition schedule. Toledo got past Michel Bourez of French Polynesia (14-.20-12.63) and Ewing eliminated countryman Ryan Callinan (13.40-12.40). Kanoa Igarashi of Huntington Beach, who surfed the third of four two-man heats, defeated Bino Lopes of Brazil (13.04-11.83). Reigning world champion Adriano de Souza of Brazil downed Sebastian Zietz of Hawaii (13.43-3.63).

In the semifinals, Ewing gained a spot in the final by ousting de Souza in Heat 1 (14.60-13.53). Toledo moved on by ending the run of local favorite Iragashi (15.-67-13.40).

Toledo opened with a 7.50 score on his second ride four minutes into the 30-minute semifinals heat and posted an 8.17 score with 19 minutes left and controlled the heat from there.

Igarashi, 18, also reached the semifinals last year and gained his second equal-third place finish.

His score of 17.23 in his Round 2 heat victory Tuesday was the highest two-wave score in the contest.

“Things didn’t go my way, but that’s how it goes,” he said moments after his semifinals loss. “I felt really good heading into the week and felt this was my contest. It would be great to be in the final but at the end of the day, third place isn’t bad.”

The women’s quarterfinals followed the men’s quarters. Peterson moved on to the semifinals by defeating Sage Erickson (Ventura) in Heat 1, 12.50-11.17. In the second heat, Weston-Webb pulled off a late win over Conlogue, winning 15.23-15.00. Other quarterfinals winners: Tyler Wright (Australia) defeated Keely Andrew (Australia), 14.10-11.17, and Manuel topped former Open champion Stephanie Gilmore (Australia), 10.50-9.74.

In the semifinals, Weston-Webb scored another key win by defeating Peterson, 14.26-10.96, and Manuel eliminated Wright, 13.33-10.83.

Marks, Diaz claim Pro Junior titles

Caroline Marks (Florida; San Clemente) won the women’s title and Luis Diaz (the Canary Islands) took the men’s honors Saturday by winning their respective competitions in the WSL Pro Junior events.

Marks repeated as the U.S. Open champion and her win Saturday made her the first back-to-back women’s Pro Junior winner. The 13-year-old overcame a slow start to win the final with a 14.00 score and claimed the $2,000 top prize and 1,000 points. She bested a field that included runner-up Alyssa Spencer (Carlsbad, 12.10 score), Brisa Hennessy (Hawaii, 9.14), and Bethany Zelasko (Dana Point, 8.03).

Diaz, 17, edged out Jake Marshall (Encinitas) in a close men’s final, 14.90-14.63, and won $2,000 and 1,000 points. Yuri Mori (Japan, 13.57) was third and Nolan Rapoza (Long Beach, 11.64) was fourth in the four-man final.

Joel Tudor Duct Tape Longboard Invitational

Justin Quintal of Florida won the competition Saturday. The 26-year-old won the invitational two years ago.

Saturday’s finals field also included second-place Tommy Witt (San Clemente, 15.10), Troy Mothershead (San Clemente; Ventura 13.30) and Tyler Warren (Dana Point, 11.36).

Skate

Chris Russell of Hermosa Beach won the Vans Pro Skate Park Series Global Qualifier Series at the Vans Pro Park course Saturday. Hanna Zanzi (USA) won the inaugural Vans Pro Skate Park Series women’s event.

BMX

Matt Cordova of Longmont, Colo., won the Van Doren Invitational on Sunday. Clint Reynolds of Austin, Texas was second and Kris Fox of Fountain Valley finished fifth.