2008 World Title Race Heats Up With Sofia Mulanovich, Stephanie Gilmore and Layne Beachley Advancing

The Roxy Pro Hawaii got underway yesterday at Sunset Beach on the North Shore of Oahu, with 6
to 8 foot waves and great conditions for the first day of the women's
competition.  Stop No. 7 of 8 on the 2008 ASP Women's World Tour, the
Roxy Pro Hawaii at Sunset Beach also marks the second event of the
Vans Triple Crown of Surfing and the solid surf at the infamous break
saw Hawaiians and big-wave specialists dominating the competition.
With the 2008 Women's World Tour Champion still undecided, the Roxy
Pro Hawaii is a critical contest, with Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) holding
a slight ratings lead over Roxy pro-surfer Sofia Mulanovich (PER) and
Layne Beachley (AUS) before the start of the competition.

Sofia Mulanovich, 25, defending Roxy Pro Champion and current No. 2 on
the ASP Women's World Tour, put in a solid round one effort today to
make the short cut to the quarters.  Reigning world champion Stephanie
Gilmore was forced into a sudden-death Round Two heat, after falling
to Melanie Bartels (HAW), who posted the highest score of the day with
a 9.57 in her first heat of the day.  Gilmore was able to win her heat
and keep her world title campaign alive.  Layne Beachley also advanced
to the quarterfinals, keeping the three woman title race alive for the
next day of competition.

"I watched the heat before me and saw Steph (Gilmore) get beaten, but
I didn't think too much about that in my heat," said Roxy pro-surfer
Sofia Mulanovich. "I was confident that Steph will get through her
next heat and we'd be back to square one come the quarterfinals.  I'm
excited to see what Sunset Beach has to offer for the next round of
competition."

The day was full of surprises, with Van's Triple Crown leader and
winner of the Women's Reef Hawaiian Pro, Carissa Moore, losing out
early in the wildcard trials and missing the main event.  Young
phenomenon and reigning WQS female champion, Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS),
put in a solid performance winning the trials heat for the wildcard
spot and placing second in her Round One heat to advance to the
quarterfinals.  Hawaii's Melanie Bartels put in a huge performance in
the challenging eight-foot conditions, posting the two highest scores
of the day to keep her 2009 requalification hopes alive.

Organizers halted Roxy Pro competition for the day following the
completion of Round 2, allowing for the ASP World Qualifying Series
(WQS) 6-Star Prime O'Neill World Cup of Surfing to get underway. For
more information or to watch the competition live, visit www.roxy.com.