The 2006 Body Glove Surfbout presented by Adio Footwear – Day Three

Waves: Waist- to-shoulder-high with some head-high sets.

Weather: Overcast and windy.

Action: A south wind, which picked up throughout the day, was on it early this morning and it put a texture on the surf. But thankfully the swell had filled in overnight. Day Three of the Body Glove Surfbout traded flat and glassy for 3-to-4-foot and chopped up.

Heat 1 of the Round of 96 was the first of the day today, and in the opening moments a series of nice size sets poured through prompting the boys to go to work. Anthony Petruso and Federico Pilurzu made the most of the early activity, and this factor was what eventually would push them through into the next round. The rest of the heat was essentially wave-less, and the lull killed the chances of Casey Brown and William Cardoso as they were left unable to make any sort of a last minute strike.

In Heat 2, Adam Melling made the most of a marginal, inside, running left with five big slams on his backhand, and his score, a 6.17 bumped him briefly into the transfer slot, but that position was quickly reclaimed by Gavin Gillett who would advance in 2 nd . In 1 st was Bobby Morris, who anchored his hold on the top slot with an 8.17 courtesy of his own backside slams.

“The rights had a bump on them because of the south wind,” said Morris, “so I stuck with the lefts. They were cleaner and seemed to be standing up a better and that's what got me through.”

Yadin Nichol also exploited the lefthanders in Heat 3, posting a 7.83 on his backhand. That score pushed him into the top slot, but in the final seconds Kyle Garson stole the show and advanced in 1 st with a high 6. Nichol advanced behind him in 2 nd .

San Clemente 's Chris Ward easily blazed through his first Surfbout appearance in Heat 5 while Chris Drummy and Greg Long continued their advance from the early rounds by taking out a pair of seeded surfers in Heat 6.

In increasingly bumpy, south wind conditions, ex-CTers Shea Lopez, Taylor Knox, Tim Curran and Pat O'Connell advanced from their respective heats into the next round and in Heat 10, Heath Walker and Aaron Cormican went head-to-head. Cormican got the better of the exchange with a total of 14.40, but Walker pushed to within a fraction of a point of Cormican's lead.

Shane Beschen looked comfortable during Heat 14 despite being scoreless for nearly half of the twenty-minutes. Going to work late, Beschen first posted a 6.67 and then an 8.67, a pair of scores that easily gave him the win.

2005 Macy's California Trifecta Points Champ Asher Nolan checked in to begin his title defense in Heat 15, and on his very first ride he posted a mid-range 7 to jump to an early lead. With a 6.27 shoring up the 7, Nolan looked likely to claim 1 st , but in the very last moments before the horn, Che Stang dropped an 8.67 and took the win.

“I felt like I was struggling out there for the whole heat,” said Stang. “The waves haven't been so good lately, so I haven't been surfing much, but when I got that last one I knew I needed to come up big. I couldn't hear the announcers out there, so I wasn't sure if I was going to make it through. I just went for it.”

This afternoon, Aussie Jarrad Howse won the first heat of the Round of 64, and in Heat 5 Cory Ziems posted an 8.0 early on. Ziems sat on that score, in 3 rd place, without a decent backup until the final moments of the match-up, when he finally nabbed a solid backup to lock in first place. Advancing behind him was Greg Long.

Chris Drummy advanced behind Yuri Sodre in Heat 6 to continue his Surfbout run, and in Heat 7, Alex Gray hung onto an impossible looking floater for a 7.83 that allowed him to advance. In 1 st in Gray's heat was Mitchell Coleborn who tore into the bumpy faces for a huge 9.0 and a solid 5.17.

In the Last heat of the day, Heat 8, Damien Hobgood came on strong and claimed first in a match-up stacked with talent. Wrapping a huge trio of gouges on his forehand, Hobgood posted a 9.33 on his first wave. He then backed that up with a slam-to-backside-air combo to lock up the win. Behind Hobgood, in 2 nd was Shea Lopez, who looked strong during his advance into the Round of 32.

Solid and consistent sets came marching through the lineup at Lowers towards the end of the day as a new northwest swell began to fill in. With clear skies predicted for tomorrow, and a fresh swell in the water, Day 4, the second to last of the event, will open up with the rest of the Round of 64. The entire Round of 32 is also scheduled for Friday, as is the opening round of the Oakley Pro Junior, which will see some of the world's best surfers under 20-years-old battle it out at Lowers Trestles.