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Defending champion Hiroto Ohhara is eliminated from the U.S. Open of Surfing

Australian Ethan Ewing, shown during a heat Wednesday, has advanced to the fifth round of the U.S. Open of Surfing.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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There was just a single round of World Surf League Qualifying Series competition at the U.S. Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach on Friday, but those eight heats saw the elimination of last year’s champion along with two California natives.

In the second men’s Qualifying Series heat of the day, 2015 Open winner Hiroto Ohhara of Japan went up against two Australians, upstart 17-year-old Ethan Ewing and Championship Tour rookie Ryan Callinan.

Ohhara was strong out of the gate, snapping a turn and whipping his board around on a curl to earn a 6.50. That score stood as the best in the heat for about 20 minutes, but Callinan posted a 6.93 and Ewing followed up with a 7.0 to push Ohhara to elimination.

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In the closing minutes of the heat, the waves lulled, removing any chance Ohhara had to respond.

The loss affirmed that Ohhara would not become the second surfer in Open history to win back-to-back titles. The first and only man to accomplish that feat is Huntington Beach native Brett Simpson, who triumphed in 2009 and 2010.

Simpson hasn’t won since — 2016 won’t be his year, either, as he was eliminated with a third-place finish in the final heat on Friday.

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All Americans

Friday’s sixth heat was the only one to pit two Californians against each other, as local Kanoa Igarashi of Huntington Beach and Griffin Colapinto of San Clemente competed with Torrey Meister of Hawaii to move on to the next round in the Qualifying Series.

Colapinto and Igarashi are no strangers. Both 18, they’re two of the youngest surfers to qualify for the event, and last year Colapinto defeated Igarashi to take the junior men’s Open title.

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However, on Thursday, Colapinto was eliminated from the junior men’s competition. He entered the heat Friday, which was also his birthday, hoping to avoid another disappointment. Instead, he caught just two waves to finish last in the heat.

“I wanted to beat [Igarashi] pretty badly, because he’s beaten me a few times and I wanted to get him back,” he said. “It didn’t work out, but I’ve got next year.”

Meister, less well-known in these parts compared to the two youngsters, had the heat’s top score after getting off to a quick start.

“Those kids are such good surfers that I don’t even see them as being inexperienced at all,” said Meister, 26. “I actually felt like more of an underdog. I just went out there and did my own thing.”

Looking ahead

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After Saturday’s Round 5 in the men’s Qualifying Series, only eight surfers will remain. One of the most competitive heats will be Igarashi squaring off against Santa Barbara native Conner Coffin, who is ranked No. 23 in the men’s Championship Tour.

The junior competitions will finish up Saturday. Australian Ewing will surf in both the junior men’s round and the Qualifying Series round, and Caroline Marks will try to repeat as junior women’s Open champion.

The women’s Championship Tour surfers have one more day off before their quarterfinals, semifinals and finals take place within a period of 4 ½ hours on Sunday, the Open’s final day.

renee.griffin@latimes.com

Twitter: @ReneeMGriffin

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