Luck Be a Wave: Day-Two Rundown and Scores from The Nike Lowers Pro

Day Two of the Nike Lowers Pro Association of Surfing Professionals Prime event once again saw glassy conditions, with waves ranging between 2 and 4 feet at Lower Trestles at San Onofre State Beach on Wednesday. Every once in a while, set waves sneaked through amid the steady roll of inconsistent swell.

ASP World Tour surfer Jadson Andre (Brazil), 21, and local San Clemente talent Tanner Gudauskas, 22, as well as Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina, 17, scored some of the highest-point rides today.

Andre earned the highest score of the day, a 9.87 out of 10, on a left-hander utilizing every pocket possible with powerful carves and his signature front-side air-reverse, said ASP’s press release.

“I knew it was going to be a tough heat, because Caio [Ibelli] is one of the best juniors in the world, and Miguel [Pupo] has been surfing so well lately, and Austin [Ware] has been on tour for a long time, and I knew I had to go big,” Andre told ASP.

Heat three in the second round saw local San Clemente talent Gudauskas once again score another solid ride with an intense lay-back snap resulting in a total 9.63, one of the highest scores for the day.

“I really was just out to pasture when that wave came in, and everyone slid right because I think they were looking to go left, and I just got this chip from out the back,” Gudauskas told ASP. “I feel like i got lucky with the waves I got.”

The sixth heat of the day saw a loaded heat with local talent and tour veteran and top scorer in the heat Taylor Knox, Hawaii’s Mason Ho, Australia’s Tom Whitaker and Brazil’s Hizunome Bettero. A lull in the waves slowed things down as low tide approached around 4 p.m. But this did not dampen spirits.

“It’s a beautiful day to be in the ocean,” Knox said in an interview with San Clemente Patch. “But the deceiving part is the water is actually pretty cold, I was hoping to keep moving just to stay warm. My toes kind of froze at the end.”

Knox showcased his big, wrapping turns and clean off the top snaps boosting him to rank first in his heat.

“I feel pretty good about the waves I caught,” said Knox. “I didn’t catch as many as I wanted to; that was the biggest disappointment of the heat, was not catching the waves I wanted to.”

The wave-starved eighth heat of the day saw local talent Dane Reynolds, Cory Lopez, Alejo Muniz and Nic Muscroft paddle battling for the rare wall that would occasionally show up. When the waves came through, Lopez (United States-Florida) and Muniz (Brazil) were splitting Lowers peaks with Aussie  Muscroft frothing not too far behind. 

“There’s not a lot of big sets coming through,” said San Clemente local and frequent Lowers surfer Guy Barker, a spectator, told Patch. “But these guys are making the most of what’s coming through.”

Muniz dominated the heat, catching rights and carving hard in the pocket, giving him first place with a 14.67. However, goofy-foot Lopez (he leads on the board with his right) was not too far behind catching every left-hander he could find, placing him second in his heat with a score total of 14.07.

Gallant efforts were made on Muscroft as he paddled, searching for a few rides that would earn him points for a third-place; however, luck would not be in his or  Reynolds’ favor, as wave consistency slowed toward the end of the heat.

Reynolds, who was wearing a gold jersey in the heat and placed yesterday as Most Valuable Performer, managed to score one left, which he kicked out of, earning him fourth in his heat.

The Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro will continue tomorrow through Saturday, May 7.

Editors Note: The following are the rankings from Wednesday's heats at the Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro surfing competition.

View a live web cast here. 

Follow @ClementePatch and our surf reporter @JackieNConnor on Twitter to get live updates each day of the contest. Look for the hash tag #N6LowersPro.

Look back later Thursday for an analysis of the day's Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro from Jackie Connor and some stunning photos from Daniel Clay Hardt.

Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro Round of 48 Results:
Heat 1: Joel Centeio (HAW) 14.67, Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 14.67, Michel Bourez (PYF) 11.80, Aritz Aranburu (EUK) 10.56
Heat 2: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 17.60, C.J. Hobgood (USA) 13.50, Daniel Ross (USA) 9.20, John Florence (HAW) 4.19
Heat 3: Tanner Gudauskas (USA) 17.70, Kolohe Andino (USA) 14.53, Adriano de Souza (BRA) 14.10, Pablo Paulino (BRA) 13.50
Heat 4: Dusty Payne (HAW) 12.33, Bobby Martinez (USA) 13.77, Kai Barger (HAW) 12.33, Granger Larsen (HAW) 10.03
Heat 5: Heitor Alves (BRA) 13.84, Jesse Mendes (BRA) 10.17, Masatoshi Ohno (JPN) 9.53, Pedro Henrique (BRA) 9.03
Heat 6: Taylor Knox (USA) 13.87, Mason Ho (HAW) 12.60, Hizunome Bettero (BRA) 11.83, Tom Whitaker (AUS) 10.10
Heat 7: Willian Cardoso (BRA) 15.77, Junior Faria (BRA) 11.43, Kekoa Bacalso (HAW) 11.17, Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 9.20
Heat 8: Alejo Muniz (BRA) 14.67, Cory Lopez (USA) 14.07, Nic Muscroft (AUS) 9.47, Dane Reynolds (USA) 2.70
Heat 9: Jadson Andre (BRA) 18.47, Miguel Pupo (BRA) 16.80, Caio Ibelli (BRA) 14.10, Austin Ware (USA) 11.90

Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro Round of 96 Results:
Heat 17: Caio Ibelli (BRA) 10.67, Damien Hobgood (USA) 8.96, Gelnn Hall (IRL) 8.90, Messias Felix (BRA) 7.50
Heat 18: Miguel Pupo (BRA) 14.67, Julian Wilson (AUS) 14.27, Brent Dorrington (AUS) 13.10, Neco Padaratz (BRA) 7.83
Heat 19: Lincoln Taylor (AUS) 9.19, Austin Ware (USA) 9.10, Gabe Kling (USA) 5.60, Raoni Monteiro (BRA) 2.63
Heat 20: Kai Otton (AUS) 13.57, Jadson Andre (BRA) 12.70, Roy Powers (HAW) 8.27, Charles Martin (GLP) 6.20
Heat 21: Tonino Benson (HAW) 15.67, Nathaniel Curran (USA) 13.67, Tiago Pires (PRT) 9.87, Yuri Sodre (BRA) 8.57
Heat 22: Thiago Camarao (BRA) 15.67, Adam Melling (AUS) 13.73, Stu Kennedy (AUS) 12.13, Ben Dunn (AUS) 10.35
Heat 23: Tim Reyes (USA) 13.33, Heath Joske (AUS) 9.63, Leandro Bastros (BRA) 7.83, Yadin Nicol (AUS) 4.33
Heat 24: Nathan Yeomans (USA) 13.10, Adrian Buchan (AUS) 13.00, Jack Freestone (AUS) 12.50, Jonathan Gonzalez (CNY) 10.67