Pipeline didn’t quite live up to our very lofty expectations to kick off the season, but with improved conditions at Sunset Beach we saw some more entertaining competition at the women’s Hurley Pro – albeit still not at the level this wave is capable of producing. Still, there were plenty of talking points to arise from the contest, so let’s take a look at how it unfolded, as well as what the results mean for the standings.
The Event
Opening Round
For the second time in as many events, the Hurley Pro started off with an underwhelming Opening Round in relatively unexciting conditions, and the scores certainly reflected that. Just three of 18 surfers managed to score in double figures, those being Steph Gilmore (10.10), Carissa Moore (11.50) and Luana Silva (10.94). They each advanced straight through to the Round of 16, with the big names joining them there including Tyler Wright, Lakey Peterson and Tatiana Weston-Webb. Caroline Marks was the unlucky third member of Moore and Silva’s heat and was subsequently sent to fight it out in the Elimination Round, as were Isabella Nicholls, Courtney Conlogue, Teresa Bonvalot, Caitlin Simmers and Gabriela Bryan.
Elimination Round
Teresa Bonvalot was the first to go in the Elimination Round, ending a disappointing contest in which she failed to surpass 0.77 in either of her heats. She was beaten by Marks and Bryan, who advanced to the Round of 16.
The second Elimination Round heat was a little more competitive, though ultimately Nicholls and Simmers advanced relatively comfortably with scores in excess of 9. Conlogue managed just 6.00 and was eliminated at the first hurdle for the second time in as many contests in a season in which she would be hoping to compete for a spot in the WSL Finals.
Round of 16
And so to the two-person heats we went, and though scores weren’t exactly off the charts, with three of the first four Round of 16 heats decided by 0.67 or less it was pretty entertaining viewing. Brisa Hennessy was the first close-run winner, beating Sally Fitzgibbons, before Molly Picklum knocked off fellow Aussie young gun in Isabella Nichols 11.10-10.8.
Steph Gilmore broke the trend of close heats with what would prove to be the second highest scoring heat of the contest, a 14.17, before Tyler Wright also moved to the quarters with a win over Macy Callaghan. Carissa Moore and Caroline Marks did as expected in the subsequent heats, while Peterson and Weston-Webb failed, being knocked out by Bryan and Simmers respectively.
Quarterfinals
The close contests continued in the quarters, with Picklum winning her second consecutive heat by 0.3 or less when she knocked out Hennessy. Gilmore and Wright then went head to head in a clash of the Australian titans, and in a tight heat Wright got the chocolates to continue her strong start to the season.
In the third quarterfinal, Gabriella Bryan pulled a huge surprise. Up against the nearly unstoppable Moore, she didn’t skip a beat, compiling a 15.00 and beating the five time world champ with consummate ease. The final quarterfinal was far closer, with Marks continuing her good run with a close win over Simmers.
Semi-finals
With just four women left standing, an all-Australian heat kicked us off with Picklum, fresh off a couple of tight victories, coming up against Wright, who is increasingly looking like the superstar who won consecutive world titles in 2016 in 2017. Not so in this heat, however. She failed to fire a shot, managing just 1.74, while Picklum surfed really well en route to a 12.34 to lock in a spot in her first ever CT final.
Her competitor was decided in a heat between Marks and Bryan which, like the preceding semi, didn’t exactly live up to our high hopes. Marks came out of the blocks strongly; Bryan didn’t. While Bryan worked her way back into things with a couple of solid scores late, she ultimately fell well short, losing 13.10-8.83.
Final
This was a finals matchup which few would have picked, and which hinted at the strong future of women’s surfing; two 20-year-olds, Picklum in her first ever final and Marks returning to the form which made her one of the most highly rated teenagers in history in past years. With conditions providing ample opportunity for solid scores, Marks put the first big score on the board; a 7.50 which would prove to be the biggest in the heat relatively comfortably.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t really back it up. Picklum, meanwhile, only topped out with a 5.50, but backed that up with a 5.40 to finish on 10.90. In the dying minutes, Marks had a couple of opportunities to get the 3.41 she needed to win her first event since 2021, but fell short, handing the young Aussie her first ever CT victory.
The Standings
Molly Picklum flew up the rankings into a tie for first with Moore, meaning that she’ll get to wear the yellow jersey for the first time in her career at the upcoming MEO Rip Curl Pro. Wright dropped down to third, albeit just below Moore and Picklum, while Bryan and Marks also jumped up the standings to occupy fourth and fifth respectively.
Heading in the other direction were Peterson and Bettylou Sakura Johnson, both of whom were eliminated in the Round of 16 after semi-final appearances at the Billabong Pro Pipeline. Perhaps most surprising of all is the consistent Conlogue, who is the only woman this year to have endured Elimination Round defeats at both events to date.
What’s Up Next?
The Hawaiian leg of the tour is now over, and it’s time to head to Europe. Up next is the MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal, taking place at Supertubos in Peniche. When on, this is one of the most watchable waves in the world, delivering up, as the name suggests, some pretty super tubes. That window kicks on the 8th of March and runs through to the 16th, and after poor conditions in the first event of the season and only decent waves in the second, hopefully we continue to trend upwards in Portugal.
