—–
Hawaii surfers John John Florence, Carissa Moore and Bettylou Sakura Johnson won their opening round heats in the men’s and women’s portions Thursday at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach.
All three advanced to the Round of 32.
On Friday (Thursday, Hawaii time), the World Surf League contest in Victoria, Australia, was on standby. If there is a green light, the action will continue with the second (elimination) round, where four of 12 men and two of four women will be eliminated.
Three from Hawaii — Barron Mamiya, Ezekiel Lau and Ian Gentil — are among those in the elimination round. For Lau (ranked No. 32) and Mamiya (No. 24), a top performance would go a long way in helping them toward getting into the top 22 and avoiding the end of April midseason cut.
Two Hawaii surfers — Seth Moniz and Gabriela Bryan — made it into the Bells Beach Round of 32 by placing second in their heats Thursday.
Florence’s 16.26 was the second highest heat score of the day and may be a sign that he is ready to roll for a strong second half of the season. The two-time world champ is ranked No. 10.
Below are photos and one video of the Hawaii surfers on Thursday, followed by opening round results and the full WSL championship tour men’s and women’s rankings.
World Surf League video of Carissa Moore from Thursday:
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Men’s Opening Round Results
HEAT 1: Ethan Ewing (AUS) 14.50 DEF. Nat Young (USA) 11.43, Carlos Munoz (CRC) 8.54
HEAT 2: Griffin Colapinto (USA) 15.66 DEF. Seth Moniz (HAW) 11.03, Maxime Huscenot (FRA) 10.37
HEAT 3: Ryan Callinan (AUS) 13.27 DEF. Caio Ibelli (BRA) 10.94, Ezekiel Lau (HAW) 10.34
HEAT 4: Dylan Moffat (AUS) 12.33 DEF. Joao Chianca (BRA) 11.67, Matthew McGillivray (RSA) 10.84
HEAT 5: Owen Wright (AUS) 12.84 DEF. Filipe Toledo (BRA) 11.24, Ian Gentil (HAW) 10.36
HEAT 6: Jack Robinson (AUS) 12.56 DEF. Xavier Huxtable (AUS) 11.50, Kelly Slater (USA) 9.60
HEAT 7: Kolohe Andino (USA) 11.64 DEF. Italo Ferreira (BRA) 10.80, Connor O’Leary (AUS) 10.00
HEAT 8: Michael Rodrigues (BRA) 14.47 DEF. Jordy Smith (RSA) 12.47, Callum Robson (AUS) 11.93
HEAT 9: Jackson Baker (AUS) 13.00 DEF. Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) 11.37, Rio Waida (INA) 10.60
HEAT 10: Yago Dora (BRA) 13.83 DEF. Samuel Pupo (BRA) 13.67, Jake Marshall (USA) 10.00
HEAT 11: Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) 16.40 DEF. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 13.00, Liam O’Brien (AUS) 12.43
HEAT 12: John John Florence (HAW) 16.26 DEF. Morgan Cibilic (AUS) 12.17, Barron Mamiya (HAW) 12.10
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Women’s Opening Round Results
HEAT 1: Bettylou Sakura Johnson (HAW) 13.07 DEF. Sophie McCulloch (AUS) 11.93, Caitlin Simmers (USA) 11.24
HEAT 2: Molly Picklum (AUS) 13.73 DEF. Macy Callaghan (AUS) 13.50, Johanne Defay (FRA) 13.16
HEAT 3: Carissa Moore (HAW) 14.33 DEF. Lakey Peterson (USA) 13.66, Kobie Enright (AUS) 12.57
HEAT 4: Caroline Marks (USA) 15.83 DEF. Isabella Nichols (AUS) 13.04, Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) 9.40
HEAT 5: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 16.57 DEF. Gabriela Bryan (HAW) 13.73, Tyler Wright (AUS) 12.17
HEAT 6: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 16.16 DEF. Courtney Conlogue (USA) 12.06, Brisa Hennessy (CRC) 11.50
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Men’s Elimination Round Matchups:
HEAT 1: Callum Robson (AUS) vs. Liam O’Brien (AUS) vs. Ezekiel Lau (HAW)
HEAT 2: Rio Waida (INA) vs. Barron Mamiya (HAW) vs. Maxime Huscenot (FRA)
HEAT 3: Connor O’Leary (AUS) vs. Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Carlos Munoz (CRC)
HEAT 4: Matthew McGillivray (RSA) vs. Ian Gentil (HAW) vs. Jake Marshall (USA)
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Women’s Elimination Round Matchups
HEAT 1: Caitlin Simmers (USA) vs. Brisa Hennessy (CRC) vs. Kobie Enright (AUS)
HEAT 2: Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) vs. Tyler Wright (AUS) vs. Johanne Defay (FRA)
2023 WSL Men’s Rankings
>> 1. Jack Robinson (Australia), 19,490 points
>> 2. Joao Chianca (Brazil), 22,170
>> 3. Filipe Toledo (Brail), 16.075
>> 4. Caio Ibelli (Brazil), 14,150
>> 5. Griffin Colapinto (San Clemente, California), 13.875
>> 6. Leonardo Fioravanti (Italy), 12,450
>> 7. (tie) Callum Robson (Australia), 10,735
>> 7. (tie) Yago Dora (Brazil), 10, 735
>> 9. Gabriel Medina (Brazil), 9,960
>> 10 (tie) John John Florence (Hawaii), 9395
>> 10. (tie) Ethan Ewing (Australia), 9,395
>> 10. (tie) Rio Waida (Indonesia), 9395
>> 13. (tie) Seth Moniz (Hawaii), 7,970
>> 13. (tie) Ian Gentil (Hawaii), 7,970
>> 13. (tie) Italo Ferreira (Brazil), 7,970
>> 13. (tie) Miguel Pupo (Brazil), 7,970
>> 13. (tie) Ryan Callinan (Australia), 7,970
>> 18. (tie) Samuel Pupo (Brazil), 7,405
>> 18. (tie) Jordy Smith (South Africa), 7,405
>> 18. (tie) Nat Young (Santa Cruz, California), 7,405
>> 18. (tie) Liam O’Brien (Australia), 7.405
>> 22. (tie) Connor O’Leary (Australia), 6,340
>> 22. (tie) Matthew McGillivray (South Africa), 6,340
>> 24. (tie) Barron Mamiya (Hawaii), 5,980
>> 24. (tie) Kanoa Igarashi (Japan), 5,980
>> 24. (tie) Kelly Slater (Cocoa Beach, Florida), 5,980
>> 27. (tie) Jake Marshall (Encinitas, California), 3,990
>> 27. (tie) Jackson Baker (Australia), 3,990
>> 27. (tie) Michael Rodrigues (Brazil), 3,990
>> 27. (tie) Carlos Munoz (Costa Rica), 3,990
>> 31. Kolohe Andino (San Clemente, California), 2,925
>> 32. (tie) Ezekiel Lau (Hawaii), 1,860
>> 32. (tie) Maxine Huscenot (France), 1,860
>> 34. (tie) Jadson Andre (Brazil), 795
>> 34. (tie) Ramzi Boukhiam (Morocco), 795
2023 WSL Women’s Rankings
>> 1. Molly Picklum (Australia), 19,490
>> 2. (tie) Carissa Moore (Hawaii), 17,355
>> 2. (tie) Caitlin Simmers (Oceanside, California), 17,355
>> 4. Tyler Wright (Australia), 14,930
>> 5. (tie) Gabriela Bryan (Hawaii), 13,440
>> 5. (tie) Tatiana Weston-Webb (Brazil), 13,440
>> 7. Caroline Marks (Melbourne Beach, Florida), 13,020
>> 8. Brisa Hennessy (Costa Rica), 12,100
>> 9. (tie) Bettylou Sakura Johnson (Hawaii), 11,305
>> 9. (tie) Macy Callaghan (Australia), 11.305
>> 11. Sally Fitzgibbons (Australia), 9,965
>> 12. Courtney Conlogue (Santa Ana, California), 9,890
>> 13. Lakey Peterson (Santa Barbara, California), 9,740
>> 14. Stephanie Gilmore (Australia), 8,400
>> 15. Isabella Nicholsw (Australia), 7,830
>> 16. Sophie McCulloch (Australia), 6,835
>> 17. Teresa Bonvalot (Portugal), 6,265
>> 18. Johanne Defay (France), 3,135
—–
ALSO at BedrockSportsHawaii.com:
>> Hawaii’s Barron Mamiya And Ezekiel Lau Working To Get Above World Surf League’s Midseason Cut Line
