Jacqueline Silva (Brazil) today won the Drug Aware Pro in testing, windswept 1-to-1.5-metre (3-to-5ft) surf at Surfers Point in Margaret River, Western Australia, where she defeated Jessi Miley-Dyer (Aus/NSW/Bronte).
The stylish Brazilian surfer was supreme all through the final day, winning her Quarter and Semi Finals with a series of excellent rides. Silva defeated Hawaiian Melanie Bartels in the Quarters and later, local hope Melanie Redman-Carr (Aus/WA/Dunsborough) in the Semis.
While her performances leading up to the main Final were high-scoring, the Final itself was a low-scoring affair, with quality waves hard to find due to strong South Westerly winds ripping into the wave faces.
Halfway through the 35-minute Final, Miley-Dyer held a slender lead. However, neither girl had a score in the 5-points or better range, and it was clear that whoever found the first strong-scoring ride would gain a significant advantage. With just 10 minutes remaining, Silva found the decisive ride – a slightly larger and less wind-affected wave, allowing her to execute a combination of smooth top-to-bottom turns to progress go to the lead, with a strong 6.83 score.
Miley-Dyer challenged late in the Final when she took off on a larger set wave, immediately scoring with her powerful trademark top-turn, but the wave then simply flattened out on her and provided no further scoring potential. Her 6.17 score fell, leaving her in second position for the remainder of the Final.
Surrounded by a large, fanatical crowd of Brazilian fans after the Final, Silva said: “It’s fantastic for me to finally win again. I only just missed a win two weeks ago in Newcastle where I finished second and today was my first win in an ASP event since California nearly two years ago. All my results this year have been good and to win a major six-star today, well, I now feel powerful and confident as I head to Bells Beach for our next World Tour event.”
“Margaret River is such a famous surf break, and even though today’s Finals waves were difficult, we have had great waves during the week. To win here like this is really prestigious.” For today’s win, Silva picked up US$4,500, along with 2,500 points on the ASP World Qualifying Series ratings, while Miley-Dyer collected 2,150 points. The result sees Miley-Dyer now leading the World Qualifying Series ratings, with Silva in third place.
Commenting on her performance, Miley-Dyer said: “I’m not too disappointed with my final result. It was really tough conditions out there, and it really came down to who got the best wave. Unfortunately for me, that was Silva.”
“It was so windy out there that I couldn’t even hear the scores, and when I found out that I only needed a 4-point ride to win when I came in, that was really disappointing. If I’d known that out there, I probably could’ve dug deep and won, but I thought I needed a 7, which was out of reach in those conditions.”
Melanie Redman-Carr placed equal third today, after losing her Semi-Final to Silva, while in the other Semi-Final, Samantha Cornish (Aus/NSW/Crescent Head) was defeated by Miley-Dyer. Also today, the final six heats of the Men’s Round of 48 were surfed, which saw Kia Otten (Aus/NSW/Tathra) an absolute standout. Otten scored two excellent 8-point rides to comprehensively defeat Cory Lopez (USA/Florida) who finished second to also advance.
2007 Womens WQS reatings after Evt #6 Drug Aware Pro,Margaret River, Western Australia
- 1 Miley-Dyer,Jessi AUS 4590
- 2 Redman-Carr,Melanie AUS 4505
- 3 Silva,Jacqueline BRA 4220
- 4 Gilmore,Stephanie AUS 4025
- 5 Lima,Silvana BRA 3890
- 6 Brooke,Serena AUS 3805
- 7 Donohoe,Amee AUS 3785
- 8 Atherton,Nicola AUS 3485
- 9 Bartels,Melanie HAW 3245
- 10 Robb,Nikita ZAF 3053
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