"I just wanted to attack the waves and try and get in as many turns as possible," said Claire Bevilacqua about her strategy going into the shortboard final Sunday at the Hello Kitty Boardfest in Huntington Beach. It was stiff competition during last heat, with turbulent conditions. "I got one good wave and couldn't get another to save me," Bevilacqua added.

Good waves were few and far between, as Saturday night's rainfall brought stormy conditions and gray clouds to the beach Sunday morning. While the sun peeked out for a small window midmorning, the majority of the afternoon was spent in fear that rain would begin to pour at any second. But though the weather was uninviting, there was still a very strong turnout of people on the beach.

Bevilacqua was stacked up against Melanie Bartels, Karina Petroni, and Rebecca Woods, who all surfed powerfully throughout the entire event. Bevilacqua's second ride earned her a 7.5, the highest-scoring wave of the final. The rest of the competitors' rides ranked below 5.0, which is an average score on the ASP rating scale. Each girl may only have needed to score a hair above average to move, but it was hard to find a good wave. "The waves were pretty unpredictable," said Bartels, who placed second. "This is Huntington -- you have to adapt to every condition. It's what makes us pro."

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