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Paul Mitchell Supergirl Pro Recap - 2012
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# 1 - Carissa Moore - Hawaii - carissamoore.com We know she can pump out combination maneuvers on her forehand like Hawaii pumps out pineapples and macadamia nuts, but can she keep the juice flowing for another title? Right points and punchy beachbreak air-section wedges favor Carissa again. It’s all psychology at this point. In order to be the next Slater she’ll need to amplify her psyching powers (and maybe bic her head).

Portrait © ASP/Cestari. Current world champion, Carissa Moore, hucking spray in Huntington Beach. © Chris Grant/Jettygirl.com
# 2 - Sally Fitzgibbons - Australia - sallyfitzgibbons.com Her ability to pull carving reverses at will in addition to her stronger, smoother, faster style put Sally on the accelerated track to perennial world-title-contender-dom. Sally is a woman who has the maxim “8s or lates” firmly entrenched in her heat strategy. If she doesn’t win the title she’ll end up in the top three again, having been beaten by someone who consistently threw down 9s and 10s against her (as Carissa did last year).

Portrait © ASP/Kirstin. Sally Fitzgibbons takes a vertical approach to HB's famed shorebreak. © Chris Grant/Jettygirl.com
# 3 - Stephanie Gilmore - Australia - stephgilmore.com The wrist rattled Steph last year. As someone who has formerly broken a wrist I can totally identify with this. It’s perhaps one of the worst parts of the body for a surfer to injure. Hopefully she has regained both her strength and her wits. Also, I do not care if Steph never does a single air. She’s one of those surfers like Tom Curren who does not need to launch to win events. Smooth rail to rail power surfing shall never die and when done at Steph’s level is a thing both of beauty and high scores. Variety of turns and consistency will be the keys if she wants to unlock the door to another title.

Portrait © ASP/Kirstin. Stephanie Gilmore, smooth and effortless from section to section. Photo © Chris Grant/Jettygirl.com
# 4 - Tyler Wright - Australia What can I say? She kills it. What I’d like to see: no pumping ever. Her strength is on the rail. She’ll need to mix up the patented layback — maybe tweak it into an inverted slide or take it above the lip. Not sure if she’s title-ready, but she’s definitely in the mix.

Portrait © ASP/Kirstin. Fins out the back at the US Open of Surfing, Tyler Wright. © Chris Grant/Jettygirl.com
# 5 - Silvana Lima - Brazil - silvanalima.com.br When I wrote the power rankings for Surfline I never stopped singing Silvana’s praises. A few Brazilians got mad when I put Sally ahead of her, but look where Sal finished last year. I hate to say it, but I am rarely wrong. Maybe a little snide or crass or harsh, but not dead wrong. That said, Silvana is one of my favorite surfers. I love her speed and her casual approach. Every time she’s in a heat I want her to win. But as I used to tell my buddy Shea when we did contests, “No pull no points.” In freesurfing it’s different — we all like to see air attempts, but in contests airs need to be landed to score. If and when Silvana starts punctuating rides with huge frontside lofts and clearing sections with spinners instead of floaters she will be untouchable. May that time be now.

Portrait © ASP/Cestari. Silvana Lima flying somewhere in Southern California. © Chris Grant/Jettygirl.com
# 6 - Coco Ho - Hawaii - coco-ho.com My claim to fame is beating a 70 lb Coco Ho at heaving Newport Beach in the semi-finals of the 2005 VQS championships. I scored an 8 for a backside layback barrel that I never should have made it out of. Fast forward seven years. I teach fashion history and theory at Parsons and predominantly ride a retro fish except when Jersey is 4-6 and ramping. Coco is on tour hucking fins at will. Clearly that semifinal had no bearing on either of our futures. Depite the pure pedigree, I do not see her as a title contender, but rather a title upsetter. She’ll continue to make semis, finals, and win the occasional event or two, and she will most certainly ruin others’ runs in the process.

Portrait © ASP/Kirstin. Coco Ho floats the shorebreak at the US Open of Surfing. © Chris Grant/Jettygirl.com
# 7 - Sofia Mulanovich - Peru - sofiamulanovich.com Never count her out. Her pscyhology is basically unassailable. If they could figure out a way to clone Sofia’s brain chemistry we might be able to find a cure for chronic depression and low self esteem. And like I said in the overall preview, if the beachies manage to produce solid lefts Sof could have a victory or two in her this season.

Portrait © ASP/Kirstin. Sofia Mulanovich, early morning snap at Lowers. © Chris Grant/Jettygirl.com
# 8 - Courtney Conlogue - United States Rookie shakes last year, but she showed glimpses of more great things to come. Proof that you can never count California out even when the future seems exceptionally bleak for the Golden State. If a majority of the venues see larger surf Courtney could become a massive threat to any premature rushes for the gold. I’m calling that she will also claim her maiden tour victory this year.

Portrait © ASP/Griggi. California's top ranked surfer, Courtney Conlogue, smashes a small left. © Chris Grant/Jettygirl.com
# 9 - Pauline Ado - France - paulineado.fr Well of course the first thing that pops to mind when we see her name is the not-so-witty “much ado about....” So much ado about what? About forehand hacks it seems. Despite said hacks, however, Pauline is going to have to pump up the volume in both the strength and variety of repetoire categories if she wants to finish higher than 9th this year.

Portrait © ASP/Griggi. Pauline Ado on a surprisingly empty day at Lowers. © Chris Grant/Jettygirl.com
# 10 - Laura Enever - Australia Laura Enever has career security no matter how well she fares on tour. With her outrageous personality and image, there is no doubt she’ll be hosting sports and fashion awards and becoming a general celebrity for years to come. And maybe it is this kind of security that will actually enable Laura to continue to push through heats.

Portrait © ASP/Kirstin. Laura Enever at the US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach, CA © Chris Grant/Jettygirl.com
# 11 - Malia Manuel - Hawaii - maliamanuel.com She won the US Open at 15. We have seen the video clips of her tail high fin chucks and effortless roundhouse cutbacks. Definitely already in contention for rookie of the year based on expectation alone. I am excited to see how she deals with surfing against the more experienced girls.

Portrait © Chris Grant/Jettygirl.com. An afternoon to remember, Lowers fin throw by Malia Manuel. © Chris Grant/Jettygirl.com
# 12 - Lakey Peterson - United States - lakeypeterson.com Pretty much ditto for everything said about Malia Manuel plus we know she has got an air game. One of the first female surfers I have ever seen pull a clean air reverse in competition. It was at Trestles and she scored a 10. If she can put that type of surfing together with consistency California might have it’s first world champ since Tom Curren.

Portrait © ASP/Griggi. Lakey Peterson hits the lip during an evening session in Oceanside. © Chris Grant/Jettygirl.com
# 13 - Sage Erickson - United States - midlength.blogspot.com Another golden girl from Cali. I haven’t seen much of Sage’s surfing except in stills. She’s got a wicked forehand slash and from what I understand can be quite formidable in right points and in beachbreak, which bodes well for this year’s list of events. The jury is out.

Portrait © ASP/Griggi. Sage Erickson, frontside snap at a local pointbreak. © Chris Grant/Jettygirl.com
# 14 - Rebecca Woods - Australia - becwoods.com The return of the quarterfinals queen. I said it in the Power Rankings and I will say it here again: Rebecca Woods needs to push past the quarters. She has the ability and the flow, but requires wave selection. She will need to channel the “8s or lates” maxim and manifest that in her heats if she wants to keep up with all the new blood on tour.

Portrait © ASP/Kirstin. Rebecca Woods stamps an exclamation point in the Huntington shorebreak. © Chris Grant/Jettygirl.com
# 15 - Paige Hareb - New Zealand - paigehareb.co.nz Despite any reservations I may have about her ability to win heats I am pulling for Paige on pure goofyfooted alliance. I hope she finishes in the top five to prove that goofyfooted surfing is not dead and that she knocks a bunch of regularfoots off the tour in the process. It would also be nice if all the girls who qualify next year are goofyfoots. The imbalance is absolutely devastating. On the guy’s side of things the goofy men, still outnumbered by their right-footed brethren, are stepping up. The same needs to happen on the girls’ side and with Chelsea Hedges off tour, Paige is going to have to carry the torch.

Portrait © ASP/Kirstin. Paige Hareb lights up a Southern California left. © Chris Grant/Jettygirl.com
# 16 - Justine Dupont - France Darkhorse rookie of the year. I just watched her “I Surf Because” video on Youtube and am sold on her style and approach. She understands the nature of competitive surfing and is as confident as one needs to be to take down her heroes. May she do for France what fashion, butter, and democracy have!

Portrait © ASP/Aquashot. Justine Dupont setting up combinations in the Huntington Pier shorebreak. © Chris Grant/Jettygirl.com
# 17 - Jacqueline Silva - Brazil - jacquelinesilva.com.br The stalwart. As long as her competitors continue to make stupid wave choice and priority errors Jacqueline will continue to capitalize upon them. What she lacks in talent she makes up for in smarts, which equals a very well rounded and experienced contest surfer. In a sense she’s like Slater in that no mistake goes unpunished. I am essentially giving all of the other girls advice for beating Jacquie: don’t make mistakes. I repeat: if you make one mistake against her, she will destroy you.

Portrait © ASP/Cestari. Jacqueline Silva floats a sandy section in Huntington Beach, California. © Chris Grant/Jettygirl.com

Author: Di Mattison

My blogs/websites... • Di Mattison on Twitter • Dark Wave Rider - http://darkwaverider.blogspot.com • The Phenomenology of Surfing - http://thephenomenologyofsurfing.tumblr.com • Burningfromtheinside - http://burningfromtheinside.tumblr.com