After her win, Moore climbed the ASP World Tour rankings from number eight to number five. The smiling, 18-year old Hawaiian was beyond stoked for her victory.

“I’m really excited – my breath is taken away at the moment,” Moore said. “I’ve just been trying to take it heat by heat and not think about it who I’m coming up against all event, and focusing on my surfing each heat.

"I didn’t have too much time to think about it between the Semis and Final. The waves were so good so we had a quick turnaround, but once I was out there and I was looking at Steph (Gilmore), I was thinking, ‘wow, I’m in the Final with Steph right now.’”

This will be Moore’s second event win on tour this year, after winning event number three, TSB Bank Women’s Surf Festival in New Zealand. The only surfer on tour with more event wins than the rookie is three- time world champion Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) who has three wins under her belt this year and needs an equal third in the Rip Curl Search Puerto Rico.

In Round 3, Moore scored a 17.00 out of a possible 20 points, and capitalized on a 9-point score out of a possible 10, from the judges earlier in the competition.

“It was weird because I couldn’t really hear the scores out there but I knew that one (9.00) was a good one,” Moore said. “I watched Sally (Fitzgibbons) in the heat before kind of go off and that got me excited to perform too.”

Moore said her boards felt good and she was happy with the conditions.

Current tour leader and three-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) could not get in rhythm with the waves in Lagido, the backup venue for Rip Curl Pro Portugal after the initial venue of Supertubos didn’t prove fit for competition due to wind.

“I’m struggling in these waves – windy lefthanders,” Gilmore said. “It’s really not my forte, but it’s good – something to work on for me.”

World number 2 surfer, Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) continued her consistent high- performance surfing through Rip Curl Pro Portugal, earning a 16.83 out of a possible 20, including a 9- point ride.

Fitzgibbons and Moore met in the quarterfinals, where Moore would push through into the finals for her victory.

RIP CURL WOMEN’S PRO PORTUGAL FINAL RESULTS:

1 – Carissa Moore (HAW) 17.44

2 – Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 8.60

RIP CURL WOMEN’S PRO PORTUGAL SEMIFINAL RESULTS:

SF 1: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 12.93 def. Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 8.80

SF 2: Carissa Moore (HAW) 17.66 def. Claire Bevilacqua (AUS) 8.50

RIP CURL WOMEN’S PRO PORTUGAL QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:

QF 1: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 12.17 def. Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 6.40

QF 2: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 14.34 def. Paige Hareb (NZL) 8.17

QF 3: Carissa Moore (HAW) 15.10 def. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 13.33

QF 4: Claire Bevilacqua (AUS) 12.00 def. Silvana Lima (BRA) 9.10

ASP WOMEN’S WORLD TITLE RACE TOP 5 (After Rip Curl Pro Portugal):

1. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 5688 pts

2. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 4776 pts

3. Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 4344 pts

4. Silvana Lima (BRA) 4164 pts

5. Carissa Moore (HAW) 3852 pts

View Original Post at dylamagazine.com

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