Kolohe Andino Wins Down Under
The Up-and-Comers Have Arrived
After back-to-back victories in Brazil, talented 17-year-old Californian Kolohe Andino has won the Fantastic Noodles Kangaroo Island Pro in South Australia. The momentum he brought down under has seen his place in the ASP World Rankings move up from 31 to 24, which gives him a better shot at qualifying for the 2012 ASP World Tour. Andino’s payday for winning the event was bumped up by an extra $10k by the event sponsors.
Andino beat out Jay Quinn (NZL) in an action packed event that saw the surf and wind pick up, with competitors battling 2 – 3 foot blustery waves at Vivonne Bay, Kangaroo Island.
It feels kind of surreal right now. Hopefully I can make the ASP World Title Series for next year now. I’m just competitive and want to win, I knew there was a lot of opportunity for me to do well here and I’m happy it went my way.
Aussie Mitch Crews went up against Andino in Semifinal 1, setting some decent scores – but couldn’t compete with Andino’s ruthless backhand attack which netted a heat total of 17.17 (out of a possible 20). Crews efforts did however see his place in the ASP One World Rankings progress from 63rd to 56th.
Crews had this to say:
I’m pretty bummed because I was really determined to win this one. In the last 5 events I’ve had 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 9th and now this is another 3rd, I’ve come so close I just want to win one. Brother (Kolohe Andino) is unstoppable right now. There was 20 minutes to go and I know I needed a big score and I knew that if a set came that I could get an 8.00 or 9.00. A small one came through and I landed a backhand air and scored 8.77 and thought I was back in it, but no other good waves came through.
With Gabriel Medina‘s recent win at the ‘Rip Curl Pro Search in San Francisco’, making it his second win on tour in only four tries – it’s an indicator that the up-and-comers have truly arrived.
Andino had this to say about Medina:
After he won that last event I just thought that I have to be on there too. With guys like Gabriel winning events on tour, I just really want to get there.
Andino and Medina represent a handful of newcomers who are making an impact. They are young, talented and hungry – and while Kelly Slater started the progressive revolution, this new crop of talent may be poised to reach new heights.
Here’s the Fantastic Noodles Kangaroo Island Pro Results:
Final
Kolohe Andino (USA) 15.33 def. Jay Quinn (NZL) 13.64
Semifinals
SF1: Kolohe Andino (USA) 17.17 def. Mitch Crews (AUS) 15.27
SF2: Jay Quinn (NZL) 11.83 def. Richard Christie (NZL) 8.50
Quarterfinals
QF1: Kolohe Andino (USA) 16.20 def. Michael Dunphy (USA) 14.50
QF2: Mitch Crews (AUS) 12.76 def. Evan Geiselman (USA) 11.17
QF3: Jay Quinn (NZL) 13.90 def. Billy Stairmand (NZL)
QF4: Richard Christie (NZL) 13.17 def. Perth Standlick (AUS) 9.80
Check out the Final Day Highlights here:
via: espn asp australia
Comments are closed.