OP PRO SURFING CHAMPIONSHIPS : Holland Survives Fall to Beat Curren

Todd Holland landed face first in the surf Friday morning. But he also landed his second-consecutive upset at the Op Pro surfing championships.

Holland recovered from a head-first crash on a wave to beat Tom Curren, a three-time Op champion and last year’s runner-up, 86.3 to 85.1, in the quarterfinals at the Huntington Beach Pier.

It was the second consecutive upset for Holland, of Cocoa Beach, Fla. In Thursday’s third round, he ousted defending world-champion and top-seeded Martin Potter of England.

“This is a big feat for me,” said Holland, whose best finishes at the Op Pro were ninths in 1987 and last year. “But I’ve still got the semifinals to go. No one’s going to be a slouch.”

Next up for Holland, seeded 16th, will be Flavio Padaratz of Brazil. Padaratz, who surfed through the trial heats, upset 12th-seeded Sunny Garcia of Waianae, Hawaii, in the quarterfinals.

Meeting in the other semifinal will be 10th-seeded Marty Thomas, formerly of Seal Beach and now of Sunset Beach, Hawaii, and third-seeded Damien Hardman of Australia. Thomas eliminated Mike Lambresi of Oceanside, 80.3 to 48, and Hardman beat Brad Gerlach of Encinitas, 86 to 82.5.

Holland’s score of 86.3 was the highest of the day and included an individual wave score of 25.5 out of a possible 30.

But the wave Holland will remember the most is the one he would just as soon forget.

Holland was protecting a 1.2-point lead over Curren when he took off on a five-foot wave. He was attempting a floater maneuver when he plunged into the face of the wave.

“I was pretty much shaking after that,” he said. “I hit my chest pretty hard and I was a little sore.”

After falling again on his next wave, Holland was back and riding, scoring an 18.8 on his final wave to edge Curren, who is from Santa Barbara but now lives in France. It was Curren’s second loss this year and his first defeat in eight quarterfinal appearances at the Op.

With two upsets to his credit already, Holland said he wasn’t about to declare himself a favorite.

“Everyone left (in contention) is pretty experienced,” said Holland, who is looking for his first career win on the tour. “So far we’ve all knocked out some pretty good people. It’s up in the air right now.”

Padaratz, who attended Edison High School for a semester in 1987, won a see-saw battle over Garcia. But Padaratz took control midway through the heat, scoring a 25 on his third wave.

“I’m stoked,” Padaratz said. “When you get up to this level, you always have hard heats and you’re trying to get the best waves.”

Padaratz is somewhat of a newcomer to the semifinals. He reached the semis only once before, at last year’s Gunston 500 in Durban, South Africa.

But the semifinals are nothing new to Thomas, who still is looking for his first tour victory. He’s in the semifinals for the second consecutive year.

“I haven’t had a great year until now,” said Thomas, who is 10th in the overall standings but hasn’t finished better than fifth in a contest. “I’ve been psyching myself up for this.

“I’ve had a steady year, getting out of my first heat in all but one of my contests. But I still haven’t cut loose in any of my heats.”

He’ll have his chance against Hardman, the 1987 world champion and the only Australian remaining at the Op Pro.

Hardman, seeded third, scored a 23.5 and a 21.5 on his final two waves to hold off Gerlach, seeded 11th.

“I couldn’t hear the (announced) scores out there and I thought I was getting thrashed,” Hardman said.

Frieda Zamba of Flagler Beach, Fla., moved one step closer to winning her fourth Op Pro women’s title, beating Pauline Menczer of Bondi Beach, Fla., 76.3 to 64.3, in the quarterfinals.

Zamba, a four-time world champion, won the Op Pro in 1984, ’86 and ’89. She has the opportunity to become the first surfer to win four Op titles after three-time winner Curren lost Friday in the men’s quarterfinals.

“I don’t know why I’ve done so well here,” Zamba said. “I remember that first year, I wanted to win it so bad. Once I won it, it was such a high.”

Zamba will meet tour points leader Pam Burridge of Australia in today’s semifinals. Zamba eliminated Alisa Schwarzstein of Laguna Beach, 51.5 to 48, in the quarterfinals.

The other semifinal will be a matchup of former Op Pro winners. Defending world champion Wendy Botha of Australia, the 1987 Op champion, will face Kim Mearig of Santa Barbara, the 1983 winner.

Botha defeated Toni Sawyer of Australia, 73.3 to 36, in the quarterfinals, while Mearig advanced by beating Jorja Smith of San Clemente, 56.5 to 17.5.

Paddle battle: Smith had the task of paddling out during some of the biggest waves of the day. It took her more than 10 minutes to paddle out on the north side of the pier. She caught only three waves, including two that were worth less than three out of a possible 30 points.

“My arms are like noodles,” Smith said after the heat.

Surfing Notes

The envelope please: The winner of the Op Pro “sports model contest” is . . . Heather Crane of San Clemente. Crane, 18, who beat out 14 other women for the title, says she enjoys surfing in her spare time. El Toro’s Shannon Stone, 20, was second runner-up. . . . The semifinals start at 8 a.m. today with the women, followed by the Op junior amateurs and the men. The finals begin at 11 a.m., starting with the women again. The men’s winner will receive $10,000. The women’s winner will earn $3,500.

Results

Men

Quarterfinals

Heat 1--Flavio Padaratz (Florianopolis, Brazil) d. Sunny Garcia (Waianae, Hawaii), 82.5-80.6. Heat 2--Todd Holland (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) d. Tom Curren (Santa Barbara), 86.3-85.1. Heat 3--Marty Thomas (Sunset Beach, Hawaii) d. Mike Lambresi (Oceanside), 80.3-48.0. Heat 4--Damien Hardman (Narrabeen, Australia) d. Brad Gerlach (Encinitas), 86-82.5.

Women

Quarterfinals

Heat 1--Frieda Zamba (Flagler Beach, Fla.) d. Pauline Menczer (Bondi Beach, Australia), 76.3-64.3. Heat 2--Pam Burridge (Newport Beach, Australia) d. Alisa Schwarzstein (Laguna Beach), 51.5-48. Heat 3--Wendy Botha (Sydney, Australia) d. Toni Sawyer (Manly, Australia), 73.3-36. Heat 4--Kim Mearig (Santa Barbara) d. Jorja Smith (San Clemente), 56.5-17.5.