Written by Ben Kennings, Surfing NZ. Sunday, 13 February 2011
Gisborne surfer Jay Quinn has stormed to his third victory from four events on the SOL Series this summer and is fast becoming the most dominant surfer in New Zealand.
Quinn, a world top 100 surfer, won the Power Balance Pro at Mount Maunganui today by blasting his opponents into submission scoring 16.37 out of a possible 20 points in the final. A near perfect 9.33 point ride out of a possible 10 early in the final helped his cause and it was a wave that his fellow three finalists could not match.
The win follows his first victory of the season at home in Gisborne back in November before winning the National Championships held at Dunedin in January and then placing an agonising runner up at the most recent event in Whangamata two weeks ago, a final he had won, until the last 40 seconds. Quinn extends his lead on the SOL Series beyond 2400 points which is a massive lead that will take a miracle to bridge by any of his fellow surfers. “It’s a crazy but definitely a good start to the year, hopefully I can continue this form through to the international events this year” said Quinn.
The surf remained in the 1.0m range today which suited Quinn and his equipment. “If you could find the right waves out there it was fun surf. For the Mount it was good – especially for two days straight” said Quinn.
Local surfer and a stand out all weekend, Alex Dive placed second in the final to secure his best result at this level. Dive, a double finalist and winner of the Under 20 Men’s Division, scored 14.57 in the final and was the only surfer within one scoring ride of Quinn but still required a 9.0 point ride to take the win.
Raglan surfer Luke Hughes battled it out with double finalist Buck Woods (Gis) for third place but got the nod scoring 10.80 to Woods’ 9.67.
Sarah Mason (Gis) made it two wins in two weeks after taking out the Women’s Division with a staggering 15.67 point heat total. The young 15 year old surfer has stunned the New Zealand surfing community after returning from Australia with her family at the start of the year.
“I wasn’t certain of winning when I came back to New Zealand but I really wanted to try and do my best in the events here and I am stoked to win both of the ones I have entered so far” said Mason.
“I got some good waves and was able to get some good scores in the final” she added in reference to her 8.50 and 7.17 point rides.
The Mason family now have three titles between them after older sister Airini Mason won the National Championships in January.
Another young surfer in 16 year old Ella Williams (WGM) left it until her last wave of the final to jump into second place scoring 7.03. Williams extends her lead on the SOL Series ratings further after beating Jessica Santorik (Rag) who placed third in the final, 0.30 behind Williams. Gisborne surfer Jayda Martin – Fitzharris placed fourth in the final.
Alex Dive (Mnt) took a win in the Under 20 Men’s Division after a flurry of action that saw two surfers, Dive included incur interference calls after getting tangled up with their opponents.
Dive finished with an 11.68 point total despite losing half of his second scoring ride as a penalty for the interference. “To tell the truth I was pretty gutted” said Dive of the interference. “I thought it was pretty hard to come back from there and I was gutted on myself, I thought the interference could have gone either way but I got a 7 at the end it and it was alright eventually.” Dive is splitting his time between Australia and New Zealand focusing on the ASP Pro Junior Series but is always stoked to come back home and compete. “It is real good to come back and win, it will give me some confidence, I haven’t won for a while” said Dive adding “It is so much harder over there (Australia) so hopefully I can keep the momentum going and get some big results over there.” Dive surfed a massive six heats on the final day and by the time he got to the finals he was “real tired” and simply “running on adrenaline” to get to the podium.
Buck Woods (Gis) placed second despite also incurring an interference call late in the heat. Woods was the only surfer within sight of Dive but with the penalty it was too much of an ask.
Local surfer Robert Courian placed third in the heat scoring 9.90 falling on his last wave when requiring a 6.36 point ride to upset his more experienced counterparts. Another local surfer in 15 year old Mackenzie Christie was the giant killer in the Under 20 Men’s Division upsetting a number of more fancied surfers and finished fourth in the final for his best ever result at a national level.
Please see below for final results from the Power Balance Pro – event 4 on the SOL Surf Series completed today (Sunday 13th of February) at Tay Street, Mount Maunganui.
Open Men’s Division Quarterfinals
Heat 1
Chris Malone (Gis), 13.8, 1, Alex Dive (Mnt), 10.8, 2, Tim Thompson (Auck), 9.9, 3, Ben Poulter (Rag), 9.85, 4
Heat 2
Jay Quinn (Gis), 13.7, 1, Jarred Hancox (Tara), 10.6, 2, Leon Santorik (Rag), 9.05, 3, Felix Dickson (Dun), 6.75, 4
Heat 3
Luke Hughes (Rag), 12.9, 1, Maz Quinn (Gis), 12.2, 2, Matt Hewitt (Mnt), 10.9, 3, Larry Fisher (Rag), 10.5, 4
Heat 4
Paul Moretti (Mimiwhangata), 9.1, 1, Buck Woods (Gis), 8.5, 2, Zennor Wernham (Rag), 8.2, 3, JC Susan (Mnt), 7.7, 4
Open Men’s Semifinals
Heat 1
Jay Quinn (Gis), 17.55, 1, Alex Dive (Mnt), 15, 2, Jarred Hancox (Tara), 12.7, 3, Chris Malone (Gis), 10.8, 4
Heat 2
Luke Hughes (Rag), 12.05, 1, Buck Woods (Gis), 11.9, 2, Maz Quinn (Gis), 9.45, 3, Paul Moretti (Mimiwhangata), 9.4, 4
Open Men’s Final
Jay Quinn (Gis), 16.37, 1, Alex Dive (Mnt), 14.57, 2, Luke Hughes (Rag), 10.80, 3, Buck Woods (Gis), 9.67
Under 20 Men’s Division Quarterfinals
Heat 1
Robert Courian (Mnt), 14, 1, Johnny Hicks (Gis), 11.35, 2, Sam Courtney (ChCh), 8.7, 3, Nat Hughes (Rag), 8.4, 4
Heat 2
Alex Dive (Mnt), 16.35, 1, Todd Doyle (Mnt), 14.75, 2, Ben Poulter (Rag), 13.2, 3, Joe Moretti (Mimiwhangata), 11.95, 4
Heat 3
Ryan Hawker (Piha), 12.5, 1, Tyler Lawson (H-Bay), 10.95, 2, Tim Thompson (Auck), 10.15, 3, Dune Kennings (Whmata), 9.4, 4
Heat 4
Mackenzie Christie (Tau), 13.6, 1, Buck Woods (Gis), 11.8, 2, Matt Hewitt (Mnt), 10.9, 3, Elliot Paerata Reid (Piha0, 10.3, 4
Under 20 Men’s Semifinals
Heat 1
Alex Dive (Mnt), 12.25, 1, Robert Courian (Mnt), 12, 2, Johnny Hicks (Gis), 7.85, 3, Todd Doyle (Mnt), 6.05, 4
Heat 2
Mackenzie Christie (Tau), 13.3, 1, Buck Woods (Gis), 12.45, 2, Tyler Lawson (H-Bay), 11.7, 3, Ryan Hawker (Piha), 11.15, 4
Under 20 Men’s Final
Alex Dive (Mnt), 11.68, 1, Buck Woods (Gis), 10.12, 2, Robert Courian (Mnt), 9.90, 3, Mackenzie Christie (Tau), 6.20, 4
Open Women’s Quarterfinals
Heat 1
Sarah Mason (Gis), 13.5, 1, Alexis Poulter (Rag), 10.4, 2, Grace Spiers (Whmata), 6.25, 3, Rachel von Zalinski (Auck), 3.75, 4
Heat 2
Ella Williams (Whmata), 13.15, 1, Jayda Martin-Fitzharris (Gis), 10.15, 2, Emma Philson (Waihi Bch), 6.75, 3, Marguerite Vujich (Napier), 1.75, 4
Heat 3
Laura Rishworth (Mnt), 11.55, 1, Jessica Santorik (Rag), 9.85, 2, Rosa Thompson (Auck), 6.4, 3, Anna Gooding (Mt), 3.65, 4
Open Women Semifinals
Heat 1
Ella Williams (Whmata), 11.25, 1, Jayda Martin-Fitzharris (Gis), 9.25, 2, Alexis Poulter (Rag), 8.75, 3
Heat 2
Jessica Santorik (Rag), 14.75, 1, Sarah Mason (Gis), 14.25, 2, Laura Rishworth (Mnt), 8.35, 3
Open Women’s Final
Sarah Mason (Gis), 15.67, 1, Ella Williams (Whmata), 10.30, 2, Jessica Santorik (Rag), 10.0, 3, Jayda Martin-Fitzharris (Gis), 5.5, 4