The first round of action was completed in Brazil today as the Hang Loose Santa Catarina Pro kicked off. There were hopes for the sake of the event, as well as those who actually decided to show up, that the conditions at Imbituba would be in top form, that the story would be more about the brilliant surfing taking place than the fact that an astounding 13 out of the ASP Top 44 surfers have pulled out of the event for various reasons. That wasn’t the case however. The crumbling beach-break we’ve come to expect at the Santa Catarina Pro was in full effect.

The second to last stop on the Dream Tour was dealt an even bigger blow when world no. 5 surfer, Brazil’s own Adriano de Souza pulled out of the event at the last minute with a twisted ankle. “I’m not feeling good ,” de Souza said. I’m just getting better from a twisted ankle I injured in the Rio de Janeiro WQS, so I am not 100% which is very unlucky because I was looking to get a good result in Brazil.” That left only half of the Top 10 to take part in the event. Overall, 20 of the 48 surfers in the event hail from Brazil.
Bede Durbige, Fred Patacchia, Jeremy Flores, and Jordy Smith were among the standouts in Rd. 1. Jordy had the wave of the day with a 9.59 score after throwing two airs on the same wave. However as a result of two late interference calls, both of which could be attributed to the unpredictable surf, Jordy now finds himself in the dreaded loser’s round.

Rd. 2 will likely get going tomorrow morning. Stay tuned for more updates on the 2008 Hang Loose Santa Catarina Pro

Hang Loose Santa Catarina Pro Round 1 Results:
Heat 1: Taylor Knox (USA) 14.83, Ben Bourgeois (USA) 14.43, Fabio Gouveia (BRA) 7.50
Heat 2: Marco Polo (BRA) 13.27, Royden Bryson (ZAF) 11.34, Kieren Perrow (AUS) 10.60
Heat 3: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 16.50, Tanio Barreto (BRA) 12.84, Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA) 9.83
Heat 4: Kai Otton (AUS) 14.67, Jay Thompson (AUS) 12.33, Gustavo Fernandes (BRA) 7.67
Heat 5: Marcio Farney (BRA) 12.00, Luke Stedman (AUS) 11.73, Heitor Alves (BRA) 11.43
Heat 6: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 16.03, Peterson Rosa (BRA) 14.84, Tiago Pires (PRT) 5.60
Heat 7: Mikael Picon (FRA) 13.67, Adrian Buchan (AUS) 12.66, Jano Belo (BRA) 10.70
Heat 8: Taj Burrow (AUS) 14.33, Carybean Heleodoro (BRA) 12.67, Roy Powers (HAW) 7.63
Heat 9: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 15.33, Raoni Monteiro (BRA) 14.57, Damien Hobgood (USA) 12.90
Heat 10: Mick Campbell (AUS) 13.90, CJ Hobgood (USA) 13.03, Alejo Muniz (BRA) 10.33
Heat 11: Leonardo Neves (BRA) 13.17, Tom Whitaker (AUS) 9.33, Pedro Henrique (BRA) 8.93
Heat 12: Hizunome Bettero (BRA) 14.83, Travis Logie (ZAF) 9.00, Chris Ward (USA) N/S
Heat 13: Bernardo Miranda (BRA) 10.73, Dayyan Neve (AUS) 10.33, Jihad Khodr (BRA) 7.27
Heat 14: Daniel Ross (AUS) 13.07, Tim Reyes (USA) 12.16, William Cardoso (BRA) 10.16
Heat 15: Aritz Aranburu (EUK) 16.00, Simao Romao (BRA) 12.16, Jordy Smith (ZAF) 0.00
Heat 16: Ben Dunn (AUS) 15.37, Bruno Santos (BRA) 11.47, Ricky Basnett (ZAF) 10.54

Hang Loose Santa Catarina Pro Round 2 Match-Ups:
Heat 1: C.J. Hobgood (USA) vs. Carybean Heleodoro (BRA)
Heat 2: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Raoni Monteiro (BRA)
Heat 3: Luke Stedman (AUS) vs. Alejo Muniz (BRA)
Heat 4: Kieren Perrow (AUS) vs. Jano Belo (BRA)
Heat 5: Tom Whitaker (AUS) vs. Peterson Rosa (BRA)
Heat 6: Chris Ward (USA) vs. Gustavo Fernandes (BRA)
Heat 7: Dayyan Neve (AUS) vs. Tanio Barreto (BRA)
Heat 8: Tim Reyes (USA) vs. Fabio Gouveia (BRA)
Heat 9: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs. Pedro Henrique (BRA)
Heat 10: Roy Powers (HAW) vs. William Cardoso (BRA)
Heat 11: Damien Hobgood (USA) vs. Simao Romao (BRA)
Heat 12: Tiago Pires (PRT) vs. Bruno Santos (BRA)
Heat 13: Heitor Alves (BRA) vs. Ricky Basnett (ZAF)
Heat 14: Jay Thompson (AUS) vs. Jihad Khodr (BRA)
Heat 15: Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA) vs. Travis Logie (ZAF)
Heat 16: Royden Bryson (ZAF) vs. Ben Bourgeois (USA)

Tags: ASP World Tour, Bede Durbidge, Fred Patacchia, Jeremy Flores, Jordy Smith, WCT

Posted by Shaun on Tuesday, October 28th, 2008 in Surfing.

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