Molly Picklum wants to ring the bell but will need to topple defending champion and countrywoman Isabella Nichols after the pair starred again in the World Surf League’s season opener.
Effervescent world champion Picklum (11.30 points) eased past Lakey Peterson (5.00) in their Bells Beach quarterfinal today before Nichols won a heated, late exchange for the second straight day to join her.
The winner of tomorrow’s semifinal will meet either American Alyssa Spencer or Hawaii’s Gabriela Bryan in the first decider of three Australian events to kick off the season.
It ensures a local presence in the women’s final, a scenario that looked unlikely when a host of Australia’s big names fell in the opening two rounds.
Nichols found two late scores to beat five-time world champion Carissa Moore yesterday and, again in subdued Winkipop swell, left it late in a tense encounter with Caitlin Simmers on an overcast afternoon today.
Both fell on potentially high-scoring waves midway through their heats, leaving Nichols holding the advantage with only a two-point effort as her second-best score.
She built on the lead with a six-point wave before, in a repeat of yesterday’s one-two punch, outdoing her rival with the superior ride in the final minutes of their heat.
A 7.33 on the biggest wave of the heat ensured Simmers’ 6.60 effort was in vain.
Nichols, from Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, credited regular trips to Bells each year for her ability to read what she rated one of the world’s “hardest waves to catch”.
“I’m bloody stoked,” she said.
“Oh man, Pickles … I’m so stoked there’s going to be an Aussie in the final. It’s going to be a sick battle.
“I’m in a good headspace … ready for hopefully back-to-back heats tomorrow.”
AAP