OP Newport Classic: Day 3 Wrap Up
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By: Alex Wilson

After a day of fog and insane barrel rides yesterday, Day 3 of the OP Newport Classic was back on again early this morning. Everyone was smiling in the contest area when they found no fog socking in the coast, and with nice lefts still reeling of the jetty at chest-high-to-well-overhead it promised to be another good day. The clean peeling lines were a touch less consistent than the previous two days, but considering the level of consistency we've seen, that was almost a welcome relief.

The first few heats were semi-slow, but in the fourth heat of the morning, Heat 15, things got kick started in a big way. Sitting off the jetty, Aussie Cory Garcia picked off a big open faced left and linked up a series of driving highline arcs and lip bashes for a 9.0. Then after getting back out to the top of the point, Garcia nabbed another set wave that ran through to the inside bank, bashing his way to the sand for a heat-locking 8.0. “Those two waves were awesome,” said a smiling Garcia, “I was lucky to just happen to get the two good sets of the heat and my board was going really well, so I'm stoked.”

Heat 16 was hotly contested, despite being relatively wave starved, and it saw lower scores but tons of position changing. Then, in the final few minutes, a big set came through and Chaz Chidester, the grom, nabbed the last wave. Needing a 5.3 he went to work, posting a 6.25 to make the turn behind 1 st place finisher Brandon Tipton.

The first heat of the Round of 64 was another nail biter, and this one was taken down in spectacular fashion by Australia 's Dave Reardon-Smith. Showing up late, Reardon-Smith paddled out with only about 13-minutes remaining but managed to post a 7.85 with time to spare. Driving through a big tube, racking up a backside slam and then connecting to a huge floater on the inside, Dave paddled back out looking winded and in desperate need of another score. He found it with less than 20-seconds left, ducking through a little inside tube for a 5.85, a score that gave him the win and helped him dodge the “I showed up late for my heat,” bullet. “My heart was in my throat out there,” said Reardon-Smith afterwards. “I was just thinking about how much time I had left and then at the end I thought Red was going to spin on that last wave, but it had a bump on it and it swung wide to me.”

With the 4 th Round already seeing good action, the 2 nd Heat hit the water, and it was dominated by a composed-looking Justin Miller who controlled the top slot from the go. With a big snap followed by a long gurgling barrel that spat him out on the inside, Miller posted a 8.75 on his first ride and then backed that up to handily take the win, with Hank Gaskell nabbing a 6.9 at the horn to claim the transfer position.

In heat 5, Aamion Goodwin found a few more Newport tubes to go with the mind-blower he drove through yesterday, and he advanced into the next Round in 1 st place with Casey Brown nipping at his heels in 2 nd .

Heat 8 was a scorcher courtesy of Nate Curran, who pig-dogged though a wave he nabbed on the south side of the 56 th Street jetty. Connecting that ride past the rocks, Curran emerged on the inside for a trio of bashes on the corner before immediately turning around and paddling into another wave, the only scoring right of the day, to boost a big hands-free frontside air. His scores were a 9.85 and a 5.75 respectively. “I had to go on that one,” said Curran of his 9.85 tube across the top of the jetty, “and I was stoked to make it out.” Blake Howard, who advanced from Heat 8 in 2 nd , was also on fire, with a combined heat score of 15.1, just a fraction shy of Curran's 15.60.

A bombing, glassy and beautifully clear set poured through at the beginning of Heat 12, which a fitting start to a heat chockfull of gorgeous waves. Heath Walker hooked his way into the transfer slot with on his backhand, while Travis Mellem picked up 1 st on a draining left hand tube ride.

Sean Ward looked like he was charging a freesurf in Heat 13, blazing through his competition with a vicious backside attack on multiple waves. In his heat winning performance, Sean went vertical with several critical snaps that earned him a 7.75 and an 8.75.

With the waves going from good to mind blowing, and the 56 th Street Jetty looking more like Pipe than Newport , the afternoon rolled on. Heat 14 was both bizarre and amazing. Spinning on what may have been the set wave of the day; Che Stang threw a big fan, hooked into the pocket and then stalled for a massive draining closeout tube, a gutsy ride that earned him a 10 from the judges. But with no backup wave at all, Che was bumped into 3 rd by Shane Upchurch, who skidded into another spitter right at the horn, getting blown out for his own 10. Oddly enough, with Che and Shane each posting 10's in the heat, neither competitor claimed the top slot. That position was occupied by Anthony Petruso who rode into the next round on a pair of 8's with a solid performance that got somewhat lost amongst the barrel frenzy.

Asher Nolan was ducking for cover in his heat, Heat 15, as he slashed his way into his own gaping barrel, driving through and linking more turns on the corner for the third perfect 10 in just two heats! Asher, solidly in control throughout with a 7.5 as a backup score advanced in 1st, while Chaz Chidester, the grom, made it through on the merits of his last ride for the second heat in a row.

Heat 16 was the final match up of the Round of 64, and it was taken down by Hawaii 's Jesse Merle-Jones.

With big, yet increasingly bumpy lefts still pouring in over the bar, the women hit the water for their Round of 24, and for the most part they elected to pick off the nice midsized runners that were connecting on the corner. Heat 1 was dominated by Shea Hodges who earned an 8.5 on her high scoring wave with a pair of big forehand whacks, while in Heat 2; Diana Mattison found a few cover-ups on the inside to take the win.

As the sun sank towards the sea, Day 3 of the OP Newport Classic came to a close, and with heads still spinning, competitors, spectators, announcers and judges alike all left the beach with images of blazing tube rides still running through their heads. With the finals approaching, and a healthy swell still in the water, everyone was gearing up for more. Also in store this weekend is the amateur rounds which will kick off tomorrow.