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Hometown Victory Fitting For McColl

Monday 20 February 2012, 9:24AM

By Surfing New Zealand Inc

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MT MAUNGANUI

Local Mount Maunganui surfer Ant McColl claimed his maiden Hyundai Tour victory in his home waters at Tay Street today (Sunday 19th February) in the fourth of five events for the season.

The crowd pleasing victory was played out in a small 1.0m swell groomed by offshore winds. The final was the closest of the tour this year with 0.50 points separating first from third.

"Yeah super stoked, I have been doing this for ten years and have never won anything in the Open so for it to happen today in front of a home crowd I am over the moon" an almost rattled McColl exclaimed.

McColl staved off Matt Cockayne (Auck) from taking his first title of the Hyundai Tour while current ratings leader Thomas Kibblewhite (Auck) had to settle for third.

McColl started the final with a flurry of waves surfing away from the other three competitors using his local knowledge to full effect scoring a 7.67 on his first ride and 7.10 on his second.

"The waves were a bit better this afternoon and I just did my own thing and went over to the side of the area and got a good start and got rid of the jitters and took it from there and it seemed to go well, I am so stoked" said McColl who used his trade mark traditional style to rack up a heat score of 14.77 out of a possible 20 points.

Runner up today was New Zealand representative Matt Cockayne who challenged for the lead on several occasions, his best assault coming on a lefthander where he completed the longest hang five then ten of the event. The wave scored 7.67 out of ten but left him 0.27 points short of McColl.

"Ant's surfed the final of his life and so yeah….I have missed out of all the finals by one spot this year so it is good to actually make a final and get second even though I didn't go all the way."

Current Hyundai Tour ratings leader Thomas Kibblewhite (Red Beach, Auckland) fought back in the final with his standard competitive approach on several righthanders with his best wave of 7.03 coming on his last ride, 0.84 points short of the score required for the win.

Gisborne surfer Daniel Procter started the final slowly but came back into the fold at the end with a 6.70 point ride leaving him requiring an 8.08 point ride.

Despite placing third in the final, Kibblewhite extended his lead on the Hyundai Tour ratings while Matt Cockayne jumps to second ahead of today's winner Ant McColl in third.

After dominating the first day of action, only one Australian surfer made it through to the final of the Women's Longboard Division but that was all it took for them to take the title back across the ditch with Molly Powell claiming the victory. Powell looked superior with her soft footwork working the board, her best ride being her last, scoring 7.60 to the cheers of her travelling companions supporting her from the sand dunes. Raglan's Alexis Poulter placed second in the final ahead of her Kiwi compatriots posting an 8.93 point heat total to leave current ratings leader Mischa Davis (Piha) in third and defending Hyundai Tour champion Shelley Jones (Auck) in fourth.

It took local Mount Maunganui surfer Guy Rencher three consecutive finals to lock in a win but it came today in relatively easy fashion over Orewa surfer and current ratings leader Brian Young. Rencher has worked his way from fourth in the first event to a second in the third event and finally a first. Brian Young by way of his second placing retains the number one ranking going into the final event of the year in two weeks time. Jeff Cox (Mnt) placed third today ahead of Mal Brady (Mnt) in fourth.

Michael Thomson (Rag) claimed a win back from Mark Hoyle (Orewa) in the Over 50 Men's Division, his second of the year after winning at his home break in early January. Thomson is searching for his third Hyundai Tour title and his result today gave him the edge over Mark Hoyle (Orewa) who placed third today behind runner up Viv Treacy (Ocean Beach). Rupert Newbold, also of Ocean Beach placed fourth in the final.

Shayne Baxter (Chch) squared the Tour up at two wins a piece with Daniel Kereopa (Rag) in the Stand Up Paddleboard Division. In a final that had a twist to the end of the heat, Baxter jumped from third to first preventing Karlos Aarsen (WGM) from claiming his maiden victory. Baxter looked the most aggressive throughout the final attacking the short sharp closeout sections with his typical aggression. Baxter finished with a score of 10.73 ahead of Aarsen on 10.47 points who caught the bigger longer rides from out the back but was unable to match the power of Baxter. Kereopa, winner of two of the four events this year, had to settle for third place with fellow Raglan surfer Armie Armstrong (Rag) in fourth.

Late on Saturday Jeremy Stephenson (Auck) claimed his first Stand Up Paddleboard race win over Armie Armstrong (Rag). The two surfers battled it out over three laps of the course through the waves but Stephenson managed to sneak onto a wave on the last lap and come to the shore ahead of Armstrong. Armstrong retains the red jersey as the top rated paddler while Stephenson sits in second ahead of Shayne Baxter (Chch) in third.

Please see below for final results from the 2012 Hyundai Tour event completed at Mount Maunganui today (Sunday 19th February).

Men's Longboard Semifinals
Heat 1

Thomas Kibblewhite (Auck), 14, 1, Daniel Proctor (Gis), 11.47, 2, Owen Barnes (Mnt), 11.23, 3, Dylan Barnfield (Ohope), 10.2, 4
Heat 2
Ant McColl (Mnt), 12.9, 1, Matt Cockayne (Mngwhai), 10.57, 2, Craig Anderson (Mnt), 8.2, 3, Morgyn Bramely (Whtane), 5.73, 4

Men's Longboard Final

Ant McColl (Mnt), 14.77, 1, Matt Cockayne (Mngwhai), 14.50, 2, Thomas Kibblewhite (Auck), 13.94, 3, Daniel Proctor (Gis), 12.53, 4


Women's Longboard Quarterfinals
Heat 1

Mischa Davis (Oratia), 9.17, 1, Ann Snyder (Tau), 6.13, 2, Anna Gooding (Tau), 2.73, 3, Denise Piper (Whngrei), 2.6, 4
Heat 2
Shelly Jones (Auck), 6.33, 1, Belinda Goodwin (Mt), 4.47, 2, Rebecca Law (Mangawhai), 4.23, 3, Cheryl Lowe (Mnt), 2.17, 4
Heat 3
Lucy Small (Aust), 10.6, 1, Catherine Watson-Brown (Aust), 6.47, 2, Anna Jolly (Piha), 5.6, 3, Hannah Howard (Auck), 2.53, 4
Heat 4
Molly Powell (Aust), 10, 1, Alexis Poulter (Rag), 8.6, 2, Sam Suendermann (Aust), 7.73, 3, Kelsi Efford (Mt), 4, 4

Women's Longboard Semifinals
Heat 1

Shelly Jones (Auck), 6.53, 1, Mischa Davis (Oratia), 4.03, 2, Belinda Goodwin (Mt), 2.93, 3, Ann Snyder (Tau), 2.4, 4
Heat 2
Alexis Poulter (Rag), 10.53, 1, Molly Powell (Aust), 8.73, 2, Lucy Small (Aust), 5.57, 3, Catherine Watson-Brown (Aust), 4.67, 4

Women's Longboard Final
Molly Powell (Aust), 13.93, 1, Alexis Poulter (Rag), 8.93, 2, Mischa Davis (Oratia), 7.83, 3, Shelly Jones (Auck), 5.10, 4


Under 18 Boys Semifinals
Heat 1

Hone Douglas (Whtane), 14.17, 1, Sam Poulter (Rag), 7, 2, Jordan Tanner (Mnt), 4.33, 3, Luke Crouch (Orewa), 3.27, 4
Heat 2
Josh Taylor (Tau), 9.5, 1, Matt Craig (Whtane), 9.3, 2, Ben Poulter (Rag), 7.93, 3, Joseph Stewart (Whtane), 7.67, 4

Under 18 Boys Final
Hone Douglas (Whtane), 13.17, 1, Matt Craig (Whtane), 12.00, 2, Josh Taylor (Tau), 9.70, 3, Sam Poulter (Rag), 8.23, 4


Over 40 Men's Semifinal
Heat 1

Jeff Cox (Mnt), 7.67, 1, Mal Brady (Mnt), 7.63, 2, Tatana Heke (Mnt), 7.23, 3, Whare Heke (Mnt), 6.13, 4
Heat 2
Brian Young (Orewa), 13.77, 1, Guy Rencher (Mnt), 7.67, 2, Brian Moore (Mnt), 7, 3, Shane Crean (Mnt), 4.63, 4

Over 40 Men's Final
Guy Rencher (Mnt), 11.33, 1, Brian Young (Orewa), 8.00, 2, Jeff Cox (Mnt), 6.07, 3, Mal Brady (Mnt), 5.03, 4


Over 50 Men's Semifinals
Heat 1

Mark Hoyle (Orewa), 10.73, 1, Rupert Newbold (Whngrei), 6.7, 2, Chris Spiers (Waihi Beach) TP, 6.5, 3, Scotty Riach (Auck), 4.27, 4
Heat 2
Mike Thomson (Rag), 9.07, 1, Viv Treacy (Ocean Beach), 8.13, 2, Grant Cochrane (ChCh), 7.1, 3, Nick Minogue (Auck), 3.07, 4

Over 50 Men's Final
Mike Thomson (Rag), 10.30, 1, Viv Treacy (Ocean Beach), 7.57, 2, Mark Hoyle (Orewa), 6.97, 3, Rupert Newbold (Whngrei), 6.17, 4


Stand Up Paddleboard Semifinals
Heat 1

Daniel Kereopa (Rag), 13.33, 1, Armie Armstrong (Rag), 11.4, 2, Sean Hovell (Gis), 6.57, 3, Shane Murrell (Auck), 5.87, 4
Heat 2
Shayne Baxter (ChCh), 9.9, 1, Karlos Aarsen (Whmata), 9.37, 2, Jeremy Stephenson (Auck), 7, 3, Paul Culpan (Auck), 5.93, 4

Stand Up Paddleboard Final
Shayne Baxter (ChCh), 10.73, 1, Karlos Aarsen (Whmata), 10.47, 2, Daniel Kereopa (Rag), 10.17, 3, Armie Armstrong (Rag), 7.87, 4

Stand Up Paddleboard Race
Jeremy Stephenson (Auck), 1, Armie Armstrong (Rag), 2, Shayne Baxter (Chch), 3, Daniel Kereopa (Rag), 4

The remaining event for the 2012 Hyundai Tour follow:

Hyundai Tour Event 5, 2-3 March, Port Waikato (6-star)

Entry into all events can be completed at Surfing New Zealand under "events." Complete the entry process online or download entry forms and send them in. The 2012 Hyundai Tour is expected to receive high entry levels at each location, so entries will need to be in well before the cut off dates to assure participants get a slice of the action.

Further Information
For further information on the 2012 Hyundai Tour and the first of five events, please contact Surfing New Zealand's Ben Kennings on 021 2278732 or email benkennings@surfingnz.co.nz