Semifinalists Decided At The
3-Star Costa Rica PLA Pro
BOCA BARRANCA Puntarenas - The top seeds of
the Association of Surfing Professionals
(ASP) Longboard Qualifying Series (LQS)
3-Star Costa Rica PLA Pro unleashed massive
scores at Costa Rica’s flawless lefthand
pointbreak of Boca Barranca to decide the
men’s and women’s Semifinalists in
two-to-four foot (1 metre) surf.
Surfers competing on the ASP LQS compete in
each of their respective regions in an
attempt to earn the valuable ratings points
on offer to eventually qualify for the ASP
World Longboard Tour. Taylor Jensen
(Oceanside, CA), 26, was one top seed to
detonate massive scores on the roping
lefthanders of Boca Barranca, notching in
the highest heat total of the entire event,
a near-perfect 17.60 out of 20 in his
opening heat before clinching his
Quarterfinals heat as well.
“This is my 12th or 13th time coming to this
wave and I usually stay at Dennis’ (Bourg)
house, so I feel really comfortable out
here. It’s almost like a home break.”
Although Jensen is a two-time ASP North
America LQS Champion, the regular-footer has
been spending the majority of his time in
Australia, but is still returning to the
Americas for the major events this year.
“I’ve been spending most of my time in
Australia and doing the LQS events there,
but since this event is a 3-Star, I was
hoping I could get a good result here and
catch up on points,” Jensen said. “We also
have the 6-Star coming up, so I’ll be doing
that one as well.”
Kai Sallas (Waikiki, HI), 28, was another
top seed to stamp his authority as a title
contender at this year’s Costa Rica PLA Pro
by detonating the highest single-wave score
of the event, a 9.50 out of 10, for massive
turns and critical noserides is his Round 1
heat before claiming his Quarterfinals heat
win as well.
“The last few days, I’ve been watching it
and lots of the ones that look good end up
closing out, so I was looking for ones that
almost looked like they had no wall at all,”
Sallas said “The waves are really soft out
there, so it allowed me to noseride really
easily.”
Sallas is also no stranger to the contest
venue and knows the wave’s potential with
more swell in the water. “This is my third
time to Boca Barranca,” Sallas said. “This
wave is so rippable and when it gets big, it
pumps.” Leah Dawson (North Shore, HAW), 23,
took top honors in the women’s event,
blasting a solid 9.10 out of 10 while
capitalizing on her specific wave selection
to navigate through the inconsistent morning
conditions.
“The waves are incredible when they come,
it’s just a little inconsistent out there,”
Dawson said. “That one wave was literally
the best wave I’ve seen all week and luckily
I caught it, because it was the only set in
our heat. I started off with a nose-ride and
then got a few solid turns in and was able
to get the good score.”
Costa Rica PLA Pro Action will pick back up
at 6am local time and crown both men’s and
women’s champions by day’s end.
Costa Rica PLA Pro Men’s Quarterfinals
Results:
Heat 1: Josh Constable (AUS) 17.50, Rodrigo
Sphaier (BRA) 15.53, Cody Ulrich (USA) 9.76,
Terry Gillard (USA) 9.63
Heat 2: Kai Sallas (HAW) 14.77, Steve Newton
(USA) 12.54, Felipe Lacerda (BRA) 10.70,
Blaine Lewis (USA) 6.50
Heat 3: Cole Robbins (USA) 12.40, Ty Roach
(USA) 11.16, Ronald Reyes (CRI) 11.00, Mike
Stidham (USA) 8.83
Heat 4: Taylor Jensen (USA) 15.43, Tony
Silvagni (USA) 11.34, Jim Hogan (USA) 8.27,
Brett Robbins (USA) 6.47
Costa Rica PLA Pro Men’s Round of 32
Results:
Heat 1: Rodrigo Sphaier (BRA) 16.27, Josh
Constable (AUS) 13.67, Danny Ryder (USA) ns,
Bucky Barry (USA) ns
Heat 2: Terry Gillard (USA) 10.95, Cody
Ulrich (USA) 7.26, Marc Hauser (USA) 3.53,
Carlos Bahia (BRA) ns
Heat 3: Steve Newton (USA) 8.84, Felipe
Lacerda (BRA) 7.73, Eli Gillis (USA) 6.20,
Gabriel Vitorino (BRA) 5.67
Heat 4: Kai Sallas (HAW) 15.00, Blaine Lewis
(USA) 11.17, Armando Colucci (VEN) 6.66,
Cory Hartwyk (USA) 6.50
Heat 5: Ty Roach (USA) 8.86, Mike Stidham
(USA) 8.83, Brett Heimstra (USA) 5.87, Artie
Castro (USA) ns
Heat 6: Cole Robbins (USA) 15.50, Ronald
Reyes (CRI) 10.34, Dennis Bourg (USA) 9.44,
Gabriel Nascimento (BRA) 8.07
Heat 7: Taylor Jensen (USA) 17.60, Jim Hogan
(USA) 11.70, Jerry Swearingen (USA) 11.50,
Matt Elias-Calles (USA) 6.10
Heat 8: Tony Silvagni (USA) 17.00, Brett
Robbins (USA) 8.13, Rafael Cavalcanti (BRA)
8.13
Costa Rica PLA Pro Women’s Quarterfinals
Results
Heat 1: Leah Dawson (HAW) 13.07, Kaitlin
Maguire (USA) 11.84, Lindsay Steinreide
(USA) 11.33, Tory Gilkerson (USA) 6.26
Heat 2: Nava Young (AUS) 10.66, Jennifer
Smith (USA) 9.17, Erin Lewis (USA) 8.04
Heat 3: Kelly Nicely (USA) 12.00, Amy King
(USA) 8.83, Anneke Barrie (USA) 7.06
Heat 4: Summer Romero (USA) 12.00, Kate
Easton (USA) 9.87, Claire Norman (AUS) 6.43
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