Glenn and Tuach Claim Victory on Final Day of Soup Bowl Pro Junior

Daniel Glenn and Chelsea Tuach have won the 2014 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Soup Bowl Pro Junior in Bathsheba, Barbados. The third and final day of competition saw fun 2-3 ft. windswell and both the Men's and Women's competitors were lighting up the Carribean reef break. This is Glenn's maiden ASP victory and Tuach has defended her title from last year as Soup Bowl Pro Jr. champion.

Florida's Daniel Glenn (USA) was consistent throughout the entire event, winning every one of his heats up until the Semifinal, where had had a close battle in order to make the Final. Glenn dropped an impressive 9.0 in the Final on a long right-hander, which he tore apart with a combination of vertical cracks and clean carves. With this event being the first to count towards the 2015 season, Glenn's victory will put him in the points lead for the Junior Men's.

“After that battle with Jake Kelley (USA) in the Semis I was just super stoked to make the Final and felt pretty relaxed. My goal was to just go have fun and get on the best waves and it paid off in the end.” Said Daniel, “This feels amazing. It's going to be my last year in the Junior Series and my ultimate goal is to make World Juniors, so to win this event just gives me so much confidence going into the rest of the year.”

Defending champ Chelsea Tuach (USA) repeated her dominant performance from last year and claimed her second Soup Bowl Pro Junior victory. The Barbados native is fresh off of a 3rd place finish at the World Junior Championships in Portugal and carried that momentum into this event at home. Tuach started off strong in the Final, but the regular-footer battled fellow Bajan Chelsea Roett (BRB) for the lead until the dying seconds, and after a final exchange at the buzzer, Tuach found herself on top.

“It feels great to win at home again. It was a really tough battle and the final was a lot more stressful than last year.” Said Tuach, “A set came through with about 30 seconds to go so I got the first one and connected a few turns to better my score, but as I kicked out I saw Chelsea (Roett) taking off on what looked like the wave of the day. She ended up getting the score she needed, but I had bettered my position on my wave, so luckily it worked out for me. It was such an emotional way to end the Final and this is a great win for me.”

Men's runner-up and last year's event champion Parker Coffin (USA) came up just short in the Final after a standout performance in the Semis where he racked up an impressive 15.70 two-wave total. The Santa Barbara local was left searching for another good score after he pocketed a solid 8.23, and just couldn't seem to find the rhythm he had carried all event long.

“I sat and waited a long time in the Final thinking that I could maybe come back and put it together in the end like I did last year, but time just ran out after I got that one good wave.” Explained Parker, “Daniel (Glenn) surfed great though, he's a really good competitor and I'm stoked for him. I always love coming down here to Barbados, it's such an incredible place.”

Women's runner-up Chelsea Roett (BRB) can hold her head high after a valiant performance in the Final, where she initially got the score she needed to take the win on her last ride, but Tuach had bettered her score on the wave prior to take the win. Roett was a standout all event long and took home today's highest two-wave total in the Semifinals with 15.43 points. The Barbados native improved upon her result from last year where she finished 5th, earning crucial points on the 2015 Junior rankings.

“It was so close in the Final, and for it to finish like that hurts a little, but I'm still so happy to have bettered my result from last year.” Said Chelsea, “I'm looking forward to this coming year and I'm hoping to get some more sponsorship so I can keep doing more events.”

More information on the 2014 Soup Bowl Pro Junior can be found on www.barbadossurfingassociation.org.