Santa Cruz surfer Nat Young shreds into finals, falls to De Souza
Kelly Slater already eliminated
Updated: 2:57 PM PDT Apr 2, 2013
Amy Larson
KSBW.com Digital Media Manager
Nat Young of Santa Cruz is competing on the ASP world tour.
SOURCE: ASP
Santa Cruz surfer Nat Young out-shredded Brazilian Willian Cardoso in the Quarterfinals and Australian Taj Burrow in the Semifinals to make it into the finals of the ASP Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach in Victoria, Australia.The 22-year-old Santa Cruz native surfed against hyper-competitive Brazilian Adriano De Souza in Young's first-ever world tour final.Young had a chance to win it when a massive wave set rose up from the ocean with just 2 minutes, 20 seconds left on the clock. The waves were so huge that they broke too far out, making it impossible for even powerful Young to paddle into position and catch one. Young paddled as hard as he could until the horn blew and the final score was set 15.83 - 16.26. While De Souza pumped his fists in victory, Young smiled and held his head high.Young is one of four rookies on the 2013 ASP world tour -- the highest level of competitive surfing. Bells Beach is stop No. 2 of 10 on the ASP world tour and Young has surprised everyone with his dominating performances on Monday.Jordy Smith lost to De Souza in their razor-close semifinal, 18.44 to 18.40. When asked who he thought would emerge as the Bells Beach champion, Smith chose Young."Nat for sure, Nat all the way," Smith said.The ASP Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach announcers and commentators said they were impressed by how calm Young remained during high-pressure moments in the contest. Ever since he arrived in Victoria for the contest, Young surfed Bells Beach every morning before sunrise to master the wave break. Growing up in Santa Cruz's frigid ocean made him feel at home in Bells Beach's chilly water, Young said.Young made it into the Quarterfinals by eliminating Australian Josh Kerr with backhand mastery. Needing a solid score in the dying moments, Young sprint-paddled into a final wave and unleashed a flurry of backhand cracks."I can't believe that wave came through," Young said. "Kerrzy (Kerr) had priority and I guess he didn't think either of us could catch it, but I just put my head down and somehow got in there. It was my last chance so I just threw everything I had at it and ended up with the score. I'll do my best to bring it home for the goofy-footers."Earlier in the contest, Kelly Slater, an 11-time ASP World Champion and current ASP WCT No. 1, suffered a shocking elimination at the hands of injury replacement Brazilian Willian Cardoso."You never want to lose and especially in clean waves in the bowl," Slater said. "Willian (Cardoso) smoked me. Plain as that. He was surfing really well and really powerful so congrats to him."Australian Joel Parkinson, the reigning ASP world champion and three-time Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach winner (2004, 2009, 2011), moved quickly to capitalize on Slater's uncharacteristic loss, posting a 9.10 and a Perfect 10 in the following heat. The incredible scoreline, however, would not be enough to overcome a rampaging Raoni Monteiro, 30, of Brazil, who posted a 19.17 to cause the second major upset.
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. —
Santa Cruz surfer Nat Young out-shredded Brazilian Willian Cardoso in the Quarterfinals and Australian Taj Burrow in the Semifinals to make it into the finals of the ASP Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach in Victoria, Australia.
The 22-year-old Santa Cruz native surfed against hyper-competitive Brazilian Adriano De Souza in Young's first-ever world tour final.
Young had a chance to win it when a massive wave set rose up from the ocean with just 2 minutes, 20 seconds left on the clock. The waves were so huge that they broke too far out, making it impossible for even powerful Young to paddle into position and catch one.
Young paddled as hard as he could until the horn blew and the final score was set 15.83 - 16.26. While De Souza pumped his fists in victory, Young smiled and held his head high.
Young is one of four rookies on the 2013 ASP world tour -- the highest level of competitive surfing. Bells Beach is stop No. 2 of 10 on the ASP world tour and Young has surprised everyone with his dominating performances on Monday.
Jordy Smith lost to De Souza in their razor-close semifinal, 18.44 to 18.40. When asked who he thought would emerge as the Bells Beach champion, Smith chose Young.
"Nat for sure, Nat all the way," Smith said.
The ASP Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach announcers and commentators said they were impressed by how calm Young remained during high-pressure moments in the contest.
Ever since he arrived in Victoria for the contest, Young surfed Bells Beach every morning before sunrise to master the wave break. Growing up in Santa Cruz's frigid ocean made him feel at home in Bells Beach's chilly water, Young said.
Young made it into the Quarterfinals by eliminating Australian Josh Kerr with backhand mastery. Needing a solid score in the dying moments, Young sprint-paddled into a final wave and unleashed a flurry of backhand cracks.
"I can't believe that wave came through," Young said. "Kerrzy (Kerr) had priority and I guess he didn't think either of us could catch it, but I just put my head down and somehow got in there. It was my last chance so I just threw everything I had at it and ended up with the score. I'll do my best to bring it home for the goofy-footers."
Earlier in the contest, Kelly Slater, an 11-time ASP World Champion and current ASP WCT No. 1, suffered a shocking elimination at the hands of injury replacement Brazilian Willian Cardoso.
"You never want to lose and especially in clean waves in the bowl," Slater said. "Willian (Cardoso) smoked me. Plain as that. He was surfing really well and really powerful so congrats to him."
Australian Joel Parkinson, the reigning ASP world champion and three-time Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach winner (2004, 2009, 2011), moved quickly to capitalize on Slater's uncharacteristic loss, posting a 9.10 and a Perfect 10 in the following heat. The incredible scoreline, however, would not be enough to overcome a rampaging Raoni Monteiro, 30, of Brazil, who posted a 19.17 to cause the second major upset.