SURFING OP PRO CHAMPIONSHIPS : O’Connell Caps Off Carroll’s Bad Day

Pat O’Connell entered the third round of the Op Pro surfing championships Friday wondering if he could upset another former world champion.

He did.

Tom Carroll paddled into the water wondering if he would later find out who had stolen his rented Cadillac earlier in the day.

He didn’t.

The unseeded O’Connell, competing in his third Assn. of Surfing Professionals contest, beat the frustrated Carroll, 64.8 to 61, at the Huntington Beach Pier.

“I was playing with my Nerf hoop last night,” said O’Connell, 19, of Laguna Niguel. “And I told myself, ‘If I make this next shot, I’ll beat Carroll tomorrow.’ I missed, so I went best two of three. And I missed again.”

The loss was the end to a bad day for Carroll of Newport Beach, Australia. An hour before his heat, he was in the Huntington Beach police station filing a report on his stolen car.

“It was a bummer,” Carroll said. “I had brought everything in the car, my traveler’s checks, a surfboard.

“I just want to pound the guy who did it. I don’t think it affected me in the water, though.”

Carroll wasn’t the only world champion who left the beach disappointed.

Eighth-seeded Tom Curren, the defending world champion and three-time Op Pro winner, was eliminated by Seal Beach native and ninth-seeded Marty Thomas, 87 to 70.5. Thomas, the runner-up to Todd Holland of Cocoa Beach, Fla., at last year’s Op Pro, is looking for his first victory in five years on the tour.

He built an early lead and held on against Curren, who was surfing in his first event of the year.

“The thing I’ve learned about surfing against Curren,” Thomas said, “is that you have to be aggressive early. If he gets a lead, he runs with it.

“This feels great, especially against someone like Tom.”

Someone asked Curren if his surfing was rusty after a long layoff.

“Did I look rusty to you?” he asked. “Go ahead and say I was rusty.

“I was trying out some new boards, but my main problem was getting waves.”

It was no problem for O’Connell, who advanced to today’s quarterfinals against current ASP tour points leader Brad Gerlach of Encinitas.

O’Connell, who upset second-seeded and former world champion Damien Hardman in Thursday’s second round, was one of three unseeded surfers who won Friday.

Kelly Slater of Cocoa Beach, Fla., who upset third-seeded Rob Bain on Thursday, beat 14th-seeded Bryce Ellis of Avoca Beach, Australia, 74 to 52, in the third round. Slater will meet Newport Beach’s Richie Collins in the quarterfinals.

Victor Ribas of Brazil upset 13th-seeded Derek Ho of Sunset Beach, Hawaii, 64 to 51.5, and will meet Holland in the quarterfinals.

If O’Connell and Slater win their quarterfinal heats, they could meet in Sunday’s semifinals.

“It would be really fun if I got him,” O’Connell said.

O’Connell began surfing eight years ago after he moved to California from Illinois. Carroll said he is amazed by the progress O’Connell has made in such a short time.

“O’Connell is a determined little guy,” Carroll said. “He’s a bit brash and shaky at times. . . .

“But it’s wonderful to see a kid from Illinois come out here and develop so quickly. Imagine if he would have stayed in Illinois?”

O’Connell also caught the eye of Collins, who was quick to offer an opinion of the young surfer.

“He reminds me of when I was a kid, all hyper all the time,” said Collins, 22. “His surfing is unreal.

“I remember the first time I beat Carroll (at the 1988 Coldwater Classic in Santa Cruz), I walked up to him and said I was sorry. He’s one of my favorite guys. When I beat him, my head was spinning.”

Collins will have his hands full today with Slater, another 19-year-old phenom who is making his first appearance in an Op main event. It’s the first time the two have surfed against each other professionally.

“Slater has a lot to prove,” Collins said. “He has all the pressure on him. I have none. I need to win for tour points. He needs to win for all the media hype he has been getting.

“A lot of people think Slater will slaughter me. He’s the boy wonder right now and that’s a big thing to accomplish. He’s winning right now, but he’s not blowing anyone out of the water.”

Someone asked Collins what his biggest distraction was on the tour.

“My brain’s the biggest distraction,” he said. “It haunts me.”

Only four of the top-10 seeded surfers advanced to the quarterfinals--top-seeded Barton Lynch of Manly, Australia, seventh-seeded Gerlach, sixth-seeded Collins and ninth-seeded Thomas.

After barely reaching the women’s main event, Nea Post of Huntington Beach pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the contest so far Friday.

Post, a second-year pro, surprised Michele Donoghoe of Byron Bay, Australia, ranked ninth on last year’s tour, 63 to 62.5.

Post, a 1990 graduate of Huntington Beach High and a freshman at Golden West College, barely qualified for the main event, finishing in the third and final qualifying spot in Thursday’s losers’ bracket heat.

“I just squeaked through (Thursday’s heat),” said Post, who lost in the trial round at last year’s Op Pro. “Cherie Gross and I were going back and forth for third place until I caught the last wave.”

Her victory over Donoghoe was even closer. Donoghoe needed only a 14-point wave in the final three minutes to pass Post, but scored only a 13 on her final wave.

Post advances to today’s quarterfinals against Jodie Cooper of Albany, Australia, who finished third on the tour last year.

Four-time Op champion Frieda Zamba of Flagler Beach, Fla., defeated Lisa Andersen, a Huntington Beach native now living in Ormond Beach, Fla., 83 to 64.

Notes

Competition resumes at 8 a.m. today with the men’s quarterfinals, followed by the finals of the Miss Op sports model contest at 9:40. The women’s quarterfinals are scheduled for 10:40.

Results

Men

Main event round 3 (Winners advance to quarterfinals)

Heat 1--Todd Holland (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) d. Shane Herring (Australia), 84-79.5; Heat 2--Victor Ribas (Brazil) d. Derek Ho (Sunset Beach, Hawaii), 64-51.5; Heat 3--Marty Thomas (Long Beach) d. Tom Curren (Santa Barbara), 87-70.5; Heat 4--Barton Lynch (Manly, Australia) d. Martin Potter (Sydney, Australia), 79-69.5; Heat 5--Pat O’Connell (Laguna Niguel) d. Tom Carroll (Newport Beach, Australia), 64.8-61; Heat 6--Brad Gerlach (Encinitas) d. Tony Ray (Torquay, Australia), 71.3-58; Heat 7--Kelly Slater (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) d. Bryce Ellis (Avoca Beach, Fla.), 74-52; Heat 8--Richie Collins (Newport Beach) d. Mike Parsons (San Clemente), 83-77.8.

Quarterfinal matchups

Heat 1--Holland vs. Ribas; Heat 2--Thomas vs. Lynch; Heat 3--O’Connell vs. Gerlach; Heat 4--Slater vs. Collins

Women

Main event round 1 (Winners advance to quarterfinals)

Heat 1--Pauline Menczer (Bondi Beach, Australia) d. Tricia Gill (Newport Beach, 64.5-46.5; Heat 2--Frieda Zamba (Flagler Beach, Fla.) d. Lisa Andersen (Ormond Beach, Fla.), 83-64; Heat 3--Nerida Falconer (Scotts Head, Australia) d. Connie Nixon-Fookes (Maroochydore, Australia), 57.5-55; Heat 4--Pam Burridge (Newport Beach, Australia) d. Anne-Gaelle Hoareau (Australia), 67-55; Heat 5--Wendy Botha (Newport Beach, Australia) d. Janice Aragon (Huntington Beach); Heat 6--Kylie Webb (Australia) d. Toni Sawyer (Manly, Australia), 63.8-58.8; Heat 7--Nea Post (Huntington Beach) d. Michele Donoghoe (Byron Bay, Australia), 63-62.5; Heat 8--Jodie Cooper d. Rochelle Gordines (Koloa, Kauai, Hawaii)

Quarterfinal matchups

Heat 1--Menczer vs. Zamba; Heat 2--Burridge vs. Falconer; Heat 3--Botha vs. Webb; Heat 4--Post vs. Cooper.