Despite Waves, Women Ride High

HUNTINGTON BEACH — In bodyboarding lingo, conditions on opening day of the U.S. Open of Surfing were mushy.

Still, Brazilian Daniela Freitas, ranked No. 1 in the Assn. of Women Bodyboarders, was thrilled to be competing.

“The waves aren’t that good, but I’m able to surf the U.S. Open. And for women like me, that’s important,” said Freitas, who won her heat to reach the quarterfinals.

Freitas, 22, who along with 37 other women, was involved in a first for the U.S. Open--a women’s contest at one of the sport’s premier events.

In the past, bodyboarding at the U.S. Open was reserved for men. But in the last two years, the women’s event has become very popular outside California. And in such places as Brazil and Japan, professional bodyboarders like Freitas and Vicki Gleeson, a native of Australia who resides in San Clemente, enjoy almost Hollywood star status.

Gleeson, who is ranked fifth in the world, competed in the same heat as Freitas and took second to advance.

Irvine’s Havrah Fassett, who learned to surf on the beaches of Big Sur and Carmel, failed to advance out of the first round of the main event. Still, she was enthusiastic about competing.

“It’s important that women be recognized in this sport,” said Fassett, 21. “There’s a lot of grace and femininity involved when women do it. And if some girl on the beach or stands is inspired by what we’re doing, then that’s great.”

In men’s bodyboarding, Kyle Milgro of Hawaii took advantage of improved afternoon conditions to score one of the day’s more impressive heats to advance to the second round of the main event.

In longboarding, there were some good rides by Huntington Beach’s Josh Mohr, who advanced to the first round of the main event. Also advancing was San Clemente’s Geoff Moysa.

The men’s first round of surfing begins at 7 a.m. today. Among the more interesting matchups is the one featuring Chris Ward, 17, one of the four wild-card entrees from last week’s AirTouch Pro championships, and defending world champion Kelly Slater, who is ranked first in the world.

Ward, from San Clemente, was edged by Hawaiian Jaquias Kaipo in the AirTouch Pro finals Sunday.

Seal Beach’s Ryan Simmons, another wild-card winner, will be challenged by Luke Egan of Australia and Guilherme Herdy of Brazil.

Men’s and women’s bodyboarding continues today with the women’s quarterfinals at about 1:40 p.m. and the men’s second round starting at 7 a.m.

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Results U.S. Open of Surfing at Huntington Beach

Bodyboarding Men’s main event

First round (top two advance)

HEAT 1--1. Phillip Rodrigues; 2. Joey Vieira; 3. George DeMarino; 4. Eric Eliason. HEAT 2--1. Billy Cummings; 2. Jeff Hubbard; 3. Max Mercanti; 4. Luis Carmona. HEAT 3--1. Kyle Milgro; 2. J.J. Ayale; 3. Carlo Rivera; 4. Robbie Crawford (Huntington Beach). HEAT 4--1. Joseph Grodzen; 2. Thomas Richard; 3. Phillipe Harnsberger; 4. Ryoichi Yamada. HEAT 5--1. Tim Ross; 2. Antonio Araya; 3. Harry Antipala; 4. Brian Pearson. HEAT 6--1. Paulo Esteves; 2. Dean Seppings; 3. Gerhard Weil; 4. Mike Lee. HEAT 7--1. Ross McBride; 2. Eric Thomas; 3: Jacob Reeve; 4. Fred Booth. HEAT 8--1. Paulo Barcellos; 2. Chris Fessenden; 3. Hector Dias; 4. A.J. Ayala.

Women’s main event

First round (top two advance)

HEAT 1--1. Aoi Koike; 2. Jennifer Miskov; 3. Karla Costa; 4. Dana Martines. HEAT 2--1. Claudia Dos Santos; 2. Leila Alli; 3. Robin Cardoza; 4. Michiko Hojo. HEAT 3--1. Claudia Ferrari; 2. Narumi Fukuhara; 3. Nora Neal; 4. Havrah Fassett (Irvine). HEAT 4--1. Daniela Freitas; 2. Vicki Gleeson; 3. Kanoe Apanz; 4. Shawnee Lyman. HEAT 5--1. Stephanie Pattersen; 2. Mady Slater; 3. France Hazar; 4. Mayumi Taketani. HEAT 6--1. Soraia Rocha; 2. Kozue Tanaka; 3. Debbie Bradbury; 4. Jenn Marr. HEAT 7--1. Mariana Nogueira; 2. Kazumi Uzawa; 3. Naoko Funayama; 4. Lucia Arajuio. HEAT 8--1. Neymara Carvalho; 2. Carol Phillips; 3. Guinevere Allen; 4. Hiroe Zaike.

Longboarding trails

Second round (top two advance)

HEAT 1--1. Chris Schroeder; 2. Ken Fogarty; 3. Jason Acuna; 4. Jeff Kramer. HEAT 2--1. Evan Groudin; 2. Cody Simpkins; 3. Dennis Bourg; 4. Mike Meyers. HEAT 3--1. Derek Ericson; 2. Raul Gonzalves; 3. John Kirstein; 4. Reese Patterson. HEAT 4--1. Joey Valentin; 2. Josh Mohr (Huntington Beach); 3. Ryan Anderson; 4. Michael Mullen. HEAT 5--1. Ryan Mata; 2. Brad Warrick; 3. Steve Benedict; 4. Aaron Garrett. HEAT 6--1. Joey Hawkins; 2. David Boehne; 3. Kelly Logan; 4. Darren Leddingham. HEAT 7--1. Cody Craig; 2. Mike Emerson; 3. Greg Briggs; 4. Tom Daniels. HEAT 8--1. Geoff Moysa (San Clemente); 2. Brian McNulty; 3. Grant Gold; 4. Phil Castagnola.