With the Pressure On, Deffenbaugh Delivers at U.S. Open

Jeff Deffenbaugh was feeling the pressure Thursday.

As the hometown favorite, the 23-year-old Huntington Beach surfer wants to do well at the U.S. Open. After all, in 1994 he qualified for the event as a wild-card and advanced to the quarterfinals.

“This is a big event for me. Huntington is where I learned and I grew up here,” Deffenbaugh said. “A lot of people are here to see me and I want to be able to surf my best for them.”

On Wednesday, Deffenbaugh lost his first heat in the first round of the men’s main event. As a result, he had to surf Thursday in a single-elimination round.

“I had the jitters before my heat. And when I paddled out on the north side of the pier, there were some guys out there who were shouting at me, ‘Come on, you can do it.’ That made me even more nervous.”

But Deffenbaugh caught a couple of good rides early.

“After I got those first two waves, I settled down,” Deffenbaugh said. “From there, I just tried to remain focused.”

Those first two scores of 6.25 and 6.0 put him ahead of Peterson Rosa of Parana, Brazil. And with the 25-minute heat ticking down, Rosa became increasingly frustrated with the surf and Deffenbaugh’s use of the priority buoy, which gave him wave priority over Rosa.

Deffenbaugh widened his lead with a 6.50 on his fourth wave and sealed the victory with a 7.75 ride with two minutes left in the heat.

Deffenbaugh, ranked 36th on the world tour, will be surfing today against San Clemente’s Shane Beschen, who is ranked second in the world. The winner advances to the third round.

In other heats, Chris Ward’s late wave score of 8.25 was not enough to beat Taylor Knox of Carlsbad. Ward, a 17-year-old wild-card entry, lost 15.50 to 13.00.

Ward, Tim Curran of Oxnard, Shawn Sutton of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, and Ryan Simmons of Seal Beach, who each made the field as wild cards because of their performance at last week’s AirTouch Pro, were eliminated Thursday.

Kalani Robb of Kapolei, Hawaii, advanced by beating Curran. Shea Lopez of Dana Point beat Barton Lynch of Australia. Matt Hoy of Australia scored the day’s best ride with a 9.0 and advanced.

In the women’s event, world champion Lisa Andersen was upset by Tahiti’s Patricia Rossi in the first round of the main event.

Rossi, a finalist in last year’s U.S. Open, was able to catch a wave in the last 40 seconds of the heat to overtake Andersen of Ormond Beach, Fla., and win, 15.75 to 15.40.

The Australian continue to have strong heats. AirTouch Pro champion Layne Beachley beat Joly Emmanuelle of France.

Australians Trudy Todd and Kylie Webb also advanced. Heats 5 through 8 of the first round continue today with defending champion Neriday Falconer of Australia and Hawaii’s Rochelle Ballard scheduled to surf.

Led by Daniela Freitas, Brazilians dominated the semifinal heats of women’s bodyboarding and demonstrated why they might be the best in their sport.

Besides Freitas, the all-Brazilian final will be Mariana Nogueira, who won her heat, Neymara Carvalho and Claudia Ferrari.

“Huntington is a lot like where I surf back home in Brazil,” said Nogueira, 24 and ranked fourth in the world. “The water is a lot colder here, though.”

In men’s bodyboarding, Jay Reale of San Clemente was edged by Dean Seppings of South Africa in the first round of the main event. World champion Mike Stewart of Hawaii was eliminated by fellow Hawaiian Kyle Maligro.

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Results

U.S. Open

at Huntington Beach

Men’s surfing

Second round

(winner advances to third round)

HEAT 1--1. Taylor Knox (Carlsbad); 2. Chris Ward (San Clemente). HEAT 2--1. Kalani Robb (Kapolei, Hawaii); 2. Tim Curran (Oxnard). HEAT 3--1. Matt Hoy (Australia); 2. Shawn Sutton (Ewa Beach, Hawaii). HEAT 4--1. Victor Ribas (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil); 2. Ryan Simmons (Seal Beach). HEAT 5--1. Michael Rommelse (Australia); 2. Paul Canning (South Africa). HEAT 6--1. Shane Powell (Australia); 2. Dean Randazzo (San Diego). HEAT 7--1. Michael Barry (Australia); 2. Simon Law (Australia). HEAT 8--1. Shea Lopez (Dana Point); 2. Barton Lynch (Australia). HEAT 9--1. Jeff Deffenbaugh (Huntington Beach); 2. Peterson Rosa (Brazil). HEAT 10--1. Shane Dorian (Kailua, Hawaii); 2. Jake Paterson (Australia). HEAT 11--1. Richard Lovett (Australia); 2. Todd Prestage (Australia). HEAT 12--1. Todd Holland (Cocoa Beach, Fla.). 2. Guilherme Herdy (Brazil). HEAT 13--1. Damian Hardman (Australia). 2. Stuart Bedford-Brown (Australia). HEAT 14--1. Flavio Padaratz (Brazil). 2. Renan Rocha (Brazil). HEAT 15--1. Vetea David (Tahiti). 2. Chris Gallagher (Santa Cruz). HEAT 16--1. Jake Spooner (Australia). 2. Ross Williams (Hawaii).

Women’s

Main Event

Second round (heats 1-4)

(winner advances)

HEAT 1--Kylie Webb (Australia); 2. Kylie Mercer (Australia); HEAT 2--1. Layne Beachley (Australia); 2. Joly Emmanuelle (France). HEAT 3--1. Trudy Todd (Australia); 2. Michelle Donoghoe (Australia). HEAT 4--1. Patricia Rossi (Tahiti); 2. Lisa Andersen (Ormond Beach, Fla.).

First round

(top two advance)

HEAT 1--1. Mercer; 2. Todd; 3. Keala Kennelly (Hawaii); 4. Sophia Mulanovich (Peru). HEAT 2--1. Emmanuelle; 2. Rossi; 3. Seerena Brooke (Australia); 4. Patricia Lopes (Portugal). HEAT 3--1. Melanie Redman (Australia); Pru Jeffries (Australia); 3. Kate Skarratt (Australia); 4. Melissa Proud (Hawaii). HEAT 4--1. Tita Tavares (Brazil); 2. Kim Wooldridge (Australia); 3. Miyuki Onozato (Japan); 4. Narumi Kitagawa (Japan).

Women’s bodyboarding

Semifinals (top two advance)

HEAT 1--1. Daniela Freitas (Brazil); 2. Claudia Ferrari (Brazil); 3. Claudia Dos Santos (Brazil); 4. Leila Alli (Brazil). HEAT 2--1. Mariana Nogueira (Brazil); 2. Neymara Carvalho (Brazil); 3. Stephanie Pettersen (Brazil); 4. Mady Slater (Ventura).

Men’s bodyboarding

Main event

Fourth round

HEAT 1--1. Guilherme Tamega (Brazil); 2. Marcello Pedro (Brazil). HEAT 2--1. Brian Press (USA); 2. Mark Dale (USA). HEAT 3--1. Kyle Maligro (Hawaii); 2. Mike Stewart (Hawaii). HEAT 4--1. Mike Eppelstun (Australia); 2. Douglas Lindsey (South Africa). HEAT 5--1. Ben Holland (Australia); 2. Jordan Hetrick (USA). HEAT 6--1. Dean Seppings (South Africa); 2. Jay Reale (San Clemente). HEAT 7--1. Paulo Costa (Brazil); 2. Fabio Aquino (Brazil). HEAT 8--1. Chris Burkart (Hawaii); 2. Jefferson Anute (Brazil).