F.S.O.S Womens Pro competitors

 

Jessica Kwiecinski Jackson, NJ ~ Photo: Rincon Daily Report

In 2011, the local to shine was underdog Jess Kwiecinski of Jackson. She started surfing the Belmar Pro when she was only 15 years old. In challenging nor’easter conditions last September she navigated the storm surf to nail her turns and edge out Nikki Viessins, Darsha Pigford, and Jamie Baittinger. That seemed to light the competitive fire for Jess, as she went on to win a contest at the Pier in San Clemente, the ASF Prime contest in Florida, finished 1st overall ranking in the ASF Prime season for girls under-18, and won the NSSA East Coast Championships in Florida this spring. You can be sure the whole beach will be behind Jess when she paddles out this year.

Darsha Pigford Wilmington, NC ~ Photo: Sampson

17-year-old Darsha Pigford from Wilmington, NC has already travelled to Puerto Rico, California, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and the entire East Coast. She has finished second and third at the Eastern Surfing Association Easterns, fourth in the USA Surfing Championships in 2009 in both under-14 and under-16. She has two Grom Search titles. She took fourth at the Kona Pro in New Smyrna and  second at the West Coast Surfing America Prime. 2011 was her first year ever at Belmar where she finished third. Pigford is a senior at John t. Hoggard High School and says she’s really looking forward to coming to Belmar, hopefully getting fun waves, and surfing against some talented girls for another good result.

 

Cassidy McClain Ventnor, NJ ~ Photo: Helen Cielinski Lazar

Ventnor’s Cassidy McClain is quickly becoming one of New Jersey’s top women surfers and she’ll occasionally mix it up with the men.  She is the 2012 Northeast Regionals Junior Women Champion after taking second in 2011 and winning Girls in 2010. In 2011, she took first place in Jr Women for AAU National Surf Championships, Won the Belmar Am. Her pro career includes fourth place at the Unsound Pro in 2010. She also garnered South New Jersey ESA Wave-of-the-Day four times. She won Jr. Women and just for fun, won  Jr. Men at the 2012 Brendan Borek High Tide Memorial Contest. McClain is going into her senior year at Atlantic City High School where she is the top girls runner for the cross country and track team. She’s traveled up and down the East Coast as well as Costa Rica. During the summer, she works at Stacey’s Surf Camp, an organization that promotes surfing by teaching kids the fundamentals as well as spreading the stoke. She looks forward to hopefully making it into the final this year at Belmar.

Christina

Christa Avles Eigenmann Cocoa Beach, FL Photo: Chris Grant/Jetty Girl

Floridians can’t get enough of competition. A member of the USA Surf Team, she finished first among the ASP North America Junior Women three times and was the 3x East Coast NSSA Champ in both explorers and Open Womens. Alves was once named one of the AskMen.com Top Ten Sexiest Women Surfers. She has a little history in Belmar too, taking second place in the Womens Pro in 2007. And now Alves, now a mother of two, is back in competition.  Last year, she signed to Inergetics, representing their Bikini Ready line of products that fits with her health-driven lifestyle.

 

Nikki Viesins Indialantic, Florida ~ Photo: Roberts

Born and raised on the Space Coast, breeding ground to the 11-time world champ Kelly Slater, Nikki started surfing at the age of eight and qualified for the ESA East Coast Surfing Championship  that year. She earned a spot as an ESA All-star and proceeded to secure every East Coast title that she pursued. At the age of 12, she had won a USA National Title surfing up a division and was honored as a member on the Pacsun USA Surf Team. Nikki surfed her first ISA World Championship is Lima, Peru with the Women’s Masters were she finished 13th in the world against a very competitive field of surfers presently on the world tour. At the inaugural Hainan Surfing Festival located in Riyue Bay, China she helped Team USA earn a bronze medal and headed to Panama for the 2012 Jr. World Champions where she advanced as the only American to the final main round and helped secure the USA a copper medal and placed 5th over all in the world. The next stop is the ASP. Nikki was added to Roxy’s illustrious Team in 2012. When Nikki is not surfing you will most likely find her with a guitar and singing sweet soft songs that contrast her surfing. She’s dual enrolled a Florida Virtual and Brevard Community College, working to graduate from high school with an AA. She is most passionate about sharing her love for God and being a bight light to those around her.

Jamie DeWitt Nags Head, NC ~ Photo: Haven Sipple

Originally from Long Beach Island, in the 1990s, Baittinger surfed with a power never before seen in a female in the Northeast. After dominating the local ranks, she went on to finish 5th at the 1999 Pan American Games in Argentina and 5th at the ISA World Games in Brazil. Closer to home, she aced the 2002 ESA Easterns and the 2002 WRV Outer Banks Womens Pro. In a difficult age for woman to make a career of surfing, she chose another road. She is currently living on the Outer Banks and returned to competition at age 27. She won the 2009 Belmar Womens Pro and then, in the Hannah Womens Pro at Belmar in 2010, she took off on one of the biggest waves of the event and stuck herself into a pit that will be talked about for generations to come.

 

Selena Moberly Montauk, NY ~ Photo: Graham Swindell

Making the drive down to Belmar this weekend from Montauk is Jetty team rider 15-year-old Selena Moberly. Moberly has been surfing since she was 7 and competing since she was ten. She is four-time Empire State Champ in Girls Shortboard and two-time second place finisher in the Costa Rica National Tour (CNS.) She finished tied for first place in the Northeast NSSA in 2010 and took third in 2011. This year she has already won the Girls division at NYSea Surf Week, tied for first at ESA Northeast Regionals and won both the girls 16-under and 18-under at the Atlantic Surf Federation contest. Moberl’s travels include Nicaragua, Australia and winters in Costa Rica. She has volunteered with the Best Day Foundation, has a budding modeling career, and plans to be a pro surfer while becoming fluent in Spanish.

 

Maddie Peterson Wildwood, NJ ~ Mike Delanzo

At just 14 years old Maddie Peterson is already recognized as a force to be reckoned with.  The young and vivacious Peterson’s talent and outgoing personality are catching eyes within the surf industry. Raised in the shore town of Wildwood Crest, Maddie lives the life of a typical teenager – juggling schoolwork, surfing, and family duties. She stays physically and mentally sharp utilizing her surf coach and personal trainer in addition to a pretty heavy travel schedule. Most recently, Maddie won the Girls Title at the East Coast Surfing Championships in Virigina Beach. This past June Maddie made it to the finals of the Under-14 Girls Division of the US Surfing Championships at Lower Trestles and based on her performance and placing was selected to the 2012/2013 Pac Sun USA Surf Team. Other accomplishments include back-to back-titles in 2011 and 2012 in the NSSA Eastern Championship Explorer Girls and Open Girls. In June, Maddie won the Steel Pier Classic Pro Women’s Division. Her sponsors include Under Armour, Spy Optics, On A Mission and Kona Surf & Sport. Maddie has already proven she’s more than just a pretty smile, and has the determination and drive to be a competitive force in women’s surfing. No doubt you’ll be seeing her climbing her way to the top of the Hot 100 list in the coming years.

 

Caroline Duerr Manasquan, NJ ~

Duerr, a senior at Manasquan High School, comes from a NJ surfing legacy and she loves to surf. She finished the 2010 and 2011 CNJ ESA Seasons as Jr. Women’s Overall Champion, took fourth in the 2011 Eastern Championships Jr. Women’s in Nags Head NC, and finished equal fourth in her first Belmar Pro at the age of 13! She has surfed Costa Rica, California, Puerto Rico, St Croix, Florida, the Outer Banks and Martha’s Vineyard. Caroline also has been the leading scorer on her Premier Jags Soccer team, the Wall Thunder for a string of years. She loves to travel and cook and is currently looking at college options for 2013.

 

Dana Palmieri Toms River, NJ ~ Photo: Rich McMullin

Dana Palmieri loves to surf. Although contests tend to overwhelm her, she surfed a few WQS events in the early 2000 – the O’Neill Coldwater Classic, Lowers Boost Mobile, Outer Banks Pro and Huntington Vans Pro. She took fifth at the Unsound Pro in 2008 and fourth in 2009. She has surfed the Belmar Pro every year that they’ve had a womens’ division. This summer, she’s been competing in the Nub TV Summer Surf Series and leads the Womens ratings. She’s likes to hit the road and has done some trips with some of New Jersey’s best. She is currently working as a physical therapist and finishing PT school and volunteers at the Helping Hearts Equine Rescue Center. Palmieri also admits to an uncanny knack for deciding what type of dog any person would be if they were a canine.

 

Casey Kwiecinski Jackson, NJ ~

There’s no lack of talent in that Kwiecinski family. Casey Kwiecinski, who recently turned 18, learned to surf in Belmar when she was 14 and has already surfed the Belmar Pro three times. She spends a lot of time surfing Sixteenth Ave in preperation for the Hannah Pro. She rides for ERGO clothing and Eastern Lines Surf Shop. Kwiecinski has raveled to Puerto Rico as well as California a few times this past year, as well as up and down the East Coast. She looks forward to another fun year of waves and getting to surf her local spot against some really talented girls.

 

Brittany Gomulka  Toms River, NJ ~   Photo: Rincon Daily Report

A lifelong surfer, Jersey Shore local and lifeguard for Seaside Park Beach Patrol for the past 11 years, Brittany Gamulka’s been embarking on some solid travels, thanks to the extra summer income – Hawaii, Puerto Rico, California, North Carolina, New York, and Florida. After an unfortunate battle with Lyme disease, Brittany has taken it easy from competitive surfing as she has only recently regained her health and vigor. In the meantime, Brittany was able to complete her Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature at Kean University. The 2012 Belmar Pro will serve as a fresh start to help her achieve a strong comeback. This summer, Brittany helped lead her beach patrol’s paddle relay team to a first place finish in the 2012 Seaside Park Lifeguard Tournament. The win has helped boost Brittany’s confidence and she feels more than ready to power her way into the finals this year at Belmar.

 

Ryan McGrath Manasquan, NJ ~ Photo: Alex Rivera

Who is the only “local” to win a Fosters Belmar Pro? Well, if you consider just down the road in Manasquan as local, then that would be Ryan McGrath. She picked up her first professional victory at the Roxy Ladies Pro at the Brave New World Pro Am in 2005 and then aced the Belmar Pro in 2007. She was a standout three-sport athlete at Manasquan High School. This year, she was named Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Women’s Lacrosse Player of the Week, leading the Georgian Court Lions to the 2011 CACC Championship.