| DAY FOUR OF THE O'NEILL COLD WATER CLASSIC PRESENTED BY JEEP® BRAND First Showing of Northwest Swell in Afternoon Heats; Six to Ten Foot Surf Expected for Sunday's Finals at Steamer Lane
Santa Cruz, Calif., October 22, 2005 – The O'Neill Cold Water Classic presented by Jeep® Brand saw its longest day of competition yet with 28 heats of qualifying rounds and surfers catching more than 600 waves. Competition began at Waddell Creek at 8:00 a.m. with eight heats of round four and 16 heats of round five in double competition areas. Excited by news of the building swell, event organizers returned to Steamer Lane in the afternoon to begin the money round of 64. Things heated up for the Macy's California Trifecta Surf Series when points leader Asher Nolan made his first appearance early in the day and advanced in both of his heats. The O'Neill Cold Water Classic is the third and final stop of the Macy's California Trifecta, a three event series with a bonus prize of $33,333 to the winner of all three contests or $5000 to the highest points leader after all three contests. The Macy's California Trifecta series was established this year to help strengthen surfing in America and allow America WQS surfers to earn critical points toward the WCT. Taking first place in his heat at Waddell Creek, Nolan advanced to the next round at Steamer Lane and was up against Jesse Merle-Jones, Mikala Jones and Anthony Petruso in heat two of round six in a very close battle. With a loose fin and some major lulls between sets, he persevered and made it through his heat putting together a 6.33 and a 6.07 for second placed to advance over Jones and Petruso. “I got a little nervous out there with the loose fin. I kept wanting my board to go right and it wanted to go left, but I made it through,” said Nolan. “I'd love to take home the Trifecta bonus money. There is a lot of really good surfers right behind me in the points race, I just need to keep making my heats and we'll see what happens.” Only 70 points behind Nolan in the Trifecta series is Ventura's Nathaniel Curran, winner of the OP Newport Classic. Curran will surf tomorrow morning in heat five of round six. Numerous other surfers made their first appearance today in round five and six. O'Neill team rider Dane Gudauskas gave an outstanding show in the windy chop at Waddell, demolishing the competition with huge slashes and putting together a solid two-wave combined score of 16.50. WCT rookie and O'Neill team rider, Timmy Reyes made his grand entrance today at Steamer Lane in the first heat of the round of 64. Pitted against Rob Machado, Heath Walker and Zach Keenan, Reyes dominated his heat posting an 8.17 and a 7.17 on the first few set waves of the expected northwest swell. The move over to Waddell proved to be a tough one for the Santa Cruz locals who are more accustomed to surfing Steamer Lane than grinding it out in the sub-par beach break conditions. Anthony Ruffo made great strides in the earlier rounds but was eliminated in heat 11 of round five by Dylan Graves and Tyler Anderson. Locals Bud Frietas, Josh Loya and Tyler Smith were also eliminated today. On the flipside, Santa Cruz favorite Josh Mulcoy continued to advance, taking second in his first heat at Waddell Creek and then stealing the show in the last heat of the day at Steamer Lane. Mulcoy was up against a tough international field consisting of Tiago Peres, Teppei Tajima and Bron Heussenstamm. The last heat was an intense battle over position, leaving a few precious set waves un-ridden. Accustomed to surfing Steamer Lane and with the support of his friends on the cliffs, Mulcoy's local knowledge paid off. In the closing minutes, Mulcoy dropped into a bomb and made three big moves off the top before finishing right in front of the judges, earning an even 8.0 and pushing him way out in front of the heat. “It is nice to be back here at the Lane and to have your friends up above cheering for you,” said Mulcoy. “I surf Waddell all the time but I prefer to surf here (at the Lane). Tomorrow is going to be fun!” Local heroes Jason “Ratboy” Collins, Tyler Fox and 2003 Cold Water Classic champion Kieran Horn also remain in the contest. Collins will make his first appearance Sunday in heat eight of round six against O'Neill team rider and WCT competitor Cory Lopez, Sterling Spencer and Bobby Morris. The contest will resume tomorrow 7:00 a.m. with the remaining heats of qualifying rounds, quarters, semis and finals at Steamer Lane . The finals are scheduled to start at 4:00 p.m. The time is subject to change depending on weather. For more information on the O'Neill Cold Water Classic and live scoring please visit, www.surfermag.com/events/cwc05 . FUEL TV will telecast the O'Neill Cold Water Classic on November 28, 2005. For additional dates and specific times visit www.fuel.tv . The O'Neill Cold Water Classic is also supported by Oakley, Coors, Surfer Magazine, Surfing Magazine, Surfing America and ASP North America . Check out the O'Neill Cold Water Classic and all of the Macy's California Trifecta Surf Series surf spots at www.WaveWatch.com . Expect great surf for Sunday's competition with wave conditions building throughout the day. The forerunners of the first major northwest swell of the year began showing on the Half Moon Bay buoy late Saturday afternoon. Swell size and interval has already increased from 1' at 20 seconds to 4' at 20 seconds and is expected to provide surf in the 6-8' plus range on Sunday for the finals at Steamer Lane . About O'Neill About Jeep Brand
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