PRAIA DE SUPERTUBOS, Peniche, Portugal (Monday, March 17, 2025) — After a slower morning of anticipating the incoming swell, the MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal Presented by Corona Cero, Stop No. 3 of the World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT), completed the women’s Quarterfinals and three heats of the men’s Round of 32. As a new westerly swell rolled in, Supertubos started pumping, but it created a tricky lineup with limited scoring opportunities and the competition was called off for the rest of the day.
Brooks Upsets Simmers, Earns First Semifinal Appearance
Rookie Erin Brooks (CAN) upset World Champion Caitlin Simmers (USA) in a slow heat as the swell seemed to take a breather. Simmers got off to a quick start, but there weren’t a lot of opportunities available. Brooks found one of the longest waves on the left to belt out a handful of snappy turns. Soon after, she backed it up with a two-turn combo on her backhand to push Simmers against the ropes. Simmers hammered a huge turn into the most critical section of a good-looking wave, but it fell short of her requirement to surpass Brooks.
“I made a lot of mistakes in that heat,” Brooks said. “Going up against Caity is always nerve-wracking, but we’ve known each other for so long, so it was still a fun heat. When you get a good wave, and you hear the score, you get a bit of confidence. The right wasn’t my best wave, but I was building momentum and I’m just really glad I got those waves.”
Picklum, Marks, and Bryan Continue Momentum
Riding the momentum into her third Semifinal appearance for the season, Molly Picklum (AUS) overpowered Tyler Wright (AUS) in their Quarterfinal clash. Picklum picked off the gems of the heat to throw down massive hacks as the wind turned offshore, grooming the bigger faces.
Caroline Marks (USA) continued her winning-streak in head-to-head matchups against Johanne Defay (FRA) with a dominant performance to book her first Semifinal berth of the season. As the swell slowly started to fill in, Marks relied on her strong backhand to get two mid-range scores to take the win.
“It was so much fun to compete against Johanne, she’s such a good surfer, and good human. I have a lot of respect for her,” Marks said. “I surfed an hour before my heat, but the conditions changed so much it’s like a completely different day. I knew I would have to really adapt out there.”
A former winner in Peniche, Defay shared an emotional message about her experience surfing at this event, at four months pregnant.
“It’s so special to be here, and to see everybody,” Defay said. “It’s a new process full of uncertainties, but there was no pressure. So it was an easy one for me, and just a really good experience. I’m not doing it to prove anything. I just really wanted to be here, and I’m so grateful to be an athlete with so much support from my team.”
In another slow heat plagued by long lulls, Gabriela Bryan (HAW) surfed a smart heat against Rookie Bella Kenworthy (USA). Bryan ensured she banked two decent scores, and locked in a consecutive Semifinal after her third place finish in Abu Dhabi.
Swell Builds at Supertubos for Start of Men’s Round of 32
Utilizing an overlapping format, Supertubos switched to monster-mode for the men’s Round of 32 with overhead barrels forming down the beach. Jack Robinson (AUS) and Ian Gentil (HAW) were the first to get a taste of the building swell, and Robinson wrestled through two monstrous tubes to put Gentil in a combination situation. Robinson scored a near-excellent heat, with his highest single wave score of 8.17 (out of a possible 10).
“It was crazy, because this morning it was so small,” Robinson said. “I looked at my boards and kept on having to choose a bigger one. It’s crazy, the transformation of this wave. Hopefully the wind holds off and tomorrow might even be bigger.”
As the swell continued to build at Supertubos and the wind shifted onshore, the following heats had to adapt to the challenging conditions. In a grindy battle hunting for the right waves, Liam O’Brien (AUS) and Crosby Colapinto (USA) were able to deliver solid scores. O’Brien was able to secure his spot in the Round of 16 over Colapinto.
“Yeah, it’s just one of those waves where you got to be really adaptable and just improvise while you’re out the back,” said O’Brien. “So that’s kind of what I’ve been doing so far and, yeah, so far so good, so see how we go on the next one.”
Yago Dora (BRA) took the win over Samuel Pupo (BRA) in Heat 3, but as the two overlapping swells hampered the scoring opportunities available, the competition was called off for the rest of the day.
The next call will be on Tuesday, March 18 at 6:45 a.m. GMT.
MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal Presented by Corona Cero Women’s Quarterfinal Results:
HEAT 1: Caroline Marks (USA) 11.10 DEF. Johanne Defay (FRA) 8.60
HEAT 2: Molly Picklum (AUS) 12.93 DEF. Tyler Wright (AUS) 7.93
HEAT 3: Erin Brooks (CAN) 12.67 DEF. Caitlin Simmers (USA) 12.40
HEAT 4: Gabriela Bryan (HAW) 7.70 DEF. Bella Kenworthy (USA) 6.06
MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal Presented by Corona Cero Women’s Semifinal Matchups:
HEAT 1: Caroline Marks (USA) vs. Molly Picklum (AUS)
HEAT 2: Erin Brooks (CAN) vs. Gabriela Bryan (HAW)
MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal Presented by Corona Cero Men’s Round of 32 Results:
HEAT 1: Jack Robinson (AUS) 15.67 DEF. Ian Gentil (HAW) 2.83
HEAT 2: Liam O’Brien (AUS) 9.80 DEF. Crosby Colapinto (USA) 8.40
HEAT 3: Yago Dora (BRA) 7.57 DEF. Samuel Pupo (BRA) 7.10
MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal Presented by Corona Cero Men’s Round of 32 Remaining Matchups:
HEAT 4: Jake Marshall (USA) vs. Imaikalani deVault (HAW)
HEAT 5: Ethan Ewing (AUS) vs. Gatien Delahaye (FRA)
HEAT 6: Connor O’Leary (JPN) vs. Cole Houshmand (USA)
HEAT 7: Filipe Toledo (BRA) vs. Alejo Muniz (BRA)
HEAT 8: Jordy Smith (RSA) vs. Alan Cleland (MEX)
HEAT 9: Italo Ferreira (BRA) vs. Jorgann Couzinet (FRA)
HEAT 10: Ramzi Boukhiam (MAR) vs. Joel Vaughan (AUS)
HEAT 11: Rio Waida (INA) vs. Deivid Silva (BRA)
HEAT 12: Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) vs. Matthew McGillivray (RSA)
HEAT 13: Griffin Colapinto (USA) vs. Marco Mignot (FRA)
HEAT 14: Miguel Pupo (BRA) vs. Seth Moniz (HAW)
HEAT 15: Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) vs. Jackson Bunch (HAW)
HEAT 16: Barron Mamiya (HAW) vs. Edgard Groggia (BRA)
