OP Newport Classic: Day 4 Wrap Up
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By: Alex Wilson

Under overcast but quickly clearing skies, Day 4 of the OP Newport Classic opened today with chest-to-head-high conditions. Glassy, wedgey faces were on tap with some right handers regularly mixed in for the first time in four-days. Due to the fog delays earlier this week, organizers were forced to run double contest areas for the most of the morning today, with the Men's and Women's ‘QS divisions out in front of the 56 th Street Jetty and the Pro-Am Divisions running their opening heats just up the beach.

In the Men's ‘QS, the day kicked of with the 1 st heat of the Round of 32, and in its opening minutes Magnum Martinez found his way through a deep one on his backhand, getting blown out on the inside for a screaming roundhouse cutback that earned a 9.25. But as Magnum was left looking for a solid backup score to go with his 9, Dave Reardon-Smith went to work with a couple of midrange scores to claim the top slot. With a nice tube ride that he connected for his own cutback, Reardon-Smith nabbed a 6.75 to start, and then backed that score up with a 5.9 on a big clean frontside air reverse for a 5.9.

In the second heat of the round, Hank Gaskell looked strong, throwing huge fans on his backhand. His performance earned him a high 7 and a low 8, a pair of scores that were more than enough for the top slot, with Austin Ware advancing in 2 nd .

In Heat 3, Blake Howard nabbed a nice backhand barrel on a wedging right, emerging near the jetty to lay down a big roundhouse cutback. That wave racked up an 8.5, a score Howard topped on his next ride with a 9.5 on another tube-ride-to-multiple-slam-combo. “I went out with a game plan to get the best waves I could,” said Howard later. “I like to get barreled, and there were some really good ones out there so I guess it worked out.”

Jesse Merle-Jones paddled out for his heat, Heat 8, with 10-stitches in his head from a gash he received during competition yesterday. Sporting a slick-looking Mohawk, Jesse proudly displayed the scar on his scalp. Hair and wounds aside, Merle-Jones dominated the heat, claiming 1 st with his blend of big, fast, gouging hacks and deep tube rides, while Asher Nolan advanced behind him in 2nd.

Next up was the Men's Quarter Finals, and in the opening heat of that round, Casey Brown threw a sliding under-the-hook snap on a foamy corner after driving through an absurdly deep backdoor barrel for an 8.25. That score was the anchor for his 1 st place advance into the Semis, with Hank Gaskell making the turn in 2 nd . “I had to catch up to it,” said Brown of his backdoor tube, “but once I got in there it sped up and I was pumping so hard, just going so fast to get through it. But I made it,” he said with a smile, “I have a wave just like this one in front of my house in Hawaii, so that really helped.”

Heat 2 of the Quarters was claimed by a scorching Nathaniel Curran, while Heat 3, a low scorer, saw Brett Simpson and Asher Nolan advance in 1 st and 2 nd respectively.

Heat 4 was a barn burner, with New Jersey 's Andrew Gesler claiming 1 st in the last few seconds by grabbing a huge tube-ride-to-frontside-slam that earned him an 8.5. “I was out there stressing,” said Gesler on the beach later. “In the last two-minutes I went from 1 st to 2 nd to 3rd, and I thought that was it, but then that wave just popped up out of nowhere! I tried to fade on it, and pull in, and then it threw out over me and I saw it just open up wide. Then, when I came out, I was staring at this big section just saying to myself, ‘I'm gonna bash this thing.' Luckily I was able to hang on when I did. That felt good.”

After Gesler's gutsy 3 rd to 1 st finish at the horn, the Men's Quarters came to a close, and with the Semis, and then ultimately the Finals scheduled for tomorrow, Sunday should be a big day on the beach in Newport . On the line for the men will be $10,000, a handful of WQS ratings points, as well as place-ranking in the Macy's California Trifecta Series, an event element that links the Bodyglove Surfbout, the OP Newport Classic, and the O'Neill Cold Water Classic in Santa Cruz under a common banner. With $5,000 slated to be given to the competitor that advances the furthest in all three events, it should be interesting to see which guy will come though with the best run.

Next up was the Women's Quarter Finals, and in Heat 1 Hawaiian Melanie Bartels came out with guns blazing. Posting a 7.0, and then an 8.0, Melanie took down the top slot in her heat. “The waves were awesome out there,” said Bartels, “I don't think I've ever seen California get this sick.” Then, commenting on her performance and her hopes for a good run in the finals, Bartels explained that this contest could be pivotal in her quest to stay on the Women's WCT next year. “It's really important that I do well tomorrow in the Finals. My results here could be a make or break thing for me on whether I make CT for next year. I mean, it depends on how I do in the last few events, but a solid performance here could make a huge difference in the end.”

In Heat 3 of the Women's Quarters, Kyla Langen looked solid. Going vertical on several big backside slams, Langen racked up a pair of 6's to take down the win. Heat 4, which was won by Maili Rohner, was the last of the day for the women, who's Semis and Finals are also scheduled to run tomorrow.

Because of the OP Newport Classic's connection with, and commitment to the local community, the main contest site was reserved for the Pro-Am divisions for the rest of the afternoon. And if the noise factor on the beach can be used as a gage, the cheering and hollering was a direct indicator that the spectators were amazed with the action. Competitors from the Men's, Masters, Seniors, High School, Middle School, Girls and Elementary divisions all threw down in the glassy and reeling conditions, and with all sorts of sponsor giveaways going on in the sand, things were kept light and fun for all. With the Pro-Am Final's slated for tomorrow as well, it should be one heated exchange after another in Newport on Sunday.