2004 OP Newport Classic
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Date: Sept. 23-26, 2004 Location: 56th St., Newport Beach, Calif. Divisions:Men's Pro-Am, Women's Pro-Am, Men's Masters, College Men's, Rec High School, Rec Middle School, Rec Elementary, Amateur Women, Airshow Results by Division Photo Galleries |
 Josh Hoyer |
Local Surfers Look Strong
Hosseini and Hoyer Keep Trophies In Newport
The OP Newport Classic continued it's great tradition as a quality grassroots event with Newport regular Josh Hoyer winning the airshow and local girl Erica Hosseini coming out on top in the Women's Pro-Am. It was the 16th year in a row that Newport Beach has hosted the event for surfers of all levels, from well-known pros to amateur groms. In addition to bragging rights and respect, competitors received over $17,500 in cash and prizes.
"Something I've always wanted to do is win an airshow and now I finally did it…it was cool to do it at home, too," said 27-year-old Josh Hoyer, who has lived in Newport Beach since middle school. A regular on the airshow circuit, Hoyer has made plenty of finals but had never quite been able to pull off a victory until Sunday. The showdown at high noon between six well-known aerialists had good surf with plenty of ramps on the inside that lead to an entertaining heat. Ted Navarro stood out with an impressive second-place effort while a solid technical performance left top qualifier Josh Sleigh in third. But the judges ultimately rewarded size above all else." I pretty much just got the biggest air," Josh said. "I just got lucky and got the right wave."
Erica Hosseini surfs right next to the contest break almost every day, but she didn't think that was too much of an advantage going up against such a talented group of girls in the Pro/Am final. "Everyone in the final was so good," she said afterward. "From Kyla [Langen] to Claire [Bebilacqua] to Holly [Beck], they all surf so good, so I don't know if any home break advantage really helped." What did help Erica was a relaxed attitude going into the final. She described her successful strategy as "just surf, have fun and don't let any good waves go by." Erica now plans to bring the momentum she's gained at the Newport Classic up to Malibu with her in a couple weeks where she'll be surfing as a wildcard in the WCT trials.
Breaking up the local sweep with a win in the Men's Pro/Am was 24-year-old Nick Kovack from San Diego. "There's a lot of Newport guys out there ripping," he admitted. " I just tried to stay away from the crowd in the six-man heats, I just tried to go down the beach a little bit and catch some waves down there." The plan worked, helping Nick win a stacked final that included talented surfers like Ryan Simmons (who managed to finish second while also announcing the contest), Heath Walker, Zach Keenan, Josh Hoyer, and Jason "Ratboy" Collins. Surf conditions had deteriorated a bit by early afternoon, but there were still enough good sets to give everyone a chance. When asked what made the difference for him in the final, Nick said, "It's a lot of luck. I've also got to thank my shaper for sure because I have good boards right now and I was feeling good on my equipment."
Other Division Winners
Parker McNaughton's wife managed to hold off giving birth long enough for him to win the heavily-contested Masters division; Nick Johnson secured campus bragging rights by topping all other college men; Darlene Conolly took first among amateur women; Marty Weinstein will be able to start his own cool table in the lunch room now that he's the OPNC high school champ; Chase Brady proved that no one in middle school surf like he can; Kahole Andino, son of Dino, made the family proud on his way to winning the elementary school division and becoming top "supergrom."
Kalohe Andino
