Jordy and Josefina Clinch Titles at Royal St Andrews Hotel Port Alfred Classic presented by Quiksilver

Jordy Maree of Cape Town and Josefina Ane from Argentina earned the biggest wins of their professional surfing careers when they clinched the men's and women's World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS) titles at the Royal St Andrews Hotel Port Alfred Classic presented by Quiksilver.

Veteran former two-time ISA World Longboard Champion Matthew Moir of Cape Town, celebrated his first victory in a WSL rated event by defeating former WSL No. 2, Steven Sawyer from Jeffreys Bay, in a high performance final that highlighted the talent of local longboard surfers.

The inaugural Royal St Andrews Hotel Port Alfred Classic presented by Quiksilver, Stop No 2 of 13 on the 2018 WSL Africa Tour, enjoyed great waves and conditions at East Beach in Port Alfred, bringing WSL competition back to the Kowie Rivermouth for the first time since the 1990's.

On a day when goofy foot surfers dominated proceedings by filling all six spots in the three finals, Jody Maree led the charge with an outstanding win over red hot Australian Jordan Lawler.

Maree opened his account in the final with two massive backhand turns and then safely completed the closeout re-entry to earn 7.25 out of 10, which ultimately was the highest score of the encounter. He continued to build his heat total with mid-range scores, but Lawler blasted back into contention with a 6.0 and then took the lead with a 6.90 with seven minutes still on the clock.

Holding his nerves in check and using the priority system intelligently, Maree waited for a wave that peeled down the sandbar and hooked into two huge backhand blasts that were rewarded with a 6.45 to regain the lead. Needing a 6.81 with just two minutes remaining, Lawler went for broke on a highflying aerial manoeuvre but couldn't land it and Maree claimed the win.

Josefina Ane arrived in South Africa last week fresh off a career-best runner-up finish in a QS1,000 event in her hometown of Mar del Plata. The 19-year-old was elated to secure her first title by defeating 14-year-old standout Zoe Steyn of East London today.

The highest QS ranked woman in the event at No. 56, the Argentinean ousted reigning WSL Africa Junior and QS champions Sophie Bell from Salt Rock and Nicole Pallet from La Lucia, in the quarters and semis respectively. In the final she selected great waves and used her exciting backhand attack to build what became an insurmountable 13.75 point total that her younger rival could not match.