CONGRATULATIONS CHRISTIAN SAENZ ON YOUR NSSA OPEN SEASON WIN!

NSSA SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE
OPEN SEASON EVENT #4
OCEANSIDE SOUTH JETTY
NOVEMBER 1-2, 2008
CONDITIONS: Southwest swell and calm winds combined for excellent 3-5 foot surf on Saturday. A new west swell arrived for Sunday’s finals with solid 4-6 foot surf.


CHRISTIAN SAENZ

The fourth stop of the NSSA Southwest Conference Open Season was off and running November 1-2 at Oceanside South Jetty and the calendar date hit a bulls eye with mint conditions on offer. Clean, 3-5 foot glassy waves were on offer throughout Saturday’s preliminary rounds compliments of a solid southwest swell. On Sunday, a new west swell arrived providing good 4-6 foot surf.

After two second place finishes, Saenz finally got the job done. The Huntington Beach High School junior pulled out all the stops in the 25-minute final including his trademark top to bottom power moves and an uncharacteristic aerial display which resulted in securing his first win of the season. Matched up in the final against ratings leader Riley Metcalf, Open #3 winner Vance Smith and 15-year-old Jared Thorne, Saenz paddled out with a no-holds-barred approach. Despite conditions getting tricky as the tide bottomed out, Saenz went for broke locking in the final’s high scores of 7.00 and 6.33. “I pull airs free surfing all the time but I don’t really go for them too much in competition,” Saenz said. “In the final, I wanted to blow up and make a statement. I just wanted to bring it all out.” Saenz was both ecstatic and relieved to finally finish with an Open Season victory. “I wanted it so bad,” Saenz said. “It’s so hard for me to lose. You go home after losing and don’t want to judge yourself because of results. Then when you win one it’s like I can do this. I feel like I’ve really accomplished a big step.” While Metcalf stayed on track with a four-event finals streak, Saenz inched closer to him in the conference title chase. Metcalf now holds a tightening 280 point lead which makes the race a long way from over. And Saenz is fired up on all cylinders to be in the hunt for the conference championship. “Riley has been surfing good all year, and I feel like it’s going to be a good battle between us for the conference title. Vance has always surfed good but now he seems more focused and his results are showing it. The race will be nail-biting but it’s going to be fun.” With the Mid-Season five-star Open Season approaching in two weeks at Church, the points race is sure to heat up. Valuable double ratings points will be at stake and could shake things up. Great job Christian!