HENNESSY & MAMIYA WIN HURLEY PRO SUNSET BEACH
Barron Mamiya – WSL / TONY HEFF
Today, Brisa Hennessy (CRI) and Barron Mamiya (HAW) won the Hurley Pro Sunset Beach presented by SHISEIDO, the second stop on the World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT), in six-to-eight foot surf. This win marks the first CT victory for both surfers, and for Hennessy, the first time a Costa Rican has won a CT event. Hennessy and Mamiya now climb to World No. 1 on the WSL rankings, while runner-ups Malia Manuel (HAW) and Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) sit at World No. 2.
Brisa Hennessy / WSL / Tony Heff
22-year old Hennessy earned her first CT victory after besting Manuel in the Final and rookie Bettylou Sakura Johnson (HAW) in the Semifinals today at Sunset Beach.Â
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A Final with hefty implications unfolded as Hennesy and local charger Manuel battled to see who would take the No. 1 spot on the World Rankings. Hennessy started off her first-ever CT Final with an early lead but Manuel’s opening 6.33 put her right back in the heat and quick in-and-out to take the lead before making a priority error halfway through the affair.Â
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Hennessy’s 5.23 put her back into the lead and required a 4.73 of Manuel heading into the final six minutes as the Kauian went for it all on a major maneuver and fell from the top to the bottom. The Costa Rica representative found one last opportunity and turned in a 7.00 to secure her a massive victory, the country’s first on the CT.Â
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“I have no words, I’ve dreamed about this moment but I never thought it was possible,” Hennessy beamed from the water immediately after the Final. “To all those people that supported me, I did it.”
Brisa Hennessy / WSL / Brent Bielmann
Hennessy represented Costa Rica in last summer’s Olympic debut in Japan and requalified for the CT after finishing second on the 2021 Challenger Series. The seventh career Final for Manuel, unfortunately she has now finished runner-up in all of them. She will take solace in knowing she had a great Island leg of the Tour and goes into the Europe leg in prime form.
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The men’s Final also featured a battle for the yellow jersey between wildcard Mamiya and CT veteran Igarashi that unfolded in historic fashion. Mamiya is the first men’s wildcard to win an event since 2008.
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A slow start gave way to fireworks as Igarashi put pressure on the wildcard after a priority mistake by Mamiya, who recovered brilliantly with back-to-back scoring waves to accrue a 15.00 heat total and left his seasoned competitor in need of a near-perfect 9.50. But the local North Shore competitor wasn’t done yet and dropped the hammer on a major, two-turn combination to earn an 8.83 and leave Igarashi in need of two new waves with just two minutes remaining.
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“I can’t believe it, I literally can’t believe it. I thought Pipe was the event I was going to do good in,” said Mamiya with tears in his eyes.
Barron Mamiya – WSL / TONY HEFF
In the first Semifinals, surfing like a man possessed, Caio Ibelli came out with clear intent, but his run was cut short by Mamiya, who slowly worked himself into attack mode.
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By heat’s ended he found himself trailing, needing a minor 3.30 score. A small set hit the point, Mamiya got one last chance. Hammering the smaller waves all the way to the beach, he ended up on the sand waiting for the judge’s call.
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“I couldn’t believe he let me go. I rode it all the way through Val’s, I pretty much face-planted on the reef,” an out-of-gas Mamiya said afterwards.
Malia Manuel – WSL / TONY HEFF
Eventual runner-up Igarashi battled his way to the Final after matching with even threat Jack Robinson (AUS), 2019 Vans World Cup winner here at Sunset, in phenomenal fashion. The 24-year-old then had to overpower Ethan Ewing (AUS), who looked to be unstoppable in his event run, but Igarashi was able to score a near-perfect 9.03 (out of a possible 10) and left the Australian talent in need of an excellent score heading into the final minutes.Â
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The current World No. 2 will now look for his second-career CT win heading into the MEO Portugal Pro after falling short to Mamiya’s Cinderella story.Â
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For the women, in a generational battle of surfers from Hawaii, veteran Manuel took on rookie Gabriela Bryan. Leaning into her year’s of CT experience, Manuel fought through a grindy heat, which provided more evidence that the next generation of women have arrived on the CT.
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It was a similar scenario for Hennessy in her Semifinal against Bettylou Sakura Johnson. From start to finish, Hennessy was the in-from surfer of the day, but once again, watch out for that youth movement.
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“Bettylou’s so dangerous out there. Her carve is so dangerous,” Hennessy explained afterwards. “These rookie girls are so good.”
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Up next, the 2022 Championship Tour will head to Supertubos in Peniche, Portugal for the MEO Pro Portugal. The waiting period kicks off on March 3. Keep it locked right here at WorldSurfLeague.com as the race for the Rip Curl WSL Finals continues.
Kanoa Igarashi – WSL / TONY HEFF
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