O’NEILL SI PRO PRESENTED BY RON JON SEBASTIAN INLET, Florida (Wednesday, January 9, 2008) – A new groundswell pumped clean two-to-three foot (1 metre) waves into Sebastian Inlet today for Day 6 of the O’Neill SI Pro presented by Ron Jon. The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Qualifying Series (WQS) 5-Star event saw competition intensify as Rounds 4 and 5 were completed, narrowing the field down to the final 16. Brett Simpson (Huntington Beach, CA) has been a standout surfer all event and continued to shine in his Round of 24 heat today, securing an impressive 16.00 out of a possible 20. “The goal of every event is to make the man-on-man, and everything after that is really icing,” Simpson said. “I feel like I have been surfing pretty well all week, and hopefully I can keep the momentum up throughout the next few rounds.” Simpson now enters into the Round of 16 where competitors will surf in a changed format, going head-to-head in man-on-man heats from here on out. “You do have to change up your strategy in the man-on-man heats,” Simpson said. “Compared to the four-man heats, you see guys getting much bigger scores in the man-on-man, and you’ve really got to be patient and wait for scoring rides.” Cory Lopez (Indian Rocks Beach, FL), former O’Neill SI Pro Champion as well as competitor on the elite ASP World Tour, continued to muscle through heats today, advancing along with older brother Shea into the Round of 16. “It’s always interesting when you draw your brother in a heat,” Lopez said. “We didn’t talk to much out there, we only talked about how good a wave was that we both missed. He was surfing really well and I’m stoked we both got through.” Both Lopez brothers are former members of the elite ASP World Tour, and will use the O’Neill SI Pro as a launching point for their respective qualifying campaigns in 2008. “I had a bit of bad luck last year and a few heats didn’t go my way so I’m back on the ASP WQS,” Lopez said. “My brother (Shea) was really close to qualifying last season and we’re both trying for it again. My surfing is feeling good and it would be good to start the year off with a win at Sebastian.” Nathan Yeomans (San Clemente, CA) collected the highest single-wave score of the day for three massive backhand turns on a bowling righthander which netted him a 9.0 out of a possible 10. “It was a pretty tough heat out there with Ben (Bourgeois) and Daniel (Jones) and I knew I was going to need some big scores to get through,” Yeomans said. “That righthander lined up for me pretty well and I was able to get three pretty good turns in and got the score. Moving into the man-on-mans, patience is going to be key and I’m stoked to get in there.” Asher Nolan (Jacksonville, FL), a finalist in last season’s O’Neill SI Pro, proved he could be headed for the podium once again this year, netting the day’s high heat total of a 16.40 out of a possible 20. Seamlessly blending aerials, snaps and carves, Nolan displayed the full range of his progressive talent to close out today’s action. “Stoked I was able to get through another heat out here,” Nolan said. “Into the man-on-man now and hopefully I can beat last year’s performance.” All three former O’Neill SI Pro Champions, Cory Lopez (2005), Damien Hobgood (2006) and C.J. Hobgood (2007), are still in contention and could potentially put another trophy on the mantle. Tomorrow will see the O’Neill SI Pro pres. by Ron Jon enter into the Round of 16 before completing the Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Final. The event will look to culminate tomorrow. Event organizers for the O’Neill SI Pro will meet tomorrow at 8am for a possible 8:30am start. When O’Neill SI Pro competition recommences, Heat 1 of Round 6 will be first in the water. The O’Neill SI Pro presented by Ron Jon will be webcast LIVE via www.GO211.com. For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com, www.aspnorthamerica.org or www.oneillsipro.com. RESULTS: O’Neill SI Pro presented by Ron Jon (ASP WQS 5-Star) Round 4: 48 surfers remaining (1st and 2nd advance to
Round 5) Round 5: 24 surfers remaining (1st and 2nd advance to
Round 6)
For further information, please contact: Dave Prodan About ASP: The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the governing body of professional surfing. Crowning surfing’s undisputed world champions since 1976, the ASP sanctions the following tours: the Foster’s ASP Men’s World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, the World Qualifying Series (WQS) and the World Longboarding, Junior and Masters Championships. The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world's best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America. These regions manage all their respective domestic affairs under the guidance of ASP International, which is located on the Gold Coast of Australia. ASP International and ASP North America are committed to the progression of surfing and are dedicated to continuing excellent relationships with their surfers, event operators, sponsors and media. For more information log onto www.aspworldtour.com or www.aspnorthamerica.org.
The O'Neill Sebastian Inlet Pro Presented by Ron Jon is the biggest and most prestigious surfing contest on the US East Coast and one of the top three on mainland North America. The tournament will feature a field of 192 surfers from more than a dozen countries. The main event will be run from January 4-11, 2008.
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