Rip Curl Pro pres. by Snickers<\/p>\n
Stop No. 2 of 11 on the 2008 ASP World Tour <\/p>\n
Rip Curl Women\u0092s Pro pres. by Ford Fiesta<\/p>\n
Stop No. 2 of 8 on the 2008 ASP Women\u0092s World Tour<\/p>\n
Bells Beach, Victoria, Australia <\/p>\n
March 18 \u0096 29, 2008<\/p>\n
Stephanie Gilmore Wins 2008 Rip Curl Women\u0092s Pro pres. by Ford Fiesta<\/p>\n
\nPictured: Reigning ASP Women’s World Champion Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) came from behind with five minutes remaining to defeat current World No. 1 Sofia Mulanovich and claim her second consecutive Rip Curl Women’s Pro title.<\/p>\n
BELLS BEACH, Australia (Monday, Mar. 24, 2008) \u0096 Reigning ASP Women\u0092s World Champion Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) has defeated 2004 ASP Women\u0092s World Champion Sofia Mulanovich (PER) to claim the 2008 Rip Curl Women\u0092s Pro presented by Ford Fiesta in classic four-to-six foot (2 metre) surf at Bells Beach today.<\/p>\n
Event No. 2 of 8 on the 2008 ASP Women\u0092s World Tour, the Rip Curl Women\u0092s Pro final was a repeat showdown of last year\u0092s event, where Gilmore and Mulanovich squared off for the first time at Bells Beach. Today\u0092s victory marks the second consecutive Rip Curl Women\u0092s Pro win for Gilmore, who jumps from equal 9th to No. 2 on the ratings.\u0093I\u0092d like to admit that that is probably the best performance I\u0092ve ever put on in my career,\u0094 Gilmore said. \u0093It feels absolutely amazing to ring the bell for a second time in a row. I really tried to brush off the first event and come down to Bells with a fresh head. We\u0092ve had classic Bells conditions all morning, to be able to showcase your talent out in such good waves with just one other girl is an incredible thing.\u0094<\/p>\n
Although Mulanovich held the lead for the majority of the final, Gilmore stroked into a solid Bells righthander with five minutes remaining, stylishly weaving through floaters and top turns to scalp the day\u0092s high single-wave score of a 9.33 out of a possible 10. Gilmore took the lead and Mulanovich could not keep the Australian from claiming her second consecutive Rip Curl Women\u0092s Pro title.<\/p>\n
\u0093I don\u0092t know how I did that on that wave,\u0094 Gilmore said. \u0093Sofia (Mulanovich) had been surfing so well all day and to come back from such big scores, it just feels amazing. I was feeling a bit nervous and I knew I needed a big score. My boards have been feeling good all week, so I just put everything I had into it, and it paid off.\u0094<\/p>\n
Mulanovich, who took out the season-opener on the Gold Coast of Australia, saw her ratings lead on the 2008 ASP Women\u0092s World Tour strengthen today with her impressive Runner-Up finish at the Rip Curl Women\u0092s Pro.<\/p>\n
\u0093I\u0092m feeling really good, and to lose to Steph (Gilmore) like that isn\u0092t a bad thing,\u0094 Mulanovich said. \u0093She was ripping, and yeah, a first and second to start the year out is what you need to do to win world titles. I\u0092m just happy that I\u0092ve had a strong start to the season and I\u0092m looking forward to the rest of the year.\u0094<\/p>\n
Finishing runner-up to Gilmore in last season\u0092s Rip Curl Women\u0092s Pro as well as the 2007 ASP Women\u0092s World Title race, Mulanovich has set herself apart as the No. 1 challenger to Gilmore\u0092s current crown.<\/p>\n
\u0093Steph and I seem to be making lots of finals together, so it is exciting,\u0094 Mulanovich said. \u0093She\u0092s a really great champion and I think it\u0092s good for women\u0092s surfing that we can have these kinds of competitive rivalries.”<\/p>\n
Layne Beachley (AUS), 7X ASP Women\u0092s World Champion and 3X past winner of the ASP Women\u0092s World Tour event at Bells Beach (\u009294, \u009298, \u009299), looked solid in her Quarterfinal victory over Samantha Cornish (AUS) this morning, but a crucial priority mistake in their Semifinal bout saw the legendary Australian fall to eventual champ Gilmore.<\/p>\n
\u0093I\u0092m really pissed off right now,\u0094 Beachley said. \u0093I had priority on that one set, and then I second-guessed myself and Steph (Gilmore) got it, and that was my undoing. Then I had the wave at the end and I normally thrive under pressure, but for some reason, my foot slipped off and that was it.\u0094<\/p>\n
Beachley, now rated No. 5 in the world, collects an equal 3rd place finish to join an equal 5th from the season opener of the 2008 ASP Women\u0092s World Tour season, and will look ahead to the next event to strength her campaign for an unprecedented eighth ASP Women\u0092s World Title.<\/p>\n
\u0093Equal 3rd is a good result, but to come so close to a victory when it\u0092s been so long, is just really frustrating,\u0094 Beachley said. \u0093One of these days, I\u0092m going to get these grommets back. I\u0092ll definitely head to the next event with lots of confidence and I\u0092ll look to make another dent there.\u0094<\/p>\n
Amee Donohoe (AUS), who posted a sensational last-minute Quarterfinal win over Claire Bevilacqua (AUS) earlier in the day, was unable to find her rhythm against Mulanovich in their Semifinal clash and collects her second equal 3rd place finish of 2008.<\/p>\n
\u0093It\u0092s good to get another 3rd, but a bit frustrating that I couldn\u0092t crack a final,\u0094 Donohoe said. \u0093Everyone wants to do well here as Bells Beach is such an amphitheatre and we all want to perform. There\u0092s always next year though, and I\u0092ll just focus on the next event from here out.\u0094<\/p>\n
The 2008 ASP Women\u0092s World Tour will now break until July, when the ASP Top 17 will meet again in Brazil.<\/p>\n
While the Rip Curl Women\u0092s Pro has completed, the Rip Curl Pro presented by Snickers has yet to finish with the ASP Top 45 gearing up for a showdown of their own at Bells Beach. <\/p>\n
Round 3 of the Rip Curl Pro pres. by Snickers commenced at noon. Event officials are aiming to complete as many heats of the round as possible this afternoon. Another release covering the men’s portion of proceedings will be distributed this evening.<\/p>\n
The Rip Curl Pro pres. by Snickers will be webcast LIVE via www.aspworldtour.com <\/p>\n
Rip Curl Women\u0092s Pro pres. by Ford Fiesta Final Results:<\/p>\n
1 \u0096 Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 16.50<\/p>\n
2 \u0096 Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 16.17<\/p>\n
Rip Curl Women\u0092s Pro pres. by Ford Fiesta Semifinals Results:<\/p>\n
SF 1: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 14.50 def. Layne Beachley (AUS) 10.17<\/p>\n
SF 2: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 13.67 def. Amee Donohoe (AUS) 7.34<\/p>\n
Rip Curl Women\u0092s Pro pres. by Ford Fiesta Quarterfinals Results:<\/p>\n
QF 1: Layne Beachley (AUS) 16.33 def. Samantha Cornish (AUS) 11.00<\/p>\n
QF 2: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 11.83 def. Megan Abubo (HAW) 8.83<\/p>\n
QF 3: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 16.17 def. Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS) 12.16<\/p>\n
QF 4: Amee Donohoe (AUS) 10.50 def. Claire Bevilacqua (AUS) 10.33<\/p>\n
Current 2008 ASP Women\u0092s World Tour Rankings After Rip Curl Women\u0092s Pro:<\/p>\n
1. Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 2172 points<\/p>\n
2. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 1560 points<\/p>\n
3. Samantha Cornish (AUS) 1524 points<\/p>\n
4. Amee Donohoe (AUS) 1512 points<\/p>\n
5. Layne Beachley (AUS) 1308 points<\/p>\n
6. Rebecca Woods (AUS) 912 points<\/p>\n
6. Megan Abubo (AUS) 912 points<\/p>\n
6. Claire Bevilacqua (AUS) 912 points<\/p>\n
9. Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS) 732 points<\/p>\n
9. Julia De La Rosa (PER) 732 points<\/p>\n
11. Silvana Lima (BRA) 720 points<\/p>\n
11. Rosanne Hodge (ZAF) 720 points<\/p>\n
11. Jacqueline Silva (BRA) 720 points<\/p>\n
11. Serena Brooke (AUS) 720 points<\/p>\n
11. Nicola Atherton (AUS) 720 points<\/p>\n
16. Melanie Bartels (HAW) 552 points<\/p>\n
17. Melanie Redman-Carr (AUS) 540 points<\/p>\n
17. Karina Petroni (USA) 540 points<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rip Curl Pro pres. by Snickers Stop No. 2 of 11 on the 2008 ASP World Tour Rip Curl Women\u0092s Pro pres. by Ford Fiesta Stop No. 2 of 8 on the 2008 ASP Women\u0092s World Tour Bells Beach, Victoria, Australia March 18 \u0096 29, 2008 Stephanie Gilmore Wins 2008 Rip Curl Women\u0092s Pro pres. … Continue reading “Stephanie Gilmore Wins 2008 Rip Curl Women\u0092s Pro pres”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[24],"class_list":["post-13644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-asp-surfing-news","tag-surfing-news-archive"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13644"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13644\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}