Trestles Pro 2025: Day Two

Trestles is whittled down to a Finals Day after fourteen heats which have decided the Men's Quarter-Finalists and two of the Women's Semi-Finalists in waves a notch better than yesterday.

Any sense of stasis from opening day when the 2017 front-runners still looked avant-garde was wiped away today as Filipe Toledo, Jordy Smith, and Lakey Peterson were eliminated by younger opponents. Big consequences for Final 5 aspirants with a steadying of the ship for both Ethan Ewing and Jack Robinson after a turbulent Aussie Treble. The penny hasn't dropped yet but based on recent history it's likely we will have Jack in the five or Ethan, but not both. Neither of them have really been in consistent world title form this year but the only guy who did show consistent world title form, Italo Ferreira, has now been knocked by Aussie rookie Joel Vaughan.

Joel (WSL/Sharon)

It's hard to imagine a bigger form reversal. After coming into the Aussie leg thousands of points in front of his next rival, Italo has now lost to two wildcards not on tour and a retired Dad, to be followed up now by a loss in the Round of 16 to a rookie who had never surfed Trestles before this comp. Ballsy performance by Joel Vaughan. After a competent but unspectacular showing to get past Miggy Pupo yesterday, JV didn't look any chance to get past a guy who has won mutliple high pressure Finals Day heats at Trestles.

Classic Trestles opening gambit with Italo hassling hard for the peak, holding JV off the right and throwing a carve and two airs on the opening ride. By ten minutes in Italo had 14+ points on the rookie. Not a single sign of scoreboard pressure ensued in his answering rides. He loosed fins everywhere over the soft Lowers lip and launched the type of tail-high airs that saw him make the tour at Saquarema. Needing an 8+ ride on the buzzer, he got it to send Italo further down the rankings, possibly ending up as low as third by the end of Trestles.

That's the type of non-surf star showing that pro surfing dishes up regularly now. JV was a tow headed kid who'd never even surfed this joint and now he's sent a gold medallist and world champ packing in his first outing here. JV's simple formula “go big and risk it” was the antithesis of every bit of sickly safety surfing we've witnessed at pro tour level.

Filipe (WSL/Sharon)

That was sick, but amazingly the next heat eclipsed it. Filipe Toledo bought every ounce of Trestles magic to what should have been a Final with Griffin Colapinto. The sparky little quad looked like a jet-ski when he hit the bottom turn, the repertoire was expansive, everything was flowing and done with full throttle. He started strong and got stronger. He left Griff sitting out the back needing a huge score. When Griff overcooked a turn it looked over. Then Filipe made a vital error.

Two huge turns and a lofted air which he fell on. If Filipe made that air it was a 9+ ride. That opened the door for Griff with a two-wave set approaching on the minute countdown. Fil cleaned up his error with a clean air make. Griff on the better, cleaner second wave redeemed his conservative finals showings with three massive turns for a heat winning 8.93. The result made clear on the stones with Colapinto celebrating with hometown fans.

It was, he said, some relief from the “PTSD” he'd suffered after past Finals disappointments. Hearing the score announced on the stones “felt surreal”, he said before praising Filipe as a world class champion and thanking the WSL for coming back to Trestles which he claimed was "the real deal”.

Griff (WSL/Sharon)

You couldn't come to any other conclusion. The highest voltage performance surfing on the planet and something miraculous about the cadence of the sets which always seemed to arrive in sets of two as the clock counted down.

Someone else who had legitimate reason to have Trestles PTSD was Jack Robinson. Zero heat wins from three finals starts is not a good record. His small wave surfing looked inconclusive at Burleigh, and he had a rare complete mind melt at Margaret River as defending event champion. Jack had to stop the slide, and Leo was not an easy guy to do it against, especially when he laid down a full throated 8.50 to start. Jack responded with an air game. He kept popping them, judges kept paying them and he increased the amplitude each attempt. That win opened up a staggering 6-0 record over Leo, who has looked world title pace as often as anyone this year. That's probably the end of the line for him as far as world title aspirations go.

Jack (WSL/Sharon)

It was refreshing to hear Ethan after taking out Jake Marshall refer to his world title aspirations and not give us the usual 'one heat at a time, enjoying the moment' cliché. He wants a big result and he's said it now in consecutive pressers. Great, why else would you be there? He's not going to take to the air, according to him, he'll focus on his strengths and that also simplifies the game plan. Get on at least one of the best waves of the heat and rip it to shreds.

San Clemente kids might have taken umbrage yesterday at being described as behind the pace of guys who won Trestles a decade ago. They do read more than their own journal entries. After Griff's stirring W over Toledo, Cole Houshmand repeated the dose to Jordy Smith. Judging was not controversial today, and even with Jordy cheerleader Shaun Tomson in the booth there was really no way to spin it as anything but a clear victory to Cole. Apart from one fluffy right that Jordy carved into a million pieces there was a tangible distinction between the speed, risk, and repertoire of Houshmand and Jordy. Part of that was local knowledge. A creeping south wind made rights increasingly crumbly while the lefts stayed shorter but steeper. Just better for high performance turns.

Cole (WSL/Sharon)

Unlike three years of Trestles Finals Days, lots of lefts were spiked and scored today. Erin Brooks sailed past a downbeat Tyler Wright on the strength of a bowly left before being stopped by Caity Simmers, who still looks below her best.

This may sound harsh but we saw an inaccurate picture of Brooks surfing last year when she won Fiji. In small, cupped-out waves her single-focussed turn attack looks great. In anything else it looks short and janky and lacking flow and variety. It's a long off-season ahead and it's now increasingly likely Brooks will start hers in August once Teahupoo wraps. Would it be too impolite to suggest a month or two on a mid-length twin somewhere on a long point? Just as a means to relax and draw turns of varying arcs, let the body lean into and through the turn instead of relying on an exaggerated arm swing.

Erin (WSL/Sharon)

Two heats of women's Quarters done, with Caity past Erin and Molly over Lakey in a tight heat. We used to labour under the impression of parity during rounds so competitors wouldn't get different conditions or have to surf more often than others on Finals Day. That seems to be another thing jettisoned, perhaps as a result of JMD letting go of the reins.

We come back for Finals Day with the San Clemente kids in pole position and the Final 5 still wide open.

// STEVE SHEARER

Lexus Trestles Pro Men’s Remaining Elimination Round Results (Heats 6-8):
HEAT 6: Connor O'Leary (JPN) 13.90 DEF. Alan Cleland (MEX) 8.77
HEAT 7: Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) 12.57 DEF. Seth Moniz (HAW) 12.50
HEAT 8: Crosby Colapinto (USA) 12.90 DEF. Marco Mignot (FRA) 11.77

Lexus Trestles Pro Men’s Round of 16 Results:
HEAT 1: Joel Vaughan (AUS) 16.87 DEF. Italo Ferreira (BRA) 16.20
HEAT 2: Griffin Colapinto (USA) 16.83 DEF. Filipe Toledo (BRA) 16.30
HEAT 3: Yago Dora (BRA) 11.66 DEF. Joao Chianca (BRA) 9.33
HEAT 4: Ethan Ewing (AUS) 14.67 DEF. Jake Marshall (USA) 12.70
HEAT 5: Cole Houshmand (USA) 16.43 DEF. Jordy Smith (RSA) 14.23
HEAT 6: Jack Robinson (AUS) 17.07 DEF. Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) 14.00
HEAT 7: Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) 15.93 DEF. Crosby Colapinto (USA) 15.00
HEAT 8: Connor O'Leary (JPN) DEF. Barron Mamiya (HAW)

Lexus Trestles Pro Women’s Elimination Round Results:
HEAT 1: Caitlin Simmers (USA) 14.87 DEF. Kirra Pinkerton (USA) 13.96
HEAT 2: Erin Brooks (CAN) 16.33 DEF. Tyler Wright (AUS) 6.84
HEAT 3: Sawyer Lindblad (USA) 14.17 DEF. Isabella Nichols (AUS) 13.20
HEAT 4: Caroline Marks (USA) 15.20 DEF. Luana Silva (BRA) 13.44

Lexus Trestles Pro Women’s Quarterfinal Results (Heats 1-2):
HEAT 1: Caitlin Simmers (USA) 12.10 DEF. Erin Brooks (CAN) 11.66
HEAT 2: Molly Picklum (AUS) 12.50 DEF. Lakey Peterson (USA) 11.47