PHILIPPA Anderson has been knocked out of Surfest after going within seconds of progressing in quarter final one when young Victorian Ellie Harrison scored a buzzer beater to jump from third to second, pushing Anderson into third place and out of the contest.
The commentators said Harrison "rode over dry rocks at the Ladies" to get the score with seconds to go.
In the second quarter, resident Novocastrian Sarah Baum continued her giant-killing run, winning the heat ahead of Dimity Stoyle to progress to the semi-finals, with Mia Huppatz and Alysse Cooper falling out of the mix.
EARLIER
MEREWETHER Championship Tour (CT) surfer Jackson Baker has made it through to the Round of 16 but his clubmate Wildcard entrant, Joshua Levey, fell agonisingly short of progress with a close third position in the fourth heat.
Ryan Callinan, the other Merewether CT participant in the event, surfs in the eighth heat of the day.
With the waves getting better throughout the late morning and into the early afternoon, the remaining surf on display promises to be sensational.
To fit the surfing into a single day, all of the matchups of both events, right through to the finals, will be four-person heats.
The women's Round of 32 was run run in clean but chancy conditions at Merewether with South African Merewether resident Sarah Baum a big winner in her heat against Philippa Anderson, who also progressed through to the Round of 16.
Merewether's Jackson Baker hit the water just before 10am as the City of Newcastle Pro Round of 32 began after the women's heats were finished.
Baker progressed through to the Round of 16, with a clear 12.50 to 10.00 win over New Zealander Billy Stairmand, with Noah Stocca and Levi Stewart in third and fourth places.
The commentators said a number of fancied surfers dropped out of the race this morning, including Nyxie Ryan and Zahli Kelly, while Merewether hope Amelie Bourke had a difficult time in the opening heat, and finished fourth.
Results of the men's Round of 32, with first and second to progress and third and fourth eliminated:
Heat 1 Jackson Baker, Billy Stairmand, Noah Stocca, Levi Stewart
Heat 2 Jacob Willcox, Tully Wylie, Zane Assink, George Pittar
Heat 3 Frederico Morais, Ben Spence, Duke Wrencher, Kyuss King
Heat 4 Samson Coulter, Sheldon Simkus, Joshua Levy, Mitch Parkinson
Heat 5 Leonardo Fioravanti, Thomas Carvalho, Maddy Job, Jarvis Earle
Heat 6 Nathan Hedge, Joel Vaughan, Harry Phillips, Cooper Davies
Heat 7 Kalani Ball, Elliott Paerata-Reid, Te Hehukehu Butler, Mike Clayton-Brown
Heat 8 Ryan Callinan, Chris Zaffis, Jordan Lawler, Archer Curtis
Women's Round of 32, top two through to the Round of 16
Heat 1 Paige Hareb, Mia Huppatz, Sophie McCulloch, Amelie Bourke
Heat 2 Ellie Harrison, Alysse Cooper, Keely Andrew, Gabi Spake
Heat 3 Dimity Stoyle, Ellie Brooks, Sierra Kerr, Shay Leeuwendal
Heat 4 Sarah Baum, Philippa Anderson, Coco Cairns, Charli Hately
Heat 5 Alyssa Lock, Macy Callaghan, Logan Dalton, Gia Lorentson
Heat 6 Freya Prumm, Sage Goldsbury, Concha Balsaemo, Jesse Starling
Heat 7 Raya Campbell, Sasha Baker, Charli Hurst, Zahli Kelly
Heat 8 Kobie Enright, Holly Williams, Nyxie Ryan, Saffi Vette.
EARLIER TODAY
SURFEST has resumed this morning after three days of chaotic weather culminated in yesterday's massive seas and their shoreline destruction.
As predicted, Sunday has dawned sunny and relatively calm, with the swell down to a clean and solid 1.5 metres to 2.5 metres, groomed by a 20kmh northwesterly wind.
Organisers said competition would resume today with the women's round of 32 then the men's with the same.
In order to complete in time, heat times have been cut to 20 minutes.
The AAP Consulting Women's Pro and the City of Newcastle Pro Presented by Burton Automotive are the final stop on the Qualifying Series for the men and the women, with the placings having a major influence on who steps up to the Challenger Series that is the intermediary competition between Surfest level Qualifying Series and the Championship Tour.
