San Clemente, Calif., April 26, 2007 - The pristine conditions that the Jeep® Body Glove Surfbout enjoyed over the first couple of days dissipated today for rounds four and five which saw shifty two- to three- foot surf at Lower Trestles. Despite the decrease in quality of conditions, the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Qualifying Series (WQS) four-star event was still treated to some of the finest surfing of the event as the top seeds attacked the cobblestone peaks with style, punch and bite.

Ian Walsh locked in the day’s highest heat total of a 17.00 out of a possible 20. Despite remaining quiet for the majority of the heat, Walsh struck hard and fast with a 9.33 followed immediately by a 7.67.

“I just didn’t really know where to sit out there and nothing came to me for the beginning of the heat,” Walsh said. “I finally nabbed a solid one that seemed to run forever and then I sprinted back out to the lineup because I knew I needed another score. Then a wide one came to me and I was able to get another score. You just have to do the most with whatever comes to you.”

Walsh, who is renowned for his big wave bravado, is no stranger to high-performance surfing, and today’s performance solidifies the young natural-footer as one of the biggest threats to the 2007 Jeep Body Glove Surfbout title.

Dustin Cuizon, defending Jeep Body Glove Surfbout Champion, smashed through one of the highest scoring heats of the day besting aerial maestro Aaron Cormican as well as eliminating local standout Mike Losness and Dillon Perillo.

“I’m feeling pretty confident out here as I have done well in the past, but anyone can win out here,” Cuizon said. “I’m just taking things one heat at a time. I am stoked to be back at Lowers and I am hoping to grab a result here.”

Should Cuizon repeat last season’s stunning Surfbout victory, the progressive Hawaiian will take the lead in the 2007 Macy’s California Trifecta Surf Series presented by Jeep (and ASP North America Specialty Series). Cuizon finished a respectable third on last year’s series, but will be looking to improve

Gabe Kling,current contender on the elite Foster’s ASP World Tour, opened up another chapter of high performance this afternoon as he kicked off the round of 64 with a bang utilizing his experience amongst the world’s best to his advantage.

“Being on the World Tour definitely makes you step up your performance all around,” Kling said. “You’re surfing with the best in the world and you’re constantly improving. That being said, the talent level is still very high out here and everyone is a threat.”

Peter Devries dominated the tricky afternoon righthanders locking the day’s high heat total of a 15.23 out of a possible 20 for his consistent, rail-gouging performance.

“I haven’t surfed an event in six months so I’m really stoked to get through my first heat back,” Devries said. “I broke my fin on my first wave so I was stressing a bit after that, but I was able to hook into a few good ones.”

Peter Devries dominated the tricky afternoon righthanders with a consistent rail-gouging approach and led an international field that saw Chris Dennis, Mitchell Coleburn and a swath of Hawaiians advance through today's heats.

As the opening event of the Macy’s California Trifecta Surf Series presented by Jeep (an ASP North America Specialty Series), the Jeep Body Glove Surfbout will not only award Saturday’s victor with the $10,000 first prize check and valuable ASP WQS ratings points, but also the lead in the three-event series. From Lowers, the Macy’s California Trifecta will then venture to Newport Beach, in September, for the Newport Beach Pro presented by Jeep before culminating in Santa Cruz, in October, for the O’Neill Cold Water Classic presented Jeep. An all-new 2007 Jeep Patriot in addition to a potential cash bonus of over $30,000 will be presented to the Series winner at the final event.

Running in conjunction with the Jeep Body Glove Surfbout, the ASP Grade-2 Oakley Pro Junior will begin tomorrow at 1:20 with the round of 32 where young up-and-comer Eric Geiselman will be defending his title and trying to continue his winning streak.

Jeep Body Glove Surfbout action will recommence tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. with the conclusion of round five and the first appearances of Foster’s ASP World Tour surfers Chris Ward, Dayyan Neve, Kai Otton and CJ Hobgood. All action will be webcast LIVE with streaming video and scoring at www.surfbout.com.

FUEL TV will telecast highlights from the Jeep Body Glove Surfbout beginning May 5th on The Weekly Update. For FUEL TV airdates and show times, check www.fuel.tv. Check out the Jeep Body Glove Surfbout and all of the Macy’s California Trifecta Surf Series surf spots at www.WaveWatch.com.

The 2007 Jeep Body Glove Surfbout is happy to once again have support from Macy’s, Oakley, Ocean Minded, the San Clemente Times, FUEL TV, and PRIMEDIA’s Action Sports Group (ASG), publisher of SURFER, SURFING and WaveWatch.

WAVEWATCH FORECAST FOR 4/27/07
SWELL - Residual Northwest swell from the Dateline-Gulf region to be fading on Friday with swell 2.9 ft @ 12 secs producing 3.0-3.5 ft faces coming from 300 degrees.
WIND - South winds 5 kts early turning more southwesterly and fading later.
TIDE - 4.5 ft high tide @ 7:15 in the morning dropping to 0.4 ft @ 1:30 PM then heading back up to 5.0 ft at sunset.

 

Story by Dave Prodan