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| Bianca Buitendag on the charge to victory. (Photo: ASP) |
LOBITOS, Piura / Peru (Saturday, Jul, 28, 2012) - Waves in the 2-3 foot range (1 meter) were on hand Saturday for the final day of the ASP 6-Star Movistar Women’s Pro presented by Rip Curl and Petrolera Sapet at the lefthand pointbreak of Lobitos, in Piura, Peru. Bianca Buitendag, 18, (ZAF) defeated Alana Blanchard, 22, (HAW), by displaying a powerful frontside attack to clinch her victory and win U$ 8,000 in prize money and 3,500 points, moving her up to 5th place on the ASP World Star ranking. Six surfers on the ASP World Star rating qualify for the group of top-17 ASP Women´s Tour.
Bianca Buitendag scored a heat wave total of 15.00 points (out of a possible 20) by scoring a 7.0 and an 8.0 on her two best rides over Blanchard’s 12.90 on her two highest scoring waves (7.9 and 5.0). Buitendag sealed her victory by catching a long lefthander where she showed a variety of snaps, cutbacks and roundhouses.
“I feel really emotional and very happy with my victory,” said Bianca Buitendag. “I never thought that I would make it past the Quarter-Finals, let alone past Sofia (Mulanovich) in the Semi-Finals. So to make it to the Finals and win the contest is such an incredible feeling. Alana (Blanchard) surfed really well, the waves were excellent throughout the whole week and this is the most important moment for me in my early career.”
By surfing on her backside, Blanchard was not able to keep up with the Buitendag’s rhythm throughout the Final heat. However, her Runner-Up finish in Peru secured U$ 4,000 and 2,640 points which places her in 10th place on the ASP World Star ranking and remains in the race for qualification for the 2013 ASP Women’s Tour.
“This was such a fun contest and I’m thankful for making it to the Finals,” said Alana Blanchard. “It’s a shame I never got a good second wave to backup my score, but Bianca (Buitendag) was unstoppable throughout the entire event and she deserved the victory. This was my best result so far this season and I hope this event remains on the calendar for years because the waves are spectacular and it was a great experience for all of the surfers that participated in the contest.”
Buitendag’s path to the Finals at the Movistar Women’s Pro was filled with obstacles. She defeated Philippa Anderson (AUS), 20, in the Quarter-Finals and followed by taking out the event favorite, 2004 ASP Women’s Tour champion, Sofia Mulanovich (PER) with his best performance on the last day, almost beating the records of the Peruvian in the semifinals.
“It was an excellent contest with good waves all week and I’d like to thank the Peruvian fans for all of the support they showed me,” said Mulanovich. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it to the Finals, but congratulations to Bianca (Buitendag) who surfed well during the whole contest and deserved to be in the Finals. I’m sure this 3rd place finish gives me some good ASP Star ranking points and now it’s time to start thinking about the event next week at Huntington Beach.”
The Movistar Women’s Pro was event number 6 (out of 11) of the 2012 ASP Women’s World Star Series. The next event will be held from August 9-12 at Oceanside, California, right after the final event of the 2012 ASP Women’s Tour during July 30-August 5th at Huntington Beach. The remaining ASP 6-Star events will be held in Europe on consecutive weeks. The first will be held in Spain from September 12-16 and the following two will be in Portugal, in Estoril from September 21-23 and the last event will be on the Azores Islands from September 27-30, where the top six athletes on the ASP World Star Series will qualify for the 2013 ASP Women’s Tour.
The 2012 ASP Movistar Women’s Pro presented by Rip Curl and Petrolera Sapet and is brought to you by Nosotras, Sony, Powerade, Tasa, Alojamiento Peru Hosting, Barena, Star Peru, Burn, Ron Cartavio, San Jose Rent a Car, Tablas Wayo Whilar, Xtreme Fujita Japan, Cirujano Roberto Valdivia, Mapfre Seguros and Estructuras Aro.
MOVISTAR WOMEN´S PRO FINAL RESULT:
1st – Bianca Buitendag (ZAF) – 15.00 (8.0+7.0) – US$ 8,000 and 3.500 points
2nd – Alana Blanchard (HAW) – 12.90 (7.9+5.0) – US$ 4,000 and 2.640 points
MOVISTAR WOMEN´S PRO SEMI-FINALS RESULTS – 3th place – US$ 1,900 and 2.080 points:
SF 1: Bianca Buitendag (ZAF) 16.25 def. Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 15.50
SF 2: Alana Blanchard (HAW) 13.95 def. Sarah Baum (ZAF) 11.40
CURRENT ASP WOMEN´S WORLD RANKING – TOP 10 (After Movistar Women´s Pro):
01: Courtney Conlogue (USA) – 9.730 points
02: Malia Manuel (HAW) – 8.280
03: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) – 7.000
04: Sage Erickson (USA) – 6.750
05: Bianca Buitendag (ZAF) – 6.663
06: Rebecca Woods (AUS) – 6.530
07: Pauline Ado (FRA) – 5.980
08: Paige Hareb (NZL) – 5.910
09: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) – 5.640
10: Alana Blanchard (HAW) – 5.400
