Santa Cruz surfer Sam Coffey seems to be settling into life as an internationally traveling competitive surfer as he posted the highest single-wave score of the event so far. Coffey earned an 8.17 (out of a possible 10) for an impressive combination of turns on one of the smaller waves of his heat. He will move into the seeded Round 3 where he will come up against Sri Lankan wildcard Anra Hennathike Sril Pranith.
“That was such a fun heat,” Coffey said. “I haven’t really traveled to compete much before this year because I only just finished school. I’m taking this all more as a learning curve and a chance to experience different places. This is definitely a different place for me but I’ve been really pleasantly surprised with the quality of the waves here. There are so many points and the people are so friendly so I’m just having fun.”
Hawaiian representative Noah Beschen looked in a good rhythm with the waves for his first heat at Arugam Bay, taking out the opening heat of Round 2. The progressive young surfer feels like he is only just finding his groove in Sri Lanka and is looking forward to what tomorrow will bring.
“I feel like I’m still just getting things worked out here,” Beschen said. “This is a super fun wave though so I was stoked to get the win and have another opportunity tomorrow. It reminds me of Snapper Rocks on the Gold Coast which is a wave I’ve surfed a lot so I definitely feel comfortable. It offers a lot of different sections and really allows me to show my repertoire of moves which I like.”
Hailing from Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, Cooper Davies is no stranger to long right-hand point breaks and that showed in his dynamic Round 2 performance at A-Bay. Davies took his heat with an excellent 8.00 point ride in his scoreline with the judges loving his broad range of turns and ability to make sections.
“It is a little bit like home because there are a lot of points and at the moment it’s crowded,” Davies said. “With all of the competitors here it is tough to get waves so I was stoked to get out there and get a few in my heat. It looks like there are some more waves on the way so It would be good to keep making heats. It doesn’t feel like a comp here, everyone is just having a good time.”
Other Round 2 standouts included Kai Tandler, Rinta Oooto , Francisco Bellorin, Thomas King and Thomas Cervi.
Tune in tomorrow as the event top seeds along with 1999 World Champion Mark Occhilupo look to hit the water for Round 3 at Arugam Bay.
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