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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Malia Manuel was nearly perfect in the third round of the US Open of Surfing at Huntington Beach, Calif., scoring a 9.67.
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Hawaii’s Malia Manuel stole the show Wednesday at the US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach, Calif.
Manuel posted the day’s highest two-wave scores and also the highest-scoring single wave. She won two heats and advanced to the quarterfinals.
Manuel, currently ranked No. 5 on the Association of Surfing Professionals women’s world tour, topped Hawaii’s Leila Hurst 15.17-6.67 in the Round 2. She then caught the best wave of the day, scoring a near-perfect 9.67 in Round 3 on her way to a 18.13 score. She topped Hawaii’s Tatiana Weston-Webb and Australia’s Tyler Wright in the heat.
"I knew some good waves would come and I took advantage of them and luckily got two good scores," Manuel told aspworldtour.com. "This is definitely a favorite event for me."
In the very next heat of Round 3, Hawaii’s Carissa Moore won with a 13.37 score, also advancing to the quarters.
When surfing resumes for Round 4, Weston-Webb will surf in Heat 1 against Australia’s Nikki Van Dijk.
Hawaii surfers Alessa Quizon, Coco Ho and Alana Blanchard were eliminated in Round 2.