SURFING OP PRO CHAMPIONSHIPS : Collins Catches Late Wave, Makes His Moves to Beat Slater

With time running out and the Huntington Beach Pier pilings just ahead, Richie Collins knew it was surf-or-die time.

Collins, of Newport Beach, was trailing Kelly Slater of Cocoa Beach, Fla., 69 to 63, with 45 seconds left in their Op Pro quarterfinal heat Saturday morning.

But Collins executed two floaters--his trademark maneuver--on his final wave, scoring a 27 and slipping by Slater, 76.5 to 75.

“If I would have fallen on the second floater, I would have gone straight into the pier,” said Collins, who shot through the pier during practice earlier Saturday. “But I didn’t care. If I hit it, I hit it. I was losing.”

But Collins steered clear of the pier, which is currently under construction, and shook his fist to the crowd after completing his second floater. Collins had only five waves in the heat, four of which were scored.

“I couldn’t believe I made that last one,” Collins said. “I kept saying, ‘I’m not falling, glue foot, glue foot. I was stoked and the crowd loved it.”

Sixth-seeded Collins advanced to today’s semifinals against seventh-seeded and current world tour points leader Brad Gerlach of Encinitas. Gerlach defeated unseeded Pat O’Connell of Laguna Niguel, 89.5 to 67.5.

Top-seeded Barton Lynch of Manly, Australia, will meet 12th-seeded and defending Op champion Todd Holland of Cocoa Beach, Fla., in the other semifinal.

The victory over Slater was one of the few things that has gone right recently for Collins, the 1989 Op champion.

He was fired by his sponsor, Billabong, last week for his controversial comments about apartheid and women surfers. He also was at odds with his father, Lance, who shaped his surfboards.

“We let pride get between us,” Collins said. “It destroyed everything. But my dad came down here and supported me today. I didn’t think he would.”

Collins, 22, put his personal problems aside Saturday and eliminated one of the hottest young surfers on the tour.

Slater, 19, had scored a 21 on his final wave with less than a minute remaining, and watched as Collins took off in the six-foot surf.

“I watched the whole thing,” Slater said. “I knew he was going to get a high score.”

But Slater said the judges scored Collins’ final wave too high.

“I think it’s hard for the judges to give him a 27 for two moves on a closeout,” Slater said. “I had a 21 on a closeout earlier, but my moves weren’t as good as his.

“Still, I messed up. I fell on one of my scoring waves. If I hadn’t, I probably would have had an 18 instead of a 15.5, and I would’ve won.”

Were the judges favoring a local surfer?

“I don’t think you can say that,” Slater said. “Richie’s a good surfer. This is his hometown and he has a lot of momentum going. But questioning the judges is no excuse for losing.”

Said Collins: “I think the judges made the right decision.”

Slater and Collins exchanged words briefly after the heat.

“I have nothing against the kid,” Collins said. “I’ve known him for eight years, and he has a good head on his shoulders.”

Said Slater: “Richie was thanking God for the win. But I think he should thank himself. He got the ability from God. But maybe God did bring him that last wave. It was heaven-sent.”

Slater also predicted that Gerlach, a graduate of Huntington Beach High, would win the contest.

“He’s amped,” Slater said. “He’s pumped up and is pushing his level of surfing even higher.”

Gerlach, 25, winner of two of the first five contests on the tour, recorded the best score of the day against O’Connell, who surfed through the trial heats to his best finish at an Assn. of Surfing Professionals contest.

“I got smoked out there,” O’Connell said. “He went out there and took charge.

“I heard the announcer say that I needed a 44-point wave (30 is the maximum score) to catch up. I said, ‘Geez.’ ”

Gerlach scored a 27 on his first wave, which he rode to the beach. O’Connell never came close.

“Brad surfed a perfect heat,” O’Connell said. “That one right (27.0 wave) was fabulous.”

Like Collins, O’Connell also surfed near the pier late in his heat.

“When I got by the pier, everyone was screaming for me to go into it,” O’Connell said. “I said, ‘Are you kidding?’

“They want to see you eat it. The last time I surfed a pier was Imperial Beach. I broke my board into three pieces, so I know how I am with piers.”

In the women’s quarterfinals, Nerida Falconer of Scotts Head, Australia, upset defending world champion Pam Burridge of Newport Beach, Australia, 52.5 to 48.5.

Four-time Op champion Frieda Zamba of Flagler Beach, Fla., advanced to the semifinals against Falconer with a 61.5 to 52.8 victory over Pauline Menczer of Bondi Beach, Australia.

Unseeded Nea Post of Huntington Beach lost to Jodie Cooper of Albany, W. Australia, who was ranked third on last year’s tour, 64.5 to 44.5. Post, a second-year pro who barely qualified for the main event with a third-place finish in the losers’ bracket heat, upset Michele Donoghoe of Byron Bay, Australia, in Friday’s first round.

Cooper will meet Wendy Botha of Newport Beach, Australia, in today’s semifinals.

Rob Machado of Cardiff will meet Shawn Sutton of Waipahu, Hawaii, in one of the Op Junior semifinals. Jeff Deffenbaugh of Huntington Beach will meet Cade Oyadomari of Kancohe, Hawaii, in the other semifinal.

Shawn Burns, 26, of Newport Beach, was the winner of the Miss Op sports model contest. Michelle Kelman of Huntington Beach was first runner-up, and Peggy Farney of Tustin was second runner-up. Burns won $1,000 and a year’s wardrobe from Op and will represent the company in advertising and special events.

Surfing Notes

Competition resumes at 8 a.m. today with the women’s semifinals, followed by the Op Junior amateur semifinals at 9 and the men’s semifinals at 10. The women’s finals start at 11, the juniors’ at 11:45 and the men’s 12:30 p.m.

RESULTS

Men

Quarterfinals

(Winners advance to semifinals)

Heat 1--Todd Holland (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) d. Victor Ribas (Brazil), 76-50.7; Heat 2--Barton Lynch (Manly, Australia) d. Marty Thomas (Long Beach), 76-69.5; Heat 3--Brad Gerlach (Encinitas) d. Pat O’Connell (Laguna Niguel), 89.5-67.7; Heat 4--Richie Collins (Newport Beach) d. Kelly Slater (Cocoa Beach, Fla.), 76.5-75.

Semifinal matchups

Heat 1--Holland vs. Lynch; Heat 2--Gerlach vs. Collins.

Women

Quarterfinals

(Winners advance to semifinals)

Heat 1--Frieda Zamba (Flagler Beach, Fla.) d. Pauline Menczer (Bondi Beach, Fla.), 61.5-52.8; Heat 2--Nerida Falconer (Scotts Head, Australia) d. Pam Burridge (Newport Beach, Australia), 52.5-48.5; Heat 3--Wendy Botha (Newport Beach, Australia) d. Kylie Webb (Australia), 66.5-54; Heat 4--Jodie Cooper (Albany, W. Australia) d. Nea Post (Huntington Beach), 64.5-44.5.

Semifinal matchups

Heat 1--Zamba vs. Falconer; Heat 2--Botha vs. Cooper.