Surf Cat

You never know when the ocean will deliver – and when it won’t, just when you need it the most.

Santa Ana’s Courtney Conlogue, who last year won the Vans US Open of Surfing, and San Clemente’s Griffin Colapinto were stopped short of the podium after the ocean went flat with long lulls during their heats, offering little chance to score and catch up to their opponents during their final-day heats.

Conlogue fell to longtime rival Sage Erickson, of Ojai, in the finals, with Colapinto knocked out of his semifinal heat by Liam O’Brien, an Australian who eventually lost to event winner Yago Dora of Brazil.

The weekend action kicked off on Saturday with San Clemente’s Kade Matson earning the men’s junior US Open title, with Oceanside surfer Caitlin Simmers nabbing the women’s junior win.

On Sunday, the main event got underway with 4-to 6-foot surf as a south swell that showed up a day earlier holding through the finals day. In the first heat of the morning, Conlogue went up against Florida surfer Caroline Marks, who lives in San Clemente, both World Tour surfers putting on a show during a nail-biting quarterfinal heat.

Conlogue stumbled on her first wave, but her second wave nailed two big turns that earned a 5.67, a second wave giving her a 6.0 on the scoreboard.

Marks wasn’t going down, doing two massive turns on a wave to earn a big 7.67, to back up a 6.43, a score that turned the heat and giving her the lead. Conlogue needed a 7.11 to advance.

Marks let her opponent go on a mid-size wave and Conlogue capitalized on it, boosting a front-side air with her fins flying to the air, with just under two minutes on the clock, getting a 7.43 to take the win for a total score of 14.43, just slightly over Mark’s 14.10

Erickson advanced to the semifinals after earning an 11.36 over Hawaii’s Malia Manuel’s 8.83 in the quarterfinal match up. She talked about having support from friends and family who came down from the Ventura area to Huntington Beach to support her.

“I’m feeling good, and I just love them so much. I still have to surf smart at the end of the day,” she said. “I can be happy, but I still need to rip.”

In the men’s quarterfinals, Brazilian Alex Ribeiro and Connor O’Leary, of Australia, had a firework finish, with Ribeiro leading the heat. O’Leary gets a wave with under a minute on the clock, taking several turns toward the pier, even shooting through pilings and doing a turn on the northside of the pier, to earn a 7.2 score and take the lead – for just a few seconds.

As O’Leary was riding his final wave, Ribeiro caught the next wave, doing several turns to earn a 6.34 to take the win.

Colapinto bested Brazilian Adriano de Souza in the quarterfinals. Colapinto took to the air early in the heat, battling the whitewash after a big aerial maneuver but was able to  stay on the surfboard to complete the ride, putting a 6.83 on the scoreboard.

The Orange County surfer slipped into a smaller wave for his second score, doing three big turns before throwing his fins to the air for his second move, earning a back-up score of 5.83, while de Souza sat without a score on the board.

De Souza’s patience paid off, taking off on a big wave and throwing huge turns toward the pier, posting a high 8.17. Colapinto improved his score with a 6.33, and with priority, he sat right next to de Souza to try and block him from earning as score.

De Souza took a small wave, taking big turns but stumbling on the finish. Colapinto took the next wave, doing a huge air and pulling it off, finishing with an inside turn to earn a 7.10 to earn a spot into the semifinals.

In the women’s semifinals, Conlogue’s heat against Brisa Hennessy started slow, with no waves taken in the first 10 minutes forcing a restart of the 30-minute heat. Hennessy put the first score on the board with a 5.83 to kick off the heat.

Conlogue followed with a right-hander, two big turns and throwing an inside air to finish the wave and earn a 6.43, backing with a 4.83. Hennessy posts two mid-range scores on the board for a 5.83 and 5.53 to take the lead, Conlogue only needing a 4.93 to overtake her opponent.

Conlogue waited patiently, a set wave heading her way as she did two big turns toward the pier, going through the pilings and doing another big hack on the northside of the pier – earning her a 6.43 to take the lead and win the heat.

Erickson earned a high 8.50, her opponent Tatiana Weston-Webb getting a 5.83. Erickson backed it up with a 7.83 for a high 16.33, earning her a spot in the finals against Conlogue, trying to repeat a win she had at the event in 2017.

She looked forward to matching up with Conlogue in the finals, who she calls her first real rivalry, opponents who have matched up since they were young up-and-coming surfers.

“She’s so good, she brings the best out of my surfing,” Erickson said.

Dora posted big scores on the board against Ribeiro in the semi-finals, who with under a minute on the clock took a wave and flew to the sky, punting high above the wave and landing in the flats, earning a 9.33 — but not enough to give him a spot in the finals.

Colapinto’s semi-final heat against O’Brien started slow, the ocean again going flat, prompting the second restart of the day after neither competitors took rides at the 10-minute mark.

O’Brien posted a 5.0 and 6.17, leaving Colapinto with no points and waiting to earn a score by the half-way point, with O’Brien bettering his score with a 7.33.

Knowing he needed a score, Colaptino went for a wave, getting stuck behind the wave and in the whitewash, earning a 5.5. Another wave allows Colapinto to do a big air, climbing the whitewash for a second air, judges awarding him with a 5.27, still needing an 8.0 to overtake his opponent.

The ocean again went flat as the clock ticked down, not allowing Colapinto a chance to score, eliminating him from the event.

As the women’s 35-minute final got underway, waves suddenly showed – Conlogue and Erickson wasting no time putting scores on the board.

Conlogue earned a 6.5, Erickson taking a wave that ended under the pier for a 7.23. Conlogue weaved her board up and down the wave, throwing big spray, going through the pilings and finishing with a big turn on the northside of the pier to post a 6.43 to take the lead.

Erickson took a left toward the pier, doing a late drop and snapping into the wave’s pocket and doing several more turns to earn an 8.17 to take the lead.

Conlogue needed an 8.9 score, the fickle ocean one again going flat during the end of the heat as the clock ticked down. A few smaller waves came through just before the buzzer, but Conlogue stumbled, allowing Erickson to snag the win.

It was a pivotal win for Erickson, who earned not only a $30,000 check but also big points she needed for her attempt to re-qualify for the World Tour.

In the men’s final, Dora dominated the entire heat, posting high scores with his high-flying surfing, a 7.43 and then an 8.60, to overtake O’Brien, who couldn’t catch up to his opponent. Dora splashed the ocean, both hugging, before the Brazilian was hoisted over the crowd after his victory.

The Junior event on Saturday featured  fellow San Clemente surfer Jett Schilling in the finals, who ended in fourth place, along with Japan surfer Joh Azuchi and Australia’s Caleb Tancred. Matson’s win was the first from a North American surfer since 2015, a win the 16-year-old  earned after nabbing a near-perfect 9.0 early in the heat and a second score of 6.17 as the clock ticked down.

Simmers’ final also featured San Clemente surfer Kirra Pinkerton, who is raining WSL World Junior Champion, who ended the event with a third-place result. The 13-year-old surfer Simmers earned an 8.53 in the dying minutes to secure the win over her opponents.

In the Vans Joel Tudor Duct Tape Invitational, Florida’s Justin Quintal and Hawaii’s Kelis Kaleoppa won the longboard title. More info: vansusopenofsurfing.com