Whatshot
Pyramids Beach Swells Up
Pyramids Beach Swells Up
Pyramids Beach, Western Australia and the Mandurah Pro World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS) 1000 continues in clean but tricky conditions at Pyramids Beach with Men's and Women's quarterfinalists decided in 1-2 feet swells.
Surfers looked energised after a lay day yesterday and performed strongly under light and variable early morning winds. Making the most of limited opportunity and with hopes of a new swell arriving for finals day, competitors from across the globe battled hard to secure their spot in the final eight.
Thomas Cervi (Noosa, AUS) won the opening heat of the day with some high speed and smooth surfing. Setting the tone for a great day, Cervi opened with a 7.00 (from a possible 10) and backed it up with a 6.00 to finish on a combined total of 13.00 (from a possible 20).
As one of the bigger surfers in the field, Callum Robson (Evans Head, AUS) milked everything from the small waves on offer, powering his way through to the quarterfinals thanks to a 12.90 combined total.
As the remaining international competitor in the Men's event, Japan's Kaiki Yamanaka put on one of the performances of the day, ripping on his backhand to post an impressive 13.95 combined heat total. Yamanaka has returned to the Mandurah Pro for the second year and he loves the area and Western Australia.
Alysse Cooper (Manly, AUS) overcame former World Championship surfers Felicity Palmateer (Burleigh Heads, AUS), and Claire Bevilacqua (ITA) to win her round two heat. Cooper went from fourth to first thanks to consecutive waves, which included a 7.50 and a 5.60, finishing on 13.10 (from a possible 20).
"I struggled out there for sure, I got one ok one before realising the sort of waves I should be on," said Cooper. "I'm looking forward to tomorrow and hopefully a few more waves."
Mikaela Greene (Yallingup, AUS) used past experience at Pyramids to help her claim victory.