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ON A ROLL
Ventura narrowly beats Orange County
Full coverage of the California Quiksilver Cup, Ventura:
Ventura beats Orange County
Ventura beats Los Angeles
Ventura beats San Diego
Ventura beats Santa Cruz
Ventura defeated the defending 2004 California Cup Champions, the Orange County Octopus VC: 89.75 - OC: 85.25 in a close game after a heavy day of competition for the Pelicanos. Earlier in the day, Ventura sent the LA Arc Angels to the cleaners in Game 2, defeating LA by 31 points. Wave conditions improved slightly for Game 3 as the low tide push provided cleaner sets up to waist to head high.
Game 3 of the Ventura Pelicanos Game Week series was crucial as the top teams jostle for one of two slots for the 2005 Quiksilver California Cup championships. Ventura opted for OC (2-2 record) to surf first with Brett Simpson, Shaun Ward, Mike Todd and Mike Hoisington. OC's 23.5 first quarter score edged out Ventura by a mere point as Shaun Ward's 7.5 opened the game with a beautiful inside set linking four incredible off the lips. Simpson's 6.75 massive frontside reverse set the tone for an eventual Most Radical Maneuver award.
Ventura's 1st quarter group included a similar roster of power brokers including Dane Reynolds, Keith Malloy, Nick Rosza and Sean Hayes. Reynold's immediate 360 air followed by two lip smacks and a blown out tail maneuver earned him an 8.75 along with Malloy's 6.75. Similar to OC's quarter, only two strong scores carried the group resulting in VC trailing by a mere one point, VC: 22.5.
Orange County's veteran surfer, Pat O'Connell led OC's second quarter group with an explosive 9.25 on a good set during the grace period. O'Connell delivered a huge gouge followed by an off the top and 5 back to back flowing cutbacks. Again, the quarter group found it difficult to collectively deliver strong scores, resulting in a second quarter OC score of 21.75 and a cumulative game score of 45.25.
Ventura sent out Timmy Curran, Hank Mills, Adam Virs and Nathaniel Curran to take advantage of the close game. Timmy's 7.0 was the closest score to matching OC's Pat O'Connell's score along with Adam Virs' 6.0 mini tube ride. By half time, OC led Ventura by 1.5 points, OC: 45.25- VC: 43.75.
In the 3rd quarter, OC's Brett Simpson's 6.0 wave consisted of a nice little floater coming down the line with speed then smashing the fins out the back ending with a spinning 360 reverse. Shaun Ward would have another strong quarter score of 7.0 yet the group continued to struggle to post big quarter scores, ending the 3rd quarter with a 21.25 and a cumulative game score of 67.
The Pelicanos' Dane Reynolds would match Ward's wave, which included a good release and a big off the top for a solid 7.0. Knowing that the opportunity to close the gap against OC was present, the spectators wondered when Ventura would call a second time out. Indecision in the Pelicanos dugout had coach Davey Smith finally use a second time out with only 4 seconds to go in an attempt to position sub, Jeremy Ryan. "We were debating, I didn't want to call a time out, but Timmy and Sean Hayes wanted to, so they convinced me but in the time period, the time was ticking away," explained Ventura coach Davey Smith. Ryan however would not be able to deliver a higher score than an existing 3.25. Ventura ended their 3rd quarter with a 20.5, trailing OC by only 2.75 points.
The final quarter had both teams standing in the dugout anticipating a favorable outcome as OC set out to create distance from Ventura. OC struggled to get any waves as Pat O'Connell's 6.25 was the highest score followed by all under 5.25 scores from the remainder of the group for a final quarter score of 18.75 and a cumulative game score of 85.25, 21 points ahead of Ventura.
The bottom of the 4th quarter saw the strongest qu
arter score of the game, as The Pelicanos delivered an astounding performance with both Curran brothers contributing to strong scores, Timmy (8.75) and Nathaniel (6.5). With six minutes to go, Virs' 5.75 took advantage of a flurry of waves, assisting Ventura to defeat the Orange County Octopus, by 4.5 points, VC: 89.75 -- OC: 85.25.
Timmy Curran's thoughts on today's double header while rushing to Tahiti, "It's good to finally start winning, we lost 3 games but we are starting to get our stride and working really well, gotta get into the championship".
Garth Tarlow, Orange County Octopus assistant coach, "Mother Nature let us down but stoked to be here, hopefully we can get waves in Huntington, guys are confident and surfing well".
Ventura rookie Tyler Anderson on being utilized for the first time as a substitute, "There's absolutely no feeling of nervousness, it's 100% that you want to do well. It's so exciting to be a part of it instead of telling your teammates to get a good one, they are now telling you to get a good wave".
The NSL is the sport of surfing's equivalent of the NBA, MLB and NFL. NSL's mission is to build a unique surfing league dedicated to the pursuit of surfing excellence and generating consumer awareness for the sport, while creating a fun, competitive format for all types of surfers.
Stop 5 of the 2005 Quiksilver California Cup will feature the Orange County Octopus Game Week May 11th - May 15th. Please check nslgame.com for a full game schedule.
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Press Release
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