Courtney Conlogue couldn't help but laugh in disbelief. She was sitting in the back of a ponga, wrapping up her post-Semifinal interview following a tenacious victory over Tyler Wright. "I'm just happy I got through," she said, shaking her head. "I don't know how I manufactured that win, I was just spotting Luke [Egan, her coach] and going, 'Really, we're staying in here on the the corner?'"
The corner she referred to was a bend in the reef at Cloudbreak, well inside the typical take-off zone known as The Ledge. It was a calculated risk that paid dividends in the end, allowing her to find the 6-point ride she needed to advance. "I just went along for the ride, we were basically fighting for 3s out there and that rarely happens, let alone at Cloudbreak," she added, a mix of frustration and relief in her voice.
It wasn't exactly how Courtney envisioned herself making the Final at Cloudbreak, but she's not complaining. By beating Wright, she's gaining ground on the new Jeep Leader, while building on her momentum. Earlier in the event she knocked out her fellow contenders, Johanne Defay and Lakey Peterson.
When competition resumes, Conlogue will be clashing with an in-form Tatiana Weston-Webb in the Final.