Eli Hanneman, San Clemente’s Sawyer Lindblad capture U.S. Open of Surfing titles
Three Southern Californians were among the four men’s semifinalists heading into the final day of the U.S. Open of Surfing Sunday on the south side of the Huntington Beach Pier.
But when it was all said and done, it was “Cali Killer” Eli Hanneman of Hawaii who came away with the men’s crown and the $20,000 in prize money that comes with it.
In the women’s final, 17-year-old San Clemente surfer Sawyer Lindblad topped Australia’s Sally Fitzgibbons to claim the title and $20,000.
The morning men’s heats featured San Clemente’s Crosby Colapinto against Long Beach’s Nolan Rapoza in one semifinal and Huntington Beach’s Kanoa Igarashi against Hanneman in the other.
Colapinto, the younger brother of Championship Tour (CT) surfer Griffin Colapinto, put up a two-wave score of 13.83 to eliminate Rapoza, who scored 11.20, and reach the final.
Hanneman and Igarashi were next, with Igarashi looking to win his third U.S. Open after going back-to-back in 2017 and ’18. Igarashi, however, could never find his rhythm and was unable to put up any big scores, falling to the 20-year-old from Maui, 13.13 to 11.10.
“When I saw my matchup in the semis, I was saying, ‘If I beat Kanoa, I’m winning the contest,’ because he’s pretty much the man to beat every time this event comes around,” Hanneman said. “Beating him was definitely a huge confidence booster.”
For Igarashi, the third-place finish wasn’t too bad considering he admitted not feeling like he was surfing his best throughout the week.
“I just got home from a long leg of traveling, we were surfing really different waves and I didn’t have any boards made for the conditions of Huntington,” said Igarashi, who finished in third place at South Africa’s J-Bay two weeks ago. “I was using my boards from J-Bay, and they are little bit different. But at the same time, it’s just one of those times when you really just don’t lock in, you’re a little bit off.”
The win over Igarashi propelled Hanneman to the highest scoring heat of the entire contest in the final against Colapinto, putting up a 9.00 and 8.10 for a two-wave total of 17.10.
There were no waves nine minutes into the 35-minute heat before Hanneman took to the sky, landing a backhand air reverse for the 9.00 and setting the tone for the heat. Colapinto was left chasing a big score and managed to ride just three waves, finishing with a two-wave score of 9.60.
“This whole week I just had a deep sense of confidence and peace and quietness, I was just ready,” Hanneman said. “I don’t know, I just felt like it was my time.
“I feel like I’ve lost so much in the last two years being on this Challenger Series … I can’t believe I won one. Even making one heat is so hard on this tour. I surfed six or seven heats in these last nine days, so I’m ready for a nap.”
The U.S. Open is one of six contests in the World Surf League’s Challenger Series — the top 10 surfers in the final points standings of the Challenger Series qualify for next year’s CT. Colapinto’s second-place finish Sunday bumped him up to third in the rankings; Hanneman jumped to fourth and Rapoza vaulted into contention at No. 13.
In winning the women’s final, Lindblad outlasted one of her surfing heroes in Fitzgibbons, a 32-year-old Australian who has been on the CT for 13 years and won the U.S. Open in 2011 when Lindblad was just 5 years old.
“Sally is incredible, I’ve looked up to her since I was 5,” Lindblad said. “To go up against her was definitely exciting. I always want the hardest heats, so I was happy I got her in the final, and to beat her is just a cherry on top.
“I’m still in shock, honestly, this is a dream come true. I’ve been dreaming of winning this event since I was 5 years old. And that dream came true today.”
Lindblad put herself in a good position to qualify for next year’s CT, moving up to No. 3 in the Challenger Series rankings, which sends the top five women to the CT.
“Probably when I was 12 or 13 I think I won U.S. Championships at Lowers, and that just really set me up,” Lindblad said of her surfing goals. “I was like, ‘I really want to do this for the rest of my life.’”
The U.S. Open also featured the Huntington Beach Longboard Classic, the first of four contests to determine a world champion. Both the men’s and women’s finals featured the same finalists from last year’s Open.
In the men’s final, Hawaii’s Kaniela Stewart avenged last year’s finals loss to Oceanside’s Taylor Jensen, taking home the title 15.73 to 12.43.
In the women’s all-Hawaiian final, Kelis Kaleopaa made it back-to-back wins over Honolua Blomfield, 14.14 to 13.73.
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