SOMEWHERE, Porta Del Sol/Puerto Rico (Monday, November 1, 2010) – Newly-minted four-time ASP Women’s World Champion Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), 22, has taken out her 16th elite tour event today, defeating rookie sensation Carissa Moore (HAW), 18, in two-to-three foot (1 metre) waves in Porta Del Sol to claim the Rip Curl Women’s Search Pro Puerto Rico.
Event No. 7 of 8 on the 2010 ASP Women’s World Tour, the Rip Curl Women’s Pro Search Puerto Rico saw the historic clinching of Gilmore’s fourth, consecutive ASP Women’s World Title following her Quarterfinal victory earlier today, and the win over the young rookie to take out the event served as icing on the cake.
“I was just really fortunate that that wave cleaned up for me to do some damage on,” Gilmore said. “Even afterwards, I just couldn’t find a solid backup. Carissa (Moore) has been ripping all event long and she’s so dangerous. I was honored to be in the Final with her and to win it, just makes everything that much bigger.”
Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), 19, was one of the form surfers of the event, consistently notching the high single-wave and heat totals each round with unmatched power and ferocity. Dominating the semi with 3 early high scoring waves Sally looked set to progress to the final, however, the young Australian was unable to halt a late charge from Moore.
“It’s disappointing to lose when you have a strong lead early on,” Fitzgibbons said. “That’s the way it goes sometimes. It’s been a strong event for me, but I’m still looking for that first win. That’s my goal for the next event in Hawaii and I want to finish strong to set me up well for a big year next season.”
Fitzgibbons still retains the number 2 spot in the overall ASP Women's World Rankings with another strong performance.
The next and final stop on the 2010 ASP Women’s World Tour will be the Gidget Pro Sunset Beach from November 24 through December 6, 2010.

RIP CURL WOMEN’S PRO SEARCH PUERTO RICO FINAL RESULTS:
1 – Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 13.80
2 – Carissa Moore (HAW) 11.10

RIP CURL WOMEN’S PRO SEARCH PUERTO RICO SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
SF 1: Carissa Moore (HAW) 16.93 def. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 15.54
SF 2: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 16.60 def. Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 12.50

RIP CURL WOMEN’S PRO SEARCH PUERTO RICO QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
QF 1: Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 9.53 def. Lee Ann Curren (FRA) 6.87
QF 2: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 13.87 def. Melanie Bartels (HAW) 13.77
QF 3: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 15.90 def. Coco Ho (HAW) 11.66
QF 4: Carissa Moore (HAW) 13.33 def. Silvana Lima (BRA) 9.67

CURRENT ASP WOMEN’S WORLD TITLE RACE TOP 5(After Puerto Rico):
1. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 6528 pts
2. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 4980 pts
3. Carissa Moore (HAW) 4644 pts
4. Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 4344 pts
5. Silvana Lima (BRA) 4164 pts