Ashmore Secures First Win while Nguyen Returns to Leader Position
Dewey Beach, DE delivered rippable East Coast conditions as the professional men and professional women sought to gain UST points at the Zap Pro/Am Championships held on August 13th, 14th and 15th. This was the second contest of the 2021 season for the professional men and the first contest of the season for the professional women. The men’s professional field included 18 riders from seven states on the East and West Coast of the US as well as one international rider from Mexico. The women’s professional division featured three riders from up and down the East Coast and one rider from Mexico.
Conditions on Friday were solid one to three feet through the morning as the professional men competed in round one. There were a number of solid standout moments from Friday, including the first heat of the day as the number one seed Ryan McFarland secured the highest score of the round with over 23 points. The McCoy brothers, Sam and Lucas, both won their heats, maintaining the momentum they built in North Carolina. Californian Dane Cameron made his UST debut, and he snuck through his heat just 0.2 points ahead of Naji Taha, but 1.5 points behind Chester Burnett who won the sixth heat of the round.
After the completion of round one on Friday, the entire contest was put on hold during the amateur rounds in the early afternoon. A thunderstorm moved in and the lifeguards cleared off the beach for an hour. With the Sunday weather forecast looking dubious, contest director Jason Wilson made the call to hold the remaining professional men’s and women’s rounds on Saturday, which saw the best conditions of the entire weekend.
On Saturday morning, the professional men’s round two whittled down the field from 12 riders to 8, where riders like Dane Cameron and Sam McCoy had standout performances. Gerardo Valencia was a standout throughout the entire weekend, and this showed in round two as he scored the highest point total of the round with over 23 points.
In the quarterfinals, Delaware local Will Ashmore really started to shine, defeating Dillion Brown from New Jersey in a one-on-one match up. Ashmore showcased his solid riding style throughout the weekend, catching some of the longest rides out of anybody. Gerardo Valencia went head to head with Ryan McFarland in the quarters, and Valencia was in tremendous form. On one wave, Valencia landed two 360 shuvits out to a frontside line before popping a frontside 180 to the sand. He eliminated top seed McFarland, opening up the UST points race. Sam McCoy defeated his brother Lucas by a razor thin margin with just 0.2 points to spare. Californian Dane Cameron also advanced to the semi finals over Ethan Redefer.
The professional women’s round one heat included all four riders. This heat saw the reigning UST champion Sophia Nguyen and Delaware local Alex Yokley advance to the final head-to-head heat. Emma Okoniewski and Irais Ibarra finished the heat in third and fourth respectively.
The men’s semi final saw Dane Cameron go head-to-head with Sam McCoy. Cameron and McCoy started the heat each stacking solid scores, but Cameron’s tech was really beginning to awaken. At the end of the heat, Cameron’s clean, fast, and technical approach got him through and into the final at his very first UST contest. The next heat saw Delaware local Will Ashmore up against Gerardo Valencia. Valencia started with a 7.57, a score he would hold onto until the finish. However, Ashmore’s consistency proved to outshine Valenica’s explosive approach, and Ashmore advanced to the final in front of his hometown crowd.
The professional women’s final began with a bang as both riders slid out to a wrap just as the buzzer sounded at the start of the heat. Nguyen wrapped cleanly back to the beach while Yokley slightly stumbled as she approached the sand. That wave very much set the tone for the heat as Nguyen held her lead, adding in a variety of technical rides like a frontside line to 360 shuvit as the heat progressed. Yokley put up a very good set of scores and finished just 0.4 points behind. However, Nguyen was able to maintain and secure her win.
The final was a spectacle right from the jump, with Ashmore and Cameron both locking in keeper scores on their very first attempts. Ashmore scored a 7.7 on his first ride, which ended up being the top score of the heat. Cameron forced the issue throughout the middle of the heat, with several 540 shuvit out combinations; however, Ashmore was able to use his monkey-crawl to place himself into some of the larger sections of waves. Ultimately, it was the persistent control, speed, power and flow that gave the nod to Will Ashmore, as he collected his first ever pro victory on his home turf.
Professional Men
- Will Ashmore
- Dane Cameron
- Gerardo Valencia
- Sam McCoy
Professional Women
- Sophia Nguyen
- Alex Yokley
- Emma Okoniewski
- Irais Ibarra
UST Professional Men Title Race
With just two events completed for the season, this year has one of the tightest points races in recent memory. Lucas McCoy has the current lead with 1472 points. OBX champion Ryan McFarland is next with 1399, and Gerardo Valencia and Sam McCoy are both very close behind with 1377 and 1368 points respectively.
View current Men’s standings here.
View current Women’s standings here.
Words by David Haefele and Brett Mahon
On Site Notes provided by Brett Mahon and Jason Wilson
Photos by John Yeatman (IG | Website)