Todd third in U.S. Open heat

Mike Sciacca

Mike Todd carried the banner for Laguna Beach Monday at the Honda

U.S. Open of Surfing presented by O’Neill Men’s competition, and came

up with a third-place finish in his heat at the Huntington Beach

Pier.

Todd, 24, finished third in heat No. 8 during the round of 192

competition.

Seeded 132nd in the event, he placed third behind winner Bobby

Morris of Santa Barbara and second-place Raymond Reichle of Hawaii.

Todd finished with an overall score of 6.03, his highest wave

score being a 3.2.

Morris won the heat with an overall score of 9.6, while Reichle

grabbed second-place with a total score of 6.5.

Each riders’ top two waves are totaled for their final scoring

average.

Other key heat winners were Jano Belo of Brazil, who recorded the

top heat score of the day with a 16.34 out of a possible 20 points in

the 22nd heat of the day, Patrick Gudauskas of San Clemente and Eric

Geiselman of Florida.

Dane Reynolds of Ventura, who competed in heat No. 7 and finished

second to Guadauskas, scored the day’s highest single wave, an 8.50

on a 10-point scale.

Several Japanese (Tanaka Hideyoshi, Teppei Tajima and Izuki

Tanaka), Australian (Yadin Nicol, Leigh Sedley, Nic Muscroft, Jay

Thompson, Samba Mann, Ben Dunn, Anthony Walsh, Corey Ziems, Josh

Kerr, Josh Fuller, Zahn Foxton, Yerin Brown, Michael Spencer and Jock

Barnes) and Brazilian (Beto Fernandes, Dunga Neto and Heitor Pereira)

surfers fared well and advanced to Tuesday’s round of 144.

American surfers also were in the mix as Tyler Fox (Aptos,

Calif.), Austin Ware (Encinitas, Calif.), Dane Gudauskas (San

Clemente), Alek Parker (Melbourne Beach, Fla.), Nathan Yeomans (San

Clemente) and Eric Taylor (Vero Beach, Fla.) all advanced.

Monday marked a first for the U.S. Open of Surfing as Frederico

Pilurzo of Italy competed for the first time, and he won his heat

with 11.87 points.

On Tuesday, the seasoned veterans shined at the pier.

Men’s 2001 U.S. Open champion Rob Machado advanced out of his heat

with a score of 11.27, but it was Geilseman who won the heat with a

score of 15.00.

Also winning heats Tuesday were Kieren Perrow (Australia), Dean

Randazzo (New Jersey) and Shea Lopez (Florida).

The day’s best wave score Tuesday went to Corey Ziems of

Australia, who scored a 9.00, and Royden Bryson of South Africa

compiled the best two-wave heat total with a combined score of 16.50.

More than 500 world-class athletes from dozens of countries are

competing in five divisions over a 10-day period, culminating with

the Men’s division final on Sunday.

The event carries a $185,000 prize purse.

The surfing continues today with Men’s competition in heats six

through 12 in the round of 48, and Women’s action in heats one

through six in the round of 24.

The U.S. Open of Surfing anchors the Bank of the West Beach Games.

More than 600 athletes from around the globe will compete in surfing,

skateboarding, BMX and volleyball.

Founded in 1959, the U.S. Open is North America’s highest-rated

qualifying event, the world’s largest and most heavily attended

professional surfing competition, and is its original action sports

event.

Last year’s Bank of the West Games drew a record 300,000

spectators, and 350,000 are expected to come out this year.

The $50,000 Philips Key Ring Soul Bowl, featuring several of the

world’s best skateboarders, BMX and FMX riders, will run today

through Sunday.

Today, the world’s largest surfboard will make a splash as surfers

attempt to establish a Guinness Book of World Records mark.

In March, 47 surfers successfully boarded the 40-foot by 10-foot

board on Australia’s Gold Coast.

The board was built by Aussie Nev Hyman.

Also on tap this weekend at the Bank of the West Beach Games is

the first Karch Kiraly Invitational volleyball tournament, which

begins Saturday.

Current volleyball stars will join living legends at the

invitational. Some of the men scheduled to compete are Mike Dodd, Tim

Hovland, Steve Timmons, Matt Furbringer, Mike Whitmarsh, Adam “AJ”

Johnson, Canyon Ceman, Jose Loiola, Jim Menges and Steve Obradovich

of Laguna Beach.

Angie Akers, Carrie Busch, Linda Hanley, Tracy Lindquist, Leanne

McSorley and Jen Pavley are the women scheduled to compete.

Six teams, consisting of three men and one woman, represent a

specific beach location -- Huntington Beach, San Diego, San Clemente,

Santa Monica, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach -- along the California

coast.

“This tournament is a loose rules version of beach volleyball with

a four-player format,” Kiraly said. “We have some great, great

players coming out for this, and there will be a lot of talking. It’s

going to be a lot of fun.”

The action begins Saturday with two pools each consisting of three

teams. Each team will play one another within their respective pool,

and play six total matches.

The top two teams in each pool advance to Sunday’s semifinals,

with the two winners in the final four, advancing to the final later

that day.