OP PRO SURFING CHAMPIONSHIPS : Egan’s Two-Minute Drill Upsets Defending Champion Collins

Luke Egan usually dreads surfing the final two minutes of a heat against Richie Collins.

But Wednesday at the Op Pro surfing championships, he learned to love it.

Egan, seeded 24th, caught one of the best waves of the day with two minutes left and upset the defending Op Pro champion, 91 to 89.3, in the second round at the Huntington Beach Pier.

Egan of Newcastle, Australia, scored 24 of a possible 30 points on his fourth scoring wave to defeat Newport Beach’s Collins, who was seeded ninth.

The Australian was surprised he caught the wave. He’s used to watching Collins pull off the winning one at the last second.

“We had a close heat at Burleigh Heads, Australia, (in April),” Egan said. “He beat me on the last wave. Now I guess I turned it around on him.”

Collins wasn’t the only top-seeded surfer to go home disappointed. Four other top 10 competitors fell in Wednesday’s second round:

--Second-seeded Dave MacAulay of Cowaramup Bay, Australia, lost to 31st-seeded Mike Lambresi of Oceanside, 92.1 to 87.1.

--Fourth-seeded Derek Ho of Waimanalo, Hawaii, was penalized for interference and lost to 29th-seeded Flavio Padaratz of Florianopolis, Brazil, 81.5 to 14.

--Sixth-seeded and current world tour points leader Rob Bain of Manly, Australia, was upset by 27th-seeded Chris Frohoff of Redondo Beach, 89 to 79.5.

--Eighth-seeded Tom Carroll of Newport, Australia, lost to 25th-seeded Tom Curren of Santa Barbara, 71-47.8.

Egan’s victory was his first over Collins, who beat him in two previous meetings.

“Actually, I’m stoked for Luke that he beat me,” Collins said.

Collins said he thought he had a big lead and wasn’t aggressive in the final minutes. He had priority on the final waves, but still allowed Egan to grab the winning one.

“I just blew it,” he said. “I was losing the heat and I couldn’t hear the announcers reading off the scores. I thought I was winning by 22 or 23 points. The announcers weren’t announcing the scores as much as they usually do.”

Meanwhile, Egan was cutting off the lip of the waves with several bold, powerful maneuvers. He had a 27 on his fifth wave, the highest score of the day.

“I enjoy the Op Pro,” Egan said. “Big, powerful moves are the best part of my surfing and the waves here allow me to do those moves.”

Egan won’t have much time to relish his victory. He will meet Curren, last year’s Op Pro runner-up, in today’s third round.

In their only meeting this year, Curren beat Egan in a heat at the O’Neill Coldwater event at Santa Cruz in March.

But Egan, who finished fifth at the 1988 Op Pro, said he’s not intimidated by his opponent.

“Curren’s lost only one heat all year, but that doesn’t worry me at all,” Egan said.

In the women’s competition, defending Op Pro champion Frieda Zamba of Flagler Beach, Fla., advanced, as did Janice Aragon of Huntington Beach, Jorja and Jolene Smith of San Clemente, Alisa Schwarzstein of Laguna Beach and Tricia Gill, a native of Newport Beach now living in Encinitas.

Defending world champion Martin Potter of Newquay, England, survived a scare from John Parmenter of Huntington Beach in their second-round heat. He held off Parmenter in the final minutes to win, 87.8 to 75.5.

Parmenter, who surfed through the trial heats earlier in the week, trailed Potter by three points going into the final two minutes. But Potter scored a 23 and a 22.5 on two of his final three waves to pull away.

Parmenter said he wasn’t too happy with the judging.

“I thought the judges scored me low on the first and last waves (both were 18 of a possible 30),” Parmenter said. “I thought it was closer than the final score indicated.”

Other Orange County surfers eliminated were Dino Andino and Mike Parsons, both of San Clemente. Parsons lost to Marty Thomas, who grew up in Seal Beach before moving to Sunset Beach, Hawaii, eight years ago.

Few would call Curren’s victory over Carroll an upset, but that’s what Curren did.

Curren, a two-time world champion and three-time winner of the Op Pro, has a 14-9 record against the Australian and has won three of the first six stops on the current tour.

But because he took most of last season off, Curren is seeded lower than most of the other top surfers this year.

Curren, who is shooting for his third world title, sat out two competitions earlier this summer, dropping him from first to third in the point standings.

He skipped the Life’s A Beach contest in Oceanside two weeks ago. In June, he missed the Gunston 500 at Durban, South Africa, in protest of the country’s policy of apartheid.

“I missed it based on the same reason I always have missed it,” Curren said. “(Nelson) Mandela’s message was to keep the sanctions against South Africa going. The people in South Africa don’t want international athletes competing there.”

Frohoff had one of the biggest cheering sections while he was upsetting Bain. Among Frohoff’s cheerleaders was his older brother, Brent, one of the top players on the pro beach volleyball tour.

“Brent’s definitely a good-luck charm,” the younger Frohoff said. “I can hear him hooting for me when I’m on the inside set (of waves).”

Chris can return the favor this weekend, when Brent teams with Mike Dodd at the Seal Beach Open volleyball tournament.

Surfing Notes

Brazil’s Flavio Padaratz is familiar with the waves at Huntington Beach. He studied at Edison High School for a semester in 1987. He showed off his knowledge Wednesday, upsetting fourth-seeded Derek Ho of Waimanalo, Hawaii.

The first round of the women’s main event starts at 7 a.m. today. Round three of the men’s main event follows at 11:20 a.m.

Results

Men

Main Event Round 2

Heat 1--Sunny Garcia (Waianae, Hawaii) d. Stuart Bedford-Brown (Perth, Australia), 84.0-56.8. Heat 2--Gary Elkerton (Mooloolaba, Australia) d. Matt Hoy (Newcastle, Australia), 88.8-76. Heat 3--Jeff Booth (Laguna Beach) d. Bryce Ellis (Avoca Beach, Australia), 91-79. Heat 4--Flavio Padaratz (Florianopolis, Brazil) d. Derek Ho (Waimanalo, Hawaii), 81.5-14. Heat 5--Luke Egan (Newcastle, Australia) d. Richie Collins (Newport Beach), 91-89.3. Heat 6--Tom Curren Santa Barbara) d. Tom Carroll (Newport, Australia), 71.0-47.8. Heat 7--Todd Holland (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) d. Richard Marsh (Cronulla, Australia), 85-82.7. Heat 8--Martin Potter (Newquay, England) d. John Parmenter (Huntington Beach), 87.8-75.5. Heat 9--Mike Lambresi (Oceanside) d. Dave MacAulay (Cowaramup Bay, Australia), 92.1-87.1. Heat 10--Nicky Wood (Newcastle, Australia) d. Glen Winton (Norah Head, Australia), 77.-75.8. Heat 11--Barton Lynch (Manly, Australia) d. Todd Chesser (Honolulu, Hawaii), 82.3-63.5. Heat 12--Marty Thomas (Sunset Beach, Hawaii) d. Mike Parsons (San Clemente), 83-80. Heat 13--Damien Hardman (Narrabeen, Australia) d. Dino Andino (San Clemente), 81-69. Heat 14--Mitch Thorson (Margaret River, Australia) d. Cheyne Horan (Palm Beach, Australia), 71.7-67.3. Heat 15--Chris Frohoff (Redondo Beach) d. Rob Bain (Manly, Australia), 89-79.5. Heat 16--Brad Gerlach (Encinitas) d. Simon Law (Newcastle, Australia), 85.1-73.

Women

Round 2 (Top two advance to main-event first round)

Heat 1--Alisa Schwarzstein (Laguna Beach), Janice Aragon (Huntington Beach). Heat 2--Frieda Zamba (Flagler Beach, Fla.), Jorja Smith (San Clemente). Heat 3--Tricia Gill (Encinitas), Layne Beachley (Manly, Australia). Heat 4--Nerida Falconer (Manly, Australia), Jolene Smith (San Clemente).