Rosanne seeks Best Score in Hawaii

Jessi Miley-Dyer, Rebecca Woods, Rosy Hodge, Chelsea Hedges, and Sally Fitzgibbons decide to make use of one of Maui’s best assets, the fairways of the Kapalua Bay Golf Course, prior to the start of the final 2008 ASP Women’s World Tour Billabong Girls Pro event in Maui, Honolua Bay, Maui, Hawaii. Dec 8- 20, 2007. Photo Credit: ASP Towner © Covered Images 2007

The half-metre surf served up on Monday at the final 2007 event on the ASP Women’s World Tour prompted organisers to call off the days action in hope of better surf on Tuesday, as South African Rosanne Hodge progressed to the third round, after placed a solid second in the opening round.

"The surf has dropped considerably since yesterday and we’ve opted to postpone competition until tomorrow," ASP Women’s World Tour Manager Brooke Farris said of the tour-ending the Billabong Pro Maui.

"Swell models have forecast a slight increase in swell coming in tomorrow and maybe Wednesday so we could very well be back on in the coming days. We’ll check back at 7am tomorrow."

Heat 1 of the first round saw Hodge take on Australians Chelsea Hedges and Jessi Miley-Dyer, with Miley-Dyer scoring lowest for another effort in round two, and she duly showed her talent to continue after an emphatic 15.75 score to progress, beating home-girl Rochelle Ballard and fellow Australian, Nicola Atherton.

The three remaining contenders in the hunt for the 2007 ASP Women’s World Title, Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), Sofia Mulanovich (PER) and Silvana Lima (BRA), all proved to be impressive surfers out at Honolua Bay and will keep their respective campaigns alive in Round 2 when competition resumes.

After the first two events of the 2007 Vans Triple Crown, veteran competitors Megan Abubo (HAW) and Sofia Mulanovich (PER) are out in front in the race for this season’s title, and competitors have advanced through to Round 3, with Abubo netting the event’s high single wave score thus far, a 9.25 out of a possible 10.

Later today Hodge will take on the talented Brazilian Silvana Lima in Heat 8, for a chance to contest the Hawaiian tournament’s season-ending quarter-finals, in an effort to record a good score as her season among the top18 surfers comes to an end.

Hodge has surfed valiantly throughout the season, but has not performed well enough stand more than a slim mathematical chance of a guaranteed place in the 2008 season’s top-10, her current 14th place still reflecting her talent among the world’s best.