Deffenbaugh Wipes Out, but Judges Put Him Back on His Board : Surfing: Penalty against Florida’s Paul Reinecke gives Huntington Beach amateur a second chance in Op competition.

Jeff Deffenbaugh walked out of the surf Sunday at the Huntington Beach Pier as disappointed as he was at last year’s Op junior amateur competition.

But he wasn’t upset for long.

Deffenbaugh of Huntington Beach thought his hopes for an Op title were washed up after placing third in a fourth-round heat for the second consecutive year.

He finished behind winner Paul Reinecke of Indialantic, Fla., and Shane Stoneman of San Juan Capistrano.

By the time Deffenbaugh reached the judging stand, however, the results had changed.

Judges penalized Reinecke one of his four scoring waves after he rode a wave during one of the women’s heats that followed his. The penalized wave bumped Reinecke from first to third and gave Stoneman the victory--and Deffenbaugh a second chance.

“I finished third in this (fourth) round last year by one point,” Deffenbaugh said. “I was pretty upset when I thought I was third again. I would have rather been knocked out earlier.”

Instead, Deffenbaugh will join three other Orange County surfers in Saturday’s semifinals, which start at 9 a.m.

Deffenbaugh will meet Danny Melhado of San Clemente in one semifinal. Stoneman will face Mark Austin of Huntington Beach in the other. Austin, 19, and Deffenbaugh, 17, are former teammates on the Huntington Beach High School surfing team. And Deffenbaugh was quick to tab his friend as the favorite.

“Mark and I always battled it out on our high school team,” Deffenbaugh said. “I think Mark will be the one to beat.”

Reinecke, who was unavailable for comment after Sunday’s heat, was also involved in one of the contest’s biggest upsets earlier in the day.

Reinecke helped eliminate pre-meet favorite Rob Machado of Cardiff in the second round. Machado finished second to Kelly Slater of Cocoa Beach, Fla., at last year’s Op junior.

Machado was fourth in his heat with Reinecke, two places shy of advancing to the third round.

“I’m really surprised Rob lost,” Austin said. “But Huntington is a different kind of wave to surf. I surfed the south side (of the pier) with Rob two days before the competition, and he wasn’t surfing as well (as usual).”

Kasey Curtis of San Juan Capistrano, who finished third at last year’s Op, was eliminated in the third round.

In the women’s competition, defending Op champion Frieda Zamba of Flagler Beach, Fla., was one of 16 surfers to advance to Wednesday’s second round. Zamba, who’s competing part time on the tour this year, won her heat.

Others advancing to the second round include Alisa Schwarzstein of Laguna Beach, Janice Aragon of Huntington Beach, Jorja and Jolene Smith of San Clemente and Encinitas’ Tricia Gill, formerly of Newport Beach.

Surfing Notes

Surfer Mark Austin of Huntington Beach said he’s upset with the redevelopment of downtown Huntington Beach and the pier area. The pier area will close in early August while workers rebuild the pier, which was damaged by storms in July 1988. The construction will force many of the surfers to catch waves elsewhere. “The (Huntington Beach) City Council just does what it wants and the surfers don’t get much input in what’s going on. The city just does what it wants,” Austin said. “It has been hard to be a local in Huntington in the last couple of years.”

The younger brothers of pro stars Shane Beschen of San Clemente and Kelly Slater of Cocoa Beach, Fla., didn’t fare well at the Op junior. Gavin Beschen and Evan Slater were eliminated in the second round.

The second round of the women’s competition is scheduled for 7 a.m. Wednesday. The first and second rounds of the men’s trial heats begin at 7 a.m. today. Orange County surfers scheduled to compete include Matt Archbold of San Clemente, Gary Clisby of Huntington Beach and John Parmenter of Huntington Beach.

Results

Op Junior

Round 1 (Top two from each heat advance to next round)

Heat 1--Paul Reinecke (Indialantic, Fla.), Mark Austin (Huntington Beach). Heat 2--Joe Martella (Fountain Valley), Ryan Simmons (Seal Beach). Heat 3--Jeff Deffenbaugh (Huntington Beach), Rick Irons (San Diego). Heat 4--Danny Johnson (Morro Bay), Rob Machado (Cardiff). Heat 5--Pete Rocky (Oxnard), Danny Hayward (Oceanside). Heat 6--Shane Stoneman (San Juan Capistrano), Gavin Beschen (San Clemente). Heat 7--Rick Massey (Venice), Colin Wagschal (Solana Beach). Heat 8--Chad Navarro (San Clemente), Sammy Nigh (Santa Barbara). Heat 9--Craig Bechtloff (Huntington Beach), Danny Melhado (San Clemente). Heat 10--Evan Slater (Cocoa Beach, Fla.), Keith Malloy (Ojai). Heat 11--Kasey Curtis (San Juan Capistrano), Joe Schirmer (Santa Cruz). Heat 12--Don Solomon (Ventura), Eric Klier (Oceanside).

Round 2

Heat 1--Reinecke, Irons. Heat 2--Austin, Deffenbaugh. Heat 3--Stoneman, Wagschal. Heat 4--Massey, Navarro. Heat 5--Klier, Schirmer. Heat 6--Melhado, Curtis.

Round 3

Heat 1--Austin, Reinecke. Heat 2--Massey, Stoneman. Heat 3--Deffenbaugh, Melhado.

Round 4

Heat 1--Melhado, Austin. Heat 2--Stoneman, Deffenbaugh.

Women (Top two from each heat advance to second round)

Heat 1--Alisa Schwarzstein (Laguna Beach), Janel Anello (San Diego). Heat 2--Karen Gallagher (Sunset Beach, Hawaii), Kim McKenzie (Hawaii). Heat 3--Frieda Zamba (Flagler Beach, Fla.), Kim Briones. Heat 4--Jorja Smith (San Clemente), Janice Aragon (Huntington Beach). Heat 5--Heather Brown (Half Moon Bay), Nerida Falconer (Manly, Australia). Heat 6--Layne Beachley (Manly, Australia), Jolene Smith (San Clemente). Heat 7--Rochelle Gordines (Honolulu, Haw.), Tricia Gill (Encinitas). Heat 8--Saiko Hirano (Japan), Pru Jefferies (Australia).