Andersen’s Strategy Doesn’t Wash

There were some big surprises as the top women surfers took their turn on the third day of the AirTouch Pro Surfing Championships.

With conditions deteriorating Wednesday afternoon, the two top U.S. women failed to advance into the semifinal heat.

World champion Lisa Andersen’s strategy to catch 10 waves early proved to be her downfall as she slipped to third place late in her heat. She was overtaken by Hawaii’s Megan Abubo, who finished second to advance to the semifinals.

Judges score the best four of 10 waves in the 20-minute heat. Andersen, who scored 14.53, won the event last year.

Andersen, who has bronchitis, seemed clearly frustrated after surfing her wave limit and having to come in with a few minutes left in her heat.

Australian Kate Skarratt won the heat with a score of 16.74.

Rochelle Ballard of Hawaii, ranked ninth in the world, also decried her strategy.

“I was hoping to catch some of the lefts, but it was the rights that were breaking and I out-positioned myself,” Ballard said.

Ballard almost overtook San Clemente’s Jayme Lee late in the heat but got only a 1.83 on her last wave. She needed a 2.75 to move into second place. Ballard finished third with a score of 14.7.

Australian Layne Beachley had the highest wave score (8.17) and the top heat score (24.83).

Other Australians advancing were Melanie Redman, Kyle Webb and Kim Wooldridge. The women’s semifinals begin Saturday.

In the fifth round of the men’s trials, 12 Orange County surfers advanced to the main round, including Mike Reilly of Seal Beach and Jon Rose of Laguna Beach.

The men’s competition continues today.

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Results

AIRTOUCH PRO SURFING CHAMPIONSHIPS at Huntington Beach

Men’s trials (top two advance)

Fifth round

HEAT 1--1. Pete Rocky (Carpinteria); 2. Eric Viscosi (Temecula); 3. Will Tant (Haleiwa, Hawaii); 4. Don Wilson (Santa Monica). HEAT 2--1. Greg Browning (El Segundo); 2. Kaden Alasantro (Cardiff); 3. Brett Strother (Carlsbad); 4. Shane Desmond (Santa Cruz). HEAT 3--1. Dan Malloy (Ventura); 2. Cordell Miller (Newport Beach); 3. Ryan Sakal (Cerritos); 4. C.J. Hobgood (Satellite Beach, Fla.). HEAT 4--1. Omar Etcheverry (Santa Cruz); 2. Tim Frisk (Leucadia); 3. Kasey Curtis (San Juan Capistrano); 4. Jordan Tappis (Calabasas). HEAT 5--1. Jason Starr (Laguna Niguel); 2. Jason Bogle (Kailua, Hawaii); 3. Ailbe McGarry (Cardiff); 4. Peter Miller (Kailua, Hawaii). HEAT 6--1. Bobby Martinez (Santa Barbara); 2. Troy Eckert (Newport Beach); 3. Jason Magallanes (Haleiwa, Hawaii); 4. Billy Oswald (Redondo Beach). HEAT 7--1. Jason Bennett (Oceanside); 2. Trevor Christ (Encinitas); 3. Zach Keenan (Cardiff); 4. Ryan Ragan (San Francisco). HEAT 8--1. David Post (Orange); 2. Jim Hogan (San Clemente); 3. Yves Bright (North Hollywood); 4. Ozzie Wright. HEAT 9--1. Ben Bourgeois (Wilmington, N.C.); 2. Bryan Jennings (Pt. Loma); 3. Masayoshi Kamijo (Kamakura, Japan); 4. Benji Stevenson (San Clemente). HEAT 10--1. Jon Rose (Laguna Beach); 2. Mike Reilly (San Clemente); 3. Christian Fletcher (San Clemente); 4. Jason Griffith (Virginia Beach). HEAT 11--1. Saxon Boucher (La Jolla); 2. William Sue-a-Quan (San Juan, Puerto Rico); 3. Eric McHenry (Poway); 4. Frank Caronna (Huntington Beach). HEAT 12--1. Jeremy Sommerville (Solana Beach); 2. Ryan Turner (Huntington Beach); 3. Keoni Watson (Makaha, Hawaii); 4. Bruce Irons (Hanalei, Hawaii). HEAT 13--1. Jim O’Brien (Playa del Rey); 2. Bryan Pottger (Fountain Valley); 3. Chris Cote (Encinitas); 4. Toshimichi Kamijo (Japan). HEAT 14--1. Vince Perry (Carpinteria); 2. Andre Cohen (Huntington Beach); 3. Ben Jaquias (Honolulu); 4. Love Hodel (Haleiwa, Hawaii). HEAT 15--1. Rick Masse (Venice); 2. Mark Caffey (Newport Beach); 3. Taro Ishizeki (Japan); 4. Andy Irons (Hanalei, Hawaii). HEAT 16--1. Jesse Evans (Huntington Beach); 2. Cam Anderson (Cocoa Beach, Fla.); 3. Doug Silva (Solana Beach); 4. Jason Weatherly (Solana Beach).

Fourth round

HEAT 1--1. Tant; 2. Viscosi; 3. Steve Pugh (Long Beach); 4. Mikala Jones (Haleiwa, Haleiwa, Hawaii). HEAT 2--1. Browning; 2. Desmond; 3. Kevin Hillbrand; 4. Iain McPhillips (San Clemente). HEAT 3--1. C.J. Hobgood; 2. Miller; 3. James Pribram (Laguna Beach); 4. Chris Todd (San Clemente). HEAT 4--1. Etcheverry; 2. Tappis; 3. Ben Brough (Kailua-Kona, Hawaii); 4. Chris Lynch (Felton, Calif.). HEAT 5--1. Miller; 2. Starr; 3. Yosuke Jo (Kailua, Hawaii); 4. Scott Bouchard. HEAT 6--1. Martinez; 2. Eckert; 3. Jorge Lopez (Newport Beach); 4. Jon Moyer (Huntington Beach). HEAT 7--1. Bennett; 2. Keenan; 3. Brandy Faber (Laguna Beach); 4. David Hopkins (Ventura). HEAT 8--1. Wright; 2. Hogan; 3. Dayton Segundo (Haleiwa, Hawaii); 4. Troy Tecklenburg (Seal Beach). HEAT 9--1. Bourgeois; 2. Jennings; 3. Josh Reese (Haleiwa, Hawaii); 4. Shelton (Watsonville). HEAT 10--1. Griffith; 2. Fletcher; 3. Rod Brewster (Laguna Niguel); 4. Cory Whitlock (Encinitas). HEAT 11--1. Boucher; 2. Caronna; 3. Layne Harrison (San Diego); 4. James Thomson (Encinitas). HEAT 12--1. Turner; 2. Watson; 3. Jason Haughey (Laguna Niguel); 4. Noel Salas (Carlsbad). HEAT 13--1. O’Brien; 2. Cote; 3. John Morris (Costa Mesa); 4. Jason Collins (Santa Cruz). HEAT 14--1. Cohen; 2. Perry; 3. Troy Tecklenburg (Laguna Beach); 4. Elijah Young (Haleiwa, Hawaii). HEAT 15--1. Caffey; 2. Ishizeki; 3. Josh Baxter (San Clemente); 4. Joe Curren (La Jolla). HEAT 16--1. Weatherly; 2. Evans; 3. Wyatt Simmoni (Huntington Beach); 4. Arro Young (Ventura).

Third round (heats 9-16)

HEAT 9--1. Jennings; 2. Shelton; 3. Roger Jeffrey (Cardiff); 4. Mike Lamm (Malibu). HEAT 10--1. Fletcher; 2. Brewster; 3. Sean Hayes (Ventura); 4. Tyler Morehead (Laguna Niguel). HEAT 11--1. Harrison; 2. Thompson; 3. Kyle Rose (Huntington Beach); 4. Shawn Barron (Santa Cruz). HEAT 12--1. Turner; 2. Salas; 3. Josh Denning (Santa Cruz); 4. Jon Priebe (Encinitas). HEAT 13--1. Cote; 2. O’Brien; 3. Travis Potter (Seal Beach); 4. Jeremy Heit (Oceanside). HEAT 14--1. Perry; 2. Cohen; 3. Mike Mattison (Huntington Beach); 4. Alex Little (Newport Harbor). HEAT 15--1. Caffey; 2. Baxter; 3. Kunio Hayashi (Cardiff); 4. David Pinto (San Juan Capistrano). HEAT 16--1. Evans; 2. Simmons; 3. Bryce Aberg (San Marcos); 4. Scott Shimoda (Huntington Beach).

Women’s main round Quarterfinals

(Top two advance)

HEAT 1--1. Kate Skarratt (Australia); 2. Megan Abubo (Hawaii); 3. Lisa Andersen (Ormond Beach, Fla.); 4. Falina Spires. HEAT 2--1. Melanie Redman (Australia); 2. Jayme Lee (San Clemente); 3. Rochelle Ballard (Hawaii); 4. Kim Hall. HEAT 3--1. Layne Beachley (Australia); 2. Miyuki Onozato (Japan); 3. Keala Kennelly (Hawaii); 4. Patricia Rossi (Tahiti). HEAT 4--1. Kim Wooldridge (Australia); 2. Kyle Webb (Australia); 3. Pru Jeffries; 4. Cori Scumacher.

Main Event

First round

HEAT 1--1. Abubo; 2. Spires; 3. Jodie Nelson; 4. Kyle Mercer. HEAT 2--1. Hall; 2. Lee; 3. Liz Motshagen; 4. Saori Zurita. HEAT 3--1. Kennelly; 2. Rossi; 3. Michelle McManus; 4. Melissa Proud. HEAT 4--1. Scumacher; 2. Jeffries; 3. Alisa Schwarzstein (Laguna Beach); 4. Lane Pouge.