Vans US Open of Surfing (part three)

Not a whole lot was going on wave-wise at Huntington today because, well, it’s Huntington, but some heats ran and the action on the beach was as enthusiastic as ever. But, let us discuss competitive surfing. Jordy Smith is one of a very few men on tour who can change boards at the last minute before a heat and still kill it. Which is exactly what he did today at the Vans US Open of Surfing, and then went and put a 9.17 and 8.17 to the floor. “I rode a new board for the first time in that heat and it went well,” Jordy said afterwards. “I think the trick out there is really just catching waves because there aren’t many of them at the moment. You don’t have to do a whole lot out there to get big scores and just have to look like you’re not fighting the wave. Conditions are really tough and I knew I needed a wider board. It ended up working out.”

And how about Jordy’s fellow South-African, 20-year-old Beyrick De Vries, who’s been all over Huntington like a steam train and today beat small wave dangers Alejo Muniz and Filipe Toledo, eliminating the latter. And all after recovering from a wild ol’ knee injury. “I tried to get a little warm-up before the heats and it seems to be working,” said Beyrick. “I’ve been trying to get in to a routine and not putting pressure on myself and fun seems to be the way to go. At the same time I’m trying to dig deep. I really want it a lot more than last year and feel that my competitive streak inside me has gotten a lot stronger too.”

VANS US OPEN OF SURFING MEN’S ROUND 2 RESULTS:
Heat 7: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 17.34, Hodei Collazo (EUK) 12.00, Dion Atkinson (AUS) 8.67, Yadin Nicol (AUS) 7.20
Heat 8: Granger Larsen (HAW) 12.26, Ramzi Boukhiam (MAR) 12.10, Garrett Parkes (AUS) 9.53, Cory Lopez (USA) 8.30
Heat 9: Matt Banting (AUS) 13.83, C.J. Hobgood (USA) 11.30, Michael Dunphy (USA) 10.77, Josh Kerr (AUS) 1.44
Heat 10: Marc Lacomare (FRA) 13.56, Charles Martin (GLP) 13.17, Sunny Garcia (HAW) 10.97, Perth Standlick (AUS) 9.84
Heat 11: Beyrick De Vries (ZAF) 14.07, Alejo Muniz (BRA) 13.13, Tim Reyes (USA) 11.77, Perth Standlick (AUS) 9.84
Heat 12: Mitch Crews (AUS) 13.67, Nat Young (USA) 11.67, Gabe Kling (USA) 11.17, Evan Geiselman (USA) 6.85