OCEANSIDE, Calif. (July 28, 2019) – Seventeen year-old emerging star Samantha Sibley (San Clemente, CA) overcame a stacked field of top-ranked competitors to stand atop the Nissan Super Girl Surf Pro podium, earning her first World Qualifying Series (QS) title and becoming the youngest champion to wear the coveted Super Girl Pro cape. Previous Super Girl Pro champ, Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) finished second, with last year’s runner-up Caroline Marks (USA), and Bronte Macaulay (AUS) earning equal third.
With her win today, Sibley skyrockets from No. 52 to No. 6 on the QS rankings, with a strong shot to land a spot on the Championship Tour (CT) next season.
“This is the best day of my life! I can’t believe I just won the Super Girl Pro,” exclaimed an emotional Sibley. “I’ve been coming to this event ever since I was little, standing on this beach, taking pictures with all my heroes, and now to be the Super Girl . . . I’m at a loss for words.”
Weston-Webb wasn’t the only CT elite Sibley had to get past today. She also served up a stunning win over fellow 17-year-old and 2018 Rookie of the Year, Caroline Marks (USA), in the Semifinals. Sibley’s versatile approach with her vertical backhand and powerful forehand attack helped her garner some of the day’s highest scores along the way — including the event’s highest heat total of a 15.76 (out of a possible 20) in Round 5 and a single wave score of 8.00 (out of a possible 10) in the Final.
The friendships amongst the competitors in this event is well-known, and this was never more evident than on the beach after Semi-final Heat 2, when the first person to congratulate Sibley was Weston-Webb.
“It meant the world to me to be out there with Tatiana. I couldn’t pick a better person to be in a final with, she’s such an amazing surfer, she’s so strong,” Sibley added of her Finals competitor Weston-Webb. “I’ve looked up to her for years and now we’re really good friends, so to be in a Final with her was just the cherry on top.”
The bitter-sweet finish gave Weston-Webb 4,550 points and a second runner-up medal at the event, in addition to her 2015 victory. The CT veteran has attended the Super Girl Pro contest every year since the event’s switch to a QS, and has rarely found herself not competing on finals day. The 23-year-old fought her way through the likes of Teresa Bonvalot (PRT), Leilani McGonagle (CRI), and fellow CT competitor Bronte Macaualy (AUS) with impressive numbers of her own that included a 15.10 heat total in the Semifinals.
A pair of CT elite finished with Semifinal appearances as Marks fell to eventual winner Sibley and Macaulay fell victim to Weston-Webb’s vicious backhand performance. Marks leaves the Nissan Super Girl Pro still atop the North America rankings, and Macaulay’s result was her best of 2019.
“This year’s Nissan Super Girl Surf Pro told such inspiring story for the record-breaking crowds that came out to see all the action,” said Rick Bratman, CEO of ASA Entertainment, the event’s producer. “To see a young local surfer go from watching her heroes on the beach at the event when she was 10, to becoming our youngest champ yet, was just an incredible story. Sam showed the next generation of aspiring female surfers that anything is possible.”
NEW THIS YEAR – OLIVIA STONE WINS FIRST ADAPTIVE SURF COMPETITION
More young sensations stood atop the podium during today’s Awards Ceremony as 16-year old Olivia Stone and 11-year-old Faith Lennox finished first and second, respectively, in the first ever Super Girl Surf Pro Adaptive Heat. Retired USMC Captain Sarah Bettencourt earned third place.
One of the day’s highlights included famed pro-surfer Bethany Hamilton (HAW) and Charles “Chaka” Webb, who runs the US Open Adaptive Surfing Championship, providing commentary as six female adaptive surfers took to the water to spark inspiration in everyone on the beach. Stone, a congenital bilateral above the elbow amputee, earned the top honors with an amazing performance as she rode one of her scoring waves from the outside nearly to the shoreline.
“It was incredible to hear my name called first and to step on the tallest step of the podium and be announced as the winner was a moment that I will always remember,“ said an elated Stone. “If you have a passion and you want to pursue it, just don’t look back and keep charging. I just want to show everyone that women are strong and we are super.”
“To have all these amazing adaptive athletes go for it just inspires other people to go out and do it,” explained Hamilton. “It’s absolutely amazing and beautiful to see.”
SWITCHFOOT’S TIM FOREMAN BATTLES OLYMPIAN LINDSEY JACOBELLIS FOR TOP HONORS IN CELEBRITY INVITATIONAL
Famed SoCal band Switchfoot bassist Tim Foreman teamed up with pro surfer and Super Girl competitor Chelsea Roett (BRD) to win the Celebrity Surf Invitational, narrowly beating out the team of Lindsey Jacobellis, the most decorated snowboard cross athlete in the world, and QS no. 12 Alyssa Spencer (USA). The team of ESPN and X Games commentator Sal Masekela and Junior Pro Caitlin Simmers (USA) finished in third place.
BEYOND THE SURF: NISSAN CONCERT SERIES, SUPER GIRL GAMER PRO AND MORE
The weekend-long event was all about free, women-powered entertainment and inspiration, both in and out of the water. The Nissan Concert Series, headlined by Natasha Bedingfield, continued to rock the Radio Disney Stage today with performances by James Maslow, pop sensation Austin Mahone, an all-female DJ competition, and much more.
The Super Girl Gamer Pro — the only all-female, multi-title esports tournament in the U.S. — saw winners crowned for Hearthstone (Anna Damir and Becky Booth in first and second, respectively) and team CLG RED winning the CS:GO women’s showcase match.
“Nissan is proud to be the 2019 title sponsor of the Super Girl Surf Pro,” said Shawn Mirabal, regional vice president, Nissan North America. “We are committed to the Super Girl Pro Series of surf and snow events and their mission to celebrate female empowerment and strength. As a company, we have the opportunity to help inspire the next generation of women through action sports. We look forward to continuing our support in 2020 at Nissan Super Girl Snow Pro.”
Nissan Super Girl Pro Final Results:
1 – Samantha Sibley (USA) 13.73 6,000 points
2 – Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) 10. 17 4,550 points
Nissan Super Girl Pro Semifinal Results:
SF 1: Tatiana Weston-Webb (HAW) 15.10 def. Bronte Macaulay (AUS) 13.43
SF 2: Samantha Sibley (USA) 10.40 def. Caroline Marks (USA) 10.07
Nissan Super Girl Pro Quarterfinal Results:
QF 1: Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) 13.04 def. Leilani McGonagle (CRI) 8.73
QF 2: Bronte Macaulay (AUS) 15.23 def. Mahina Maeda (JPN) 7.33
QF 3: Samantha Sibley (USA) 12.16 def. Kirra Pinkerton (USA) 10.70
QF 4: Caroline Marks (USA) 15.60 def. Dimity Stoyle (AUS) 12.46
Nissan Super Girl Pro Round 5 Results:
Heat 1: Leilani McGonagle (CRI) 10.33 def. Zahli Kelly (AUS) 7.84
Heat 2: Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) 13.73 def. Teresa Bonvalot (PRT) 7.44
Heat 3: Mahina Maeda (JPN) 10.06 def. Nikki Van Dijk (AUS) 8.63
Heat 4: Bronte Macaulay (AUS) adv. Carissa Moore (HAW) WTHDR
Heat 5: Samantha Sibley (USA) 15.76 def. Sara Wakita (JPN) 8.00
Heat 6: Kirra Pinkerton (USA) 11.96 def. Lakey Peterson (USA) 11.66
Heat 7: Dimity Stoyle (AUS) 13.14 def. Vahine Fierro (FRA) 12.67
Heat 8: Caroline Marks (USA) 12.67 def. Gabriela Bryan (HAW) 10.24
For more information on Nissan Super Girl Surf Pro, please visit www.supergirlpro.com
About ASA Entertainment:
Founded in 1994, ASA Entertainment Group, LLC is an action sports event, television and content production agency focused on creating and executing customized, turn-key marketing programs that range in scale from grassroots to global. ASA’s events, featuring skateboarding, freestyle BMX, inline skating, freestyle motocross, snowboarding, skiing, surfing and music, are broadcast domestically on eight networks (including CBS and FOX Sports), and distributed to more than 700 million HH globally via 30 international broadcast partners. ASA’s productions span the spectrum from large, international competitions such as the ASA Action Sports World Tour, the World Championships of Freestyle Motocross, The Super Girl Pro Series and the ASA Big-Air Triples to amateur contests, lifestyle and branded entertainment events, demonstrations, exhibitions, school programs and mobile tours. After 25 years as a leader in action sports, ASA Entertainment regularly connects brands to consumers through its platform of premium action sports and lifestyle content. For more information, visit ASAentertainment.com.
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