Action Intensifies at Pacifico Belmar Pro and Fins Pro Junior

Day 3 of the 2014 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Pacifico Belmar Pro and Fins Pro Junior saw an increase of surf overnight, offering 3-4ft. wind blown conditions for both the Men's and Junior's competitors.

The day kicked of with the Men's competition, completing both the Round of 32 and the Round of 16 in their entirety, setting the stage for tomorrow's Quarterfinals. The Junior competitors took to the water in the later half of the day, completing the Quarterfinals. Today's action saw surfers from both divisions posting high scores and laying it all out on the line in hopes for a spot into the final day of competition.

Today's top performer in the Pacifico Belmar Pro was Kanoa Igarashi (USA) who walked away from his Round of 16 heat with a pair of 8.33's, claiming today's highest heat total at 16.66 points. The regular-footer looked to be at the top of his game today, even in the challenging conditions.

“I'm probably on the best board I've ever had, the more I ride it the better it gets. When you have a good board it's really motivating and it gives you a lot of confidence.” Kanoa explained, “I didn't really have a strategy out there, I just tried to get a lot of waves and a couple of them were bound to be good ones. I was hoping to just get two sixes, but luckily I got two eights so it worked out.”

The young Huntington Beach local also advanced through his Quarterfinal heat in the Fins Pro Junior and is into tomorrow's Semifinals.

Another standout performance came from Killian Garland (USA), who won both his Round of 32 and Round of 16 heats is looking sharp, even taking to the air. The Californian is coming off of a solid result at the Outer Banks Pro, where he had a Semifinal finish, and can hope to carry that momentum going into Finals day here in Belmar.

“That heat had a lot of good surfers in it so I knew I was going to have to mix it up a little bit. On my best wave, I split the peak with Gabe (Kling) so I knew I was going to have to do something impressive to grab the attention of the judges.” Said Killian, “I'm looking forward to the man-on-man heats tomorrow, so hopefully there's some more waves and I can put up a few more scores.”

One of the day's top surfers in the Fins Pro Junior was Nolan Rapoza (USA), who took down the current Pro Junior rankings leader Cam Richards in his Quarterfinal heat. This is Rapoza's best ASP result of his career and looks to only be building steam going into the Semifinals.

“I was planning on sitting on the lefts closer to the jetty, but then I found this little right that seemed to be the better wave. I knew I wasn't going to be able to hear the scores with the wind, so I just told myself to surf my best on the waves I got.” Nolan said, “I thought Cam (Richards) was going to win for sure, so for me to win that heat it makes me feel good and boosts my confidence a lot.”

Parker Coffin (USA), who is battling Richards for the North America Junior Series title, also had a solid performance today. The goofy-footer knows that he needs a good result in this last event in order to jump back into first and claim the Series Championship.

“The race between me and Cam (Richards) is definitely there and is a known fact, but to be honest I'm here with the same intention as everybody else; I want to win the contest.” Coffin explained, “Cam is a great surfer and regardless of what result I need to take the lead, I'm just telling myself to do my best and try to win the contest.”

The ASP Pacifico Belmar Pro and Fins Pro Junior will finish tomorrow.

The ASP Pacifico Belmar Pro and Fins Pro Junior are set to run from Thursday, September 11th through Sunday, September 14th.