Alyssa Spencer Victorious at Jacksonville Super Girl Surf Pro

Monday, November 15, 2021

Alyssa Spencer (USA) emerged with a win the World Surf League (WSL) Jacksonville Super Girl Surf Pro, a Qualifying Series (QS) 3,000-level event, over reigning Super Girl Surf Pro (Oceanside) winner Caroline Marks (USA) for her second-career QS victory. Jacksonville Beach maintained inconsistent, two-foot surf that Spencer picked apart throughout her finals day surge amid an electric atmosphere. This notes Spencer’s second win of 2021 and catapults her to No. 1 within the North America regional rankings.

• Spencer Overcomes Reigning Super Girl Victor Caroline Marks in Clutch Fashion

• Marks Notches Back-to-Back Super Girl Finals with Runner-Up Finish

• Caitlin Simmers and Zoe Bendetto Claim Semifinal Results

• More Available at WorldSurfLeague.com

“This is crazy, I’m just over the moon right now,” expressed Spencer. “It was such a fun day of competition and I felt like every girl I was surfing against are surfing so well right now. It was an amazing Final to share with Caroline and I knew I was going to have to do my best surfing.”

Marks struck first in the clash of event standouts with her signature, powerful backhand to garner a 6.50 (out of a possible 20) within the first five minutes and quickly backed it up to put pressure on California’s Spencer. The 2021 Championship Tour (CT) World No. 6 increased the pressure at the halfway point with two more back-to-back waves, posting a 13.77 (out of a possible 20) heat total before notching a 6.93.

But, Spencer’s incredible backhand of her own at the seven-minute mark notched a heat best of an excellent 8.60 with multiple, belting turns to overtake the lead after chasing Marks throughout and secured a massive victory after defeating Florida’s own Zoe Benedetto in the Semfinals. Full interview in video above

Marks’ tenacity in small waves was on full display for the crowd lining the water’s edge during her Semifinal performance. The 19-year-old,Team USA Olympian, put on a showcase of her forehand and backhand capabilities to eliminate event threat and 2020 Super Girl Pro victor Caitlin Simmers (USA) with a 12.60 heat total before falling just shy of a second-consecutive Super Girl win.

“That was a super close heat and it’s been a really fun few days,” said Marks. “To be back in Florida and have a Super Girl contest here is so fun. It felt really good to make the podium again.”

Now, Marks prepares for a big winter of events leading up to the start of the 2022 CT season. Full interview in video above

Notable Finishes for Benedetto and Simmers

A dream run in her home state ended just shy of glory for Benedetto in search of her second-career QS victory. However, the 16-year-old notches 1,950 points to her QS campaign with sights on breaking into the 2022 Challenger Series and now sits within the Top 7 North America regional rankings.

Fellow Semifinalist Simmers looked well on her way to victory heading into finals day with some of the event’s highest scores and heat totals but was eliminated by eventual (winner/runner-up) Marks in a stout heat. Simmers drops to No. 3 on the North America rankings but has the opportunity to qualify for the CT via the Challenger Series at the final stop in Haleiwa, Hawaii, sitting at No. 3.

The next WSL event will take place at the Haleiwa Challenger (Men's & Women's) beginning November 26 - December 7, 2021.

Jacksonville Super Girl Surf Pro Final Results:

1 - Alyssa Spencer (USA) 14.53 3,000 points

2 - Caroline Marks (USA) 14.43 2,400 points

Jacksonville Super Girl Surf Pro Semifinal Results:

SF 1: Alyssa Spencer (USA) 14.50 DEF. Zoe Benedetto (USA) 11.60

SF 2: Caroline Marks (USA) 12.60 DEF. Caitlin Simmers (USA) 8.77

Watch LIVE

The event will be broadcast at www.WorldSurfLeague.com and www.SuperGirlPro.com to watch these world-class athletes and more November 13 and 14 beginning at 8:00 A.M. EST.

The Jacksonville Super Girl Surf Pro QS 3,000 will run November 12 - 14 in Jacksonville Beach, Florida.

About the WSL

Established in 1976, the World Surf League (WSL) is the home of the world's best surfing.

A global sports, media and entertainment company, the WSL oversees international tours and competitions, a studios division creating over 500+ hours of live and on-demand content, and via affiliate WaveCo, the home of the world's largest high performance, human-made wave. Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, the WSL has regional offices in North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, and EMEA.

The WSL annually crowns the men’s and women’s surfing World Champions. The global Tours and Competition division oversees and operates more than 180 global contests each year across the Championship Tour, the development tiers, including the Challenger, Qualifying and Junior Series, as well as longboard and big wave properties.

Launched in 2019, WSL Studios is an independent producer of unscripted television projects, including documentaries and series, which provide unprecedented access to athletes, events, and locations around the world. WSL events and content are distributed on linear television in over 743M+ homes worldwide and across digital and social media platforms around the world, including WorldSurfLeague.com.

WaveCo includes the Surf Ranch Lemoore facility and the utilizing and licensing of the Kelly Slater Wave System.

The WSL is dedicated to changing the world through the inspirational power of surfing by creating authentic events, experiences, and storytelling to inspire a growing, global community to live with purpose, originality, and stoke.

For more information, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com

Press Release Source: www.worldsurfleague.com