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| Bianca Buitendag on the charge to victory. (Photo: ASP) |
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I was back paging through a Zigzag Magazine the other day and they had the surfers rated by the other surfers in SA. Bianca Buitendag was there, but she had Sarah Baum ahead of her as best Junior Lady and she was not even on the next surfer to make the premier tour list. I remember scratching my head in confusion thinking, how could the pro surfers think this girl is not our best bet at a World Champion in the next few years? She is absolutely caning it! Just to back up my opinion, she went and defeated a loaded field of the world's best female surfers at the Movistar Pro in Peru this weekend. The win moved her into 5th place on the women's world rankings. Sarah Baum did well to make the semi finals. Alana Blanchard, the world's hottest surfer, did well to make the final, but she had no chance against Bianca...
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
