Rosewall wins third Gunnamatta title in a row

JAN Juc’s Todd Rosewall and Cape Woolamai’s Sophie Fletcher have overcome tough conditions to take out the Open Mens and Open Womens divisions at Gunnamatta Ocean Beach over the weekend, an exciting start to their Victorian Open Series campaigns.

A messy three- to four-foot groundswell paired with a strong rip presented a challenge for all surfers to be inventive with their skillset, but Rosewall and Fletcher managed to spot the best possible waves to win their respective divisions in style.

With so many up-and-coming Victorian surfers competing in Fingal, stakes to qualify were high given the event’s pathway to the Rip Curl Pro trials.

Rosewall took on some massive turns early in the day, building momentum and seeing him into the final.

Only advancing his quarter-final by a small margin, the local surfer got over the line against the 2018 Rip Curl Pro Trials winner Carl Wright (Phillip Island) who surfed to second place.

“It’s great to get the win here today at Gunnamatta and get the three in a row,” he said.

“I’m looking forward to surfing the next couple of Victorian Open Series events and hopefully clinching the title.”

Sophie Fletcher proved too good against her fellow finalists, slashing her way through the rip bowls of the Mornington Peninsula.

“I’m stoked to get the win here today. It’s always great to get back here to Gunnamatta,” she said.

“I can’t wait to head up north soon to do all of the WQS events as well as going to Mexico and California.”

Coming in second was two-time Open Womens champion Bella Wilson (Jan Juc), with Jazz Wylie (Jan Juc) and Ellie Harrison (Barwon Heads) finishing in third and fourth respectively.

The Air Asia Wave of the Day was awarded to Josh Johnson-Baxter from Ocean Grove for his 9-point ride in the early morning where he executed a massive turn.

Results can be found at the website at liveheats. com/surfingvictoria.