Patacchia Dominates Final Heat

Fred Patacchia surfed a flawless heat to win the National Scholastic Surfing Assn. Men’s Open national championship at Lower Trestles Saturday.

Winning his first national title, Patacchia, 17, took advantage of the outstanding surf and beat the five other finalists in the 20-minute heat.

Patacchia caught two high-scoring waves in the first five minutes and continued to stay aggressive.

“Twenty minutes is actually plenty of time for me, so I wasn’t that nervous about the time,” said Patacchia, who lives in Haleiwa, Hawaii. “But I also wanted to catch a left as soon as possible, which I did, and turned out to be not that bad.”

Not bad at all as Patacchia’s first wave was highlighted by a floater on which he dropped about five feet while staying on his board. His second wave was also a left and he sliced and cut through it at least four times.

While Patacchia’s feet seemed to have glue on them, the other finalists struggled to stay on their boards.

Bobby Martinez of Santa Barbara didn’t get going until midway through the heat. Martinez started to pick up steam as the heat progressed but an interference call on Martinez against Patacchia in the last two minutes of the heat, dashed any hopes he had of winning.

“It’s hard to tell who was at fault,” said Patacchia about the call. “We both went for the wave, and instead of Bobby pulling back, like I thought he would, he kept paddling for the wave. I didn’t want Bobby to get a bomb. He’s very good and could easily come back.”

Martinez, who ended his amateur career Saturday and turns pro next month, seemed off during the heat.

“Fred was on today. It was easy to see who was going to win this event,” Martinez said.

In addition to the national men’s title, Patacchia also won the junior national title.

“I have one more year as an amateur,” said Patacchia, who attends Waialua High where he’ll be a senior. “I’m looking forward to next year. And I hope to be back.”

Hawaiian Ray Powers finished second and Martinez was third. Bron Huessenstamm of Laguna Beach was fourth, Tim Reyes of Huntington Beach fifth and John Robertson of San Clemente was sixth.

A Hawaiian also prevailed in the women’s open as Sena Seramur defended her title. Kristen Quizon of Huntington Beach was second and Holly Beck of Palos Verdes was third.