The women take their turn on the trestles

Sep 17, 2015 The Swatch Women’s Pro recently got off to a great start, thanks to challenging waves that pushed the athletes to their limits.

The event, which is was part of the Samsung Galaxy World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour, was hosted in Trestles, California.

Round 2 of the Swatch Pro started out with South African standout Bianca Buitendag battling international icon and shark attack survivor Bethany Hamilton. The event marked Hamilton’s first appearance in competition since giving birth in June.

Buitendag posted an excellent 8.50 on her opening wave and backed it up with a 7.60 to seal her victory over Hamilton.

Alessa Quizon also took the win over Silvana Lima to reach her best result of the season and advance to Round 3. Quiton, who currently sits in 15th place on the Jeep Leaderboard, will need to up her performance in order to advance up the rankings and ensure her place amongst the world’s best for 2016.

Despite several impressive performances, Sage Erickson emerged with the highest heat total for the Swatch Women’s Pro with 17.36 out of a possible 20. The 29 year old effectively dispatched Malia Manuel and earned her first heat win of the season.